Kiama’s Family History Centre volunteers will continue to have access to the facility during Kiama Library opening hours to undertake research on behalf of the wider community.

Councillor Erica Warren successfully moved a motion at Tuesday night’s meeting asking Council to formally acknowledge the centre’s significance as a cultural, educational, and community resource – locally, nationally, and internationally. 

It also reaffirmed that volunteers will continue to be able to help members of the public with research projects.

Cr Warren said the motion sought to ensure the centre’s sustainability while maintaining its volunteer-led operations. 

The motion also directs Council CEO Jane Stroud to report on operating costs and explore cost-recovery options, including fee-for-service sessions, annual memberships, and volunteer-led models with minimal staff oversight.

“The Kiama Family History Centre is more than a room in the library,” Cr Warren said at the meeting. 

“It is a repository of unique local history, an educational hub, and a place of purpose for volunteers and residents alike. This motion ensures the centre can continue to operate sustainably and remain accessible.”

The centre, established in 1989 beneath the Kiama Library has been a cornerstone of the community.

Volunteers have dedicated decades to transcribing historical documents, digitising records, and assisting local, interstate, and international researchers.

The decision follows Council’s recent announcement to reduce the centre’s open-to-the-public hours to two per week as part of the library’s overall services. 

During library hours, volunteers will continue to be supported by Council to undertake research projects on behalf of the community.

Many volunteers and community members attended the council meeting, witnessing the vote that reaffirmed the value of the centre and the importance of volunteer-led service in preserving Kiama’s history. 

“Kiama Council absolutely loves its volunteers. If you volunteer for Council, you do so in an unpaid capacity, but you are still deemed a Council employee, so we've got a little bit of work to do in terms of bringing those Council volunteers up to speed around their responsibilities, roles and our code of conduct,” CEO Jane Stroud said. 

“We're going to do a wave of mandatory training for any of our unpaid workforce, because we value the work that they do and they need to know their obligations as volunteer employees of the Council.” 

Kiama Mayor Cameron McDonald, whose uncle has been a long-term volunteer, hoped the Family History Centre services will still be an integral part of Council despite the restructure of the library.

“It is a really important local offering and we've had many volunteers over the years providing their time so that people can come in, research their family history, and many other topics, including how our links to history have been shaped our local community. 

“Our volunteers should not be discouraged from providing these services.

“The volunteers are a really valued resource for our local community and there is a range of matters that volunteers have been querying recently such as what times the offering will be available, what future services from the facility will look like and what infrastructure they will be provided with. 

“We are looking forward to having those conversations and for these much respected volunteers to continue providing the service that they would like to provide well into the future.”

Stroud added that the Community College notified Council a month ago that they would be vacating their premises. 

Council will consult with volunteers and community stakeholders over the next 12 months to co-design this space and develop a sustainable operating model for the centre, similar to the successful Gerringong Library Arts and Museum model. 

“That's a significant change for us and that's a valuable asset and a valuable parcel of Council land that we need to activate and that we need to use,” she said.

“So it's high time to reconsider what goes on in that downstairs section of the building and what it could be into the future and certainly what we did at Gerringong has been a great success.

GLaM has a small exhibition space, there's local history, heritage information side by side with the library service and it operates really well. 

“One half of the building is operated by an incorporated volunteer group, which is fabulous, and the other half is staffed by Council staff.”