Woombye Community Library news

by Cathy Cash

What could distress an avid reader more than a lack of access to new reading material? This was the dilemma facing Palmwoods resident Elaine Walker 18 months ago when increasingly poor mobility left her “pretty housebound”. Prior to this Elaine had been a frequent borrower at Woombye Community Library and enjoyed her book browsing visits and camaraderie with library staff. When it was noticed that Elaine was having difficulty with her mobility and no longer able to drive, Library volunteer Chris Hitzman made contact and offered to include Elaine in the library’s “Books on Wheels” service.

Since then, Chris visits Elaine once a month delivering a personally curated bundle of 7 books from the library catalogue. Elaine is quick to point out that she doesn’t go for “romance or any of those trite silly books” but otherwise relishes a wide cross section of non-fiction, history and crime