MINISTER ANNOUNCES SPECIAL PURPOSE GRANTS for Mis
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Newsletter Vol. 2. No. 4 Spring-Summer 2003 MINISTER ANNOUNCES SPECIAL PURPOSE GRANTS FOR MIs Six of victoria’s most active Mechanics’ Berwick, Footscray and Prahran, Institutes are to share a grant of plus the Melbourne and Maldon $60,000 to help them develop their Athenae ums. public lending programs, the Minister Ms Broad said each Institute would be for Local Government [and Mechanics’ eligible for a maximum grant of $10,000 Institutes] Ms Candy Broad announced based on projects which demonstrated today. practicalcommunitybenefit. Ms Broad said the The Special Grants and Contingencies grant was a major Fund allows for an annual allocation of component of a over $400,000 from the Library Grants grant allocation Program to support strategic projects totalling $95,000 that have sector wide significance and from the Minister’s meet the objectives of community Special Projects and strengthening. Contingencies Fund to support library Let us be grateful to those people who make us happy; Minister Candy Broad, projects with a they are the charming gardeners who make our souls Mechanics’ Institutes and Local strong community blossom. MARCEL PROUST (18711922) Government Minister. focus. Inside this issue: DIARY DATE ‘Mechanics’ Institutes still play an Housekeeping - Ideas... 2 important role in communities across -CONFERENCE- President’s Greetings 3 Victoria with over five hundred of them MECHANICS’ Mechanics’... and Proud 4 continuing to operate as halls or homes for WORLDWIDE Ministerial Meeting 5 local organisations,’ Ms Broad said. Plaques / Exhibition 6 Buildings, ‘The six Mechanics’ Institutes which will AMISA (NSW) Formed 7 share in this grant have historically sig Books and Institute Features 8 nificant book collections and are an in Beyond MIV Buildings Database 16 tegral part of the public library lending PRAHRAN MISA Bookshelf 17 network.’ 2-4 September Around the Institutes 18 The Mechanics’ Institutes to receive 2004. USA Libraries’ Group Meets 30 the grants are located at Ballarat, There’ll be Buff Page Finder 31 something in it for you! Mechanics’ Worldwide 2004 32 Page 2 MECHANICS’ INSTITUTES OF VICTORIA INC. HOUSEKEEPING - Opportunities and Ideas CONCENTRATION, REGULAR MAINTENANCE IF YOU DON’T USE IT ... COMMUNICATION A stitch in time ... and it’s no idle You’ll lose it. How true. We AND COOPERATION quip. Blocked spouting and down must make our halls the hub of The need Yet another version of the old 3Cs, pipes,looseironorbrokentilescan the community by the mode of but well worth pondering. The need mean big dollars if not attended to inclusion rather than exclusion. to focus on to focus on projects to bring them promptly. If we are doing good as well as reality must be a real consideration. Some Institutes have a quarterly being seen we will flourish. If projects to Have a brainstorming session, get clean out of spouting and down we practice exclusion we will the bones of your project written pipes, to stop overflow and pooled wither. We must get our halls bring them down and cost it through to be a bit water can cause rust or sagging in used regularly, even if we have on the heavy side. It’s better to have spouting. It pays to put a wire gauze to throw the occasional sausage to reality some money left over for a helpers’ meshoverdownpipeinletstokeep sizzle for the leaders of various out leaves and twigs. groups to come and discuss their must be a real barbecuethantobeintherelooking for a second call. In the UK, heritage buildings appear future in their community hall. consideration. We need to communicate our to have a sixyearly thorough health You could even oganise a aspirations, our master plan as it check over and under, inside and community expo inviting all were, well in advance. Put a coloured out. An ordered works schedule is groups to come and set up a flyersheetinthenewsletterorcreate then given to the building owner to table in order to recruit new a special Occasional Newsletter for workthrough. members. Indeed each local user the purpose. List the jobs available Electricals and emergency exit doors group should have a rep on the and the skills required. Sprinkle the and lighting also need to be given a Committee to get some new young newsletter with positive motiva regularlookover. blood on board in readiness for tional quotations, photocopy them the succession plan. and scatter them around your THAT WISH LIST com munity. So we’ve had the inspection and OCCASIONAL If the cash is