Gunnedah residents both young and old have been honoured for their hard work at the local library on Wednesday.
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Eleven local volunteer ladies were presented certificates for the support they provide many community members through the library's programs. These include Bookends Literacy Assist, Junior Brain Games, and general library shelving or spine labelling and covering.
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Gunnedah librarian Christiane Birkett said the volunteers were "essential to the wellbeing of the entire community".
"The volunteers think that because they're retried they have nothing more to give to society but they have and it's really good for their social wellbeing to actually come in here and see that their skills are still needed," she said.
"The mantra now is the library is a people space, not just a book place, and people come into the library to just connect and to take part in all the types of activities we have going on."
Acting mayor Rob Hooke said it was a "great privilege" to present the certificates to the volunteers.
"We never really have good opportunities to be able to say thank you to our volunteers and they do so much in the community and the background that we don't even know they're there," Cr Hooke said.
"They love doing it and don't ask for any rewards and I think just to be able to give something back as a show of appreciation is the least we can do for them."
Local youth were also presented with awards for the 1000 Books Before/After School program, with children receiving certificates for reaching 50, 100, 250, 500 and 750 milestones.
Cr Hooke presented the awards to the children in attendance, who were all excited to receive recognition for their conscientious efforts.
The program is designed to encourage youngsters to dive into the world of books and help them improve their literacy.
For more information about the program or offering a hand in a voluntary position, contact the library on 6740 2190.