Community & Business
22 July, 2026
The GIL Library Hub News - July 21, 2026
The GIL Library Hub is inviting the community to celebrate the valuable role libraries play.
Celebrate Your Library at the GIL Library Hub
The GIL Library Hub is inviting the community to celebrate the valuable role libraries play in bringing people together as part of a statewide celebration on Thursday, July 30, in partnership with the NSW Public Libraries Association.
The day will feature activities for all ages, beginning with a special Storytime hosted by members of Gilgandra Shire Council. Families are encouraged to come along and enjoy this fun and engaging session.
The celebrations continue with an Open Afternoon where visitors can enjoy:
Live music by Gil Alive
Light refreshments
A scavenger hunt with the chance to win a $10 Cooee Cash Card
Featured library displays showcasing the services, resources and programs available through the GIL Library Hub.
Libraries are more than just places to borrow books - they are welcoming community spaces that support learning, creativity, connection and lifelong discovery.
This celebration is an opportunity to recognise the important role libraries play in enriching the lives of people of all ages across our community.
Everyone is welcome to attend, and the GIL Library Hub team looks forward to celebrating with the community on this special occasion.
New Hearing Technology
We're excited to announce the launch of our new Phonak Roger Digimaster v2 hearing enhancement system, helping make the GIL Library Hub more accessible and inclusive for everyone in our community.
This exciting addition has been made possible through the Rural Opportunities - Break the Barriers Project, supported by the State Library of NSW Public Library Infrastructure Grant.
The Phonak Roger Digimaster v2 hearing system features advanced wireless assistive technology to help to support hearing issues by capturing and directing a presenter’s audio into a sound system and transmitting it out to a sound space speaker system, wearable neck loop receivers that can be used with headsets, T-coil devices and Bluetooth receiver devices.
This may include hearing aids and cochlear devices. Thanks to the Library Council of NSW and the State Library, we are looking forward to making our library programs more accessible for everyone!
Holiday LEGO®
The school holidays are the perfect time to enjoy an animated movie, and at our latest Holiday LEGO® session, builders paid tribute to some of their favourite characters and stories.
Disney and Pixar favourites featured prominently, with creations inspired by Moana, Elsa, Lightning McQueen and Buzz Lightyear, alongside beloved characters like the Minions and Bluey.
Other builders recreated memorable movie moments, including Mei Lee transforming into a panda in Turning Red and Spider-Man battling Doc Ock.
These fantastic LEGO® animation characters will make a colourful and creative backdrop for our Kids Movies at the Library session!
Crafty Storytime @ the Library
If you were looking for a place to get crafty these holidays, the library was the perfect destination!
Our Crafty Storytime session was a huge hit with the kids, with a fantastic selection of crafts from previous sessions available to enjoy.
Children sewed cushion toys, decorated unicorn and dinosaur figurines, created colourful suncatchers and friendship bracelets, and painted magical fairy scenes.
There was something to spark every child's imagination, and it was wonderful to see so many creative ideas come to life.
Holiday Science @ the Library
There was plenty of ooey-gooey fun at the library during the school holidays as curious young scientists took part in our Science at the Library workshop.
This session was all about slime! Participants discovered that slime is a special type of fluid that behaves differently from "normal" liquids.
They were surprised to learn that everyday items such as toothpaste and tomato sauce are also considered slimes. As they explored a variety of kitchen and bathroom products, everyone enjoyed touching and investigating their unusual textures.
The scientists also experimented with a range of specially prepared slimes, including guar gum slime, shaving cream slime, shampoo slime, and oobleck, comparing how each one looked and felt.
The highlight of the workshop was creating their own guar gum slime to take home.
Although everyone followed the same recipe, each slime turned out a little differently - some were runny, while others were clumpy or sticky. This sparked plenty of experimentation as participants adjusted their mixtures to create the perfect slime.
After an afternoon of hands-on learning, creativity, and scientific discovery, everyone headed home with their own unique container of slime and a greater understanding of the fascinating science behind non-Newtonian fluids.
Books and Blocks
Preschoolers and toddlers joined us at the GIL Library Hub last week for Books and Blocks, a fun and engaging program that combines early literacy with play-based learning.
Through stories, rhymes and songs, children develop important early literacy and language skills, while hands-on activities such as building, stacking, sorting and manipulating blocks help strengthen fine motor skills.
The program also encourages creativity, imagination, and social and emotional development as children learn to share, take turns and cooperate with others.
While there's plenty of learning along the way, there's also lots of fun to be had! We look forward to welcoming families back next month for another session of Books and Blocks.
Upcoming early learning activities
Wiggles and Giggles is an exciting new program for children under six and is returning this week! Join us for a music and movement program, designed for preschoolers and their caregivers.
Kids get to build motor skills, practice listening, and connect with their caregivers, all the while having an absolute blast at the library!
Upcoming adult activities
This week, bring your thinking caps and your fun, competitive spirit along to Friday Puzzles and Games! Enjoy a variety of card and board games, learn something new, and join fellow puzzle-solvers for an engaging and social session.
For adults, this is also a wonderful opportunity to connect with others in the community while spending a relaxed and enjoyable morning together.
Next week, Riverview Book Club will gather to discuss “The fine art of invisible detection” by Robert Goddard. Did you know that we have two book clubs that meet monthly at the library, and that everyone is welcome to join? The library also has a range of book club sets of eight-to-10 copies of a book, that are available to borrow, free of charge.
Join us next week for Saturday Screenings, where we replay some of the popular films previously shown on Fridays. It’s the perfect opportunity to catch up on a movie you may have missed or simply enjoy it again on the big screen.
Afterschool activities returning
Regularly scheduled after-school activities return this week, welcoming primary school-aged children.
Designs From Your Mind LEGO® Club will return at its usual after-school time, and Tech Club is back for term three with a fun focus on Makey Makeys.
New children are always welcome, and no prior experience is needed. We look forward to seeing both familiar and new faces!
