THE STORY OF THE MANOR LIBRARY 2003-2015

Written by Trish Kelly AUGUST 2015

The Manor Library is said by some to be the “Heart of The Manor”. The Sales people point it out as one of our best amenities. But this did not happen overnight – it took many years for it to appear in its present splendour and the expectation is that with the proposed plans by AVEO, the Manor Library will continue to shine.

“To build up a library is to create a life. It’s never just a random collection of books.” –Carlos Maria Dominguez

The library began in 2003 with one bookcase in the front bedroom of Villa 16. This Villa was furnished and used as the “Club House” and all social functions were held there. The furniture included a billiard table, card table and baby grand piano. The first Happy Hour was held in Villa 16, drinks served from a large fridge by Martin (the first village Manager). The garage of Villa 15 was used as the Sales Office and Villa 15 was beautifully furnished and used as a Display Villa.

The original bookcase shared the front room with one or two items of exercise equipment, one being a huge unit called a “Tornado” or “Hurricane”; a stationary bicycle plus weights machine. The books consisted of a few donated items and there were some games such as Rummykin, Chess, and Checkers, cards, jigsaws, etc; all donated either by FKP or new residents.

There was never a “library” as such, included in the original FKP plan for The Manor building.

In 2005 with the completion of The Gracemere Manor building, the bookcase was moved into what is now the Computer Den/Kitchenette. There were a couple of other bookcases supplied by FKP and probably about 50 donated books, some games and jigsaws. The library continued to grow with many donations from new residents and it was then moved into its present position. By then FKP had supplied several “book cases” and they were all set flat against the walls with plenty of room in the centre. This was handy, as after the positioning of the full size pool table, the smaller original pool table was moved into the centre of the library and called the “ladies’ pool table”. It was later moved down to the end of the restaurant area and was used for a time, for jigsaw puzzles but never again as a “pool table”.

At this time, the books were still haphazardly placed on any of the shelves, with no set order.

In November 2004 Sue Nyman proposed to start a Book Discussion Group. (Sue and Rodney had moved into Villa 117). The first meeting was held in early December and our first book was “The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown. Vera Hall, Nancy Millar, Cheryl Hodges, Trish Kelly, Sue Nyman and Robin Tritton attended this inaugural meeting.

FKP approached the Book Discussion Group and offered to source and buy Book Spine Labels for the donated books so that the “library” would look more modern. After discussion, it was decided to purchase labels for BIOGRAPHY, GENERAL FICTION, CRIME, ROMANCE and WAR. On an approved day the group met and took all the books from the shelves, sorted them in categories, labelled and grouped them into alphabetical order of Authors, on the appropriate shelves. This was a VERY BIG JOB!! It took many days for the girls to finish cataloguing all the books. The work they did created The Manor Library.

The library was never purpose built and the book shelves provided were not entirely suitable for a library. Over time the Residents’ Association Committee had purchased two proper bookcases from Officeworks. Brian and Trish Kelly assembled these shelves and they were attached to the walls with strong bolts. The attractive wooden bookcase near the window was donated by Ron and Anita Marshall (V2). (Thanks Ron and Anita)

Late in 2005 Erika Sliwa (known by all as Bulli) approached the Book Discussion Group and offered to assist in the library. The group was very pleased to have the services of such a talented person. Erika had worked for over 10 years at Hamburg University. She was in charge of the Prehistoric Library consisting of roughly 30,000 books. The Book Discussion group was so fortunate to have someone with Bulli’s experience helping in the library, which she has done for the last ten years.

In 2009, Erika and her husband Gerhard then put forward a plan of the library to management to demonstrate that by placing the bookcases in a proper library position, both sides of the bookcases could be used. This was necessary as the library was running out of room. Gerhard’s profession had been that of Architect, so the plans were notably presented to management. Gerhard’s plans included enough room between the aisles for wheelchairs and walkers. Together with Murray and the boys they then moved the bookcases into their present positions and Gerhard organised for them to be securely fastened together with bolts and overhead timber supports to make them impressively solid and safe. The books were then rearranged on the two-sided shelves and there was more room for the ever-increasing donated books. The RAC as usual, paid for the timber and bolts needed. The only downside was that the lighting in the library was not designed well and this tended to make for some darker areas.

Newer residents would not know that not only was the library not planned as such, but two of the walls were painted a very dark blue! This took all the light from the library. The Village Manager, Caroline Dey, approached the Book Discussion Group and said that she had a painter coming in for a few jobs and if the books could be moved, she would have these blue walls repainted in a lighter colour. Murray set up trestle tables out in the hallway and the Book Discussion Group moved ALL the books onto these. The bookcases were moved and the painter came in and repainted over the very dark blue walls. This lighter colour made such a difference to the light and brightness. The Book Discussion Group then moved all the books back onto the shelves and everyone was so pleased with the brighter library.

Up until 2011, most of the books had been donated by incoming residents. Carla Hull, from the Coolum Library has donated nearly 100% of the Large Print Books.

In 2011 Paddy Millar (Villa 116) suggested at a meeting of the Residents’ Association Committee that they should spend some of the accumulated funds to buy some “new” books for the Library. This idea resulted in a monthly grant of $70 from the RAC and they also undertook to pay for the book spine labels. The committee thanked the Book Discussion Group for keeping the Library so modern-looking with the donated books. Bulli and Trish had lots of fun choosing two or three books of the month (from Annie’s Books on Peregian. Annie is known as “The Book Detective”. She also is a friend of The Manor Library and donates two to three books a month.) One of Trish’s first choices was “The Kokoda Wallaby” by Andrew James which tells the story of Stan Bisset, a real hero both in battle and on the rugby field. This real-life hero was living at Aveo Peregian Springs at that time and he very graciously signed the book for The Manor Library and it is available for all residents to borrow.

This grant was doubled in 2014 and there is now the opportunity to purchase more than two or three new books each month. Since 2011 up to 143 new books have been purchased. These include Biography, Crime, General Fiction, Humour and War. There are books written by Australian authors and well-known and distinguished overseas Authors. These purchased books are so popular that they are always being borrowed (and hopefully returned).

There are many people who have been involved in creating The Manor Library and it is the result of the grant from The Residents’ Association Committee, the members of The Manor Book Discussion Group, all residents who have donated books and the volunteers who have worked in the library, shelving returned books, tidying shelves or sorting out magazines and papers. In 2015, according to suggested plans from AVEO, the library will be increased in size and further modernised and will continue to be a focal point for all residents of Aveo Peregian Springs Country Club.

Written by Trish Kelly on behalf of The Manor Book Discussion Group and Friends of the Manor Library July 2015