needed up front and we need to prioritise works in NEWSLETTERS extradonationsarerequired,putupa order of compliance, maintenance Above we talked about barometer bulb sign in the front of the or replacement. There may be a newsletters and they can be hall. Organise a ten cent chain up the shortfall in resources available or regular or occasional. Print is main street, a 1960s trivia night, or a if there are still some funds left, it all powerful. Advertise the hall queenorkingcompetitionamonghall would be good if we had ... hire rates, mention activities user groups. Occasionally there are some grants recently held in the hall, suggest It is then that people can evaluate the going or perhaps a low interest loan perhaps a joint art and/ or crafts worth of the project and how they can from Council for the community exhibi tion, list your aspirations, makeacontribution,eitherphysically hall that your voluntary committee heat ers and new seating for the orinkind. maintains. meeting room, an electric urn It may be necessary to get another Recently Heritage Victoria adver and microwave for the kitchen. newsletter out just before the Big tised a funding round with a matter Perhaps someone would like to If we are Working Bee giving credit to all of days to closing and those that had donate one in memory of a rela past helpers and name them. If you a wish list project ready could well tive or colleague? doing good as can get a picture or two in, all the have been successful. Mention the milestones of the better. On the bigWorking Bee day hall and its committee. List com well as being be organised, with jobs allocated and THE BUILDING FUND ing events. Put an occasional materials to hand. Don’t forget the There’s nothing wrong with costing photo in using a scanner or digi seen we will tea,coffee,sugarandcordialaswell and prioritising your wish list and tal camera. You can mail some flourish. as biscuits for the ‘cuppas’. You’ll putting the fund barometer up on the newsletters out, but left at local also need the camera for the before hall wall. schools, store, post office, etc. andaftershotsandmakealistofall One just never knows where they can reach their wider in those who helped and turned up. money could come from or who tended audience. And Good Luck with your big day. may give it. And don’t forget to let the MIV It could be the start of something You may even wish to publish a have a copy of your newsletters, really big, and the first step back to quarterly donors’ list in the local we are building up an archive of rehabilitating your local Mechanics’ newspaper or your newsletter to all things Mechanics’ and these Hall or its surrounds. keepthepotboiling. are a vital component. NEWSLETTER VOL. 2 Page 3 Our President... From the MIV President On Plaques... Greetings to all members and friends of MIV every We hope that where.BesidemeonmydeskasIwritearethreemore MIV plaques destined for placement soon at the these six will Taradale MI, Berwick MI and Free Library and the Lily dale Athenaeum respectively. They are three of a have at least batchoffourplaquesIcollectedfromthemanufacturer doubled by the Glassmetal Industries in Geelong in November. One of the four was presented to Ballan Mechanics’ Institute at end of 2004 acelebrationthereon4Decembertomarkthesplendid restoration of their building. I was delighted to be able to accept the invitation of Lou Callow and the Committee On MW atBallantoattendthiscelebrationandpresenttheplaque.Someofthestalwartsofpast Committees at Ballan entertained and educated the large number present with accounts of 2004... local community efforts to sustain the building over the years. Efforts including growing cropsinpaddocks‘donated’forayearbylocallandholdersand,ononeoccasion,avery The Conference earlymorningdrivetoclaimastallatVictoriaMarkettosellthepeasharvestedfrom one such venture. All present were justly proud of the past, present and future role of will be enriched by the Mechanics’ Institute in the Ballan and district community.At Berwick the plaque and enriching for will be unveiled on 17 March 2004 at the Annual General Meeting to commemorate 126 years on the site. The Taradale MI was established on its present site in 1858 and a a wide range of plaquewillbeunveiledthereinthefirsthalfof2004.TheLilydaleAthenaeumplaque istobeunveiledon22Februarytomarktherestorationofthebuildingandisdedicated participants... to the ‘memory of Geoffrey Arch Page, Founding Director of the Athenaeum Theatre Com pany’. ThesefourplaqueswilljointhetwoalreadyinplaceatMaldon and Tallarook We hope On 2004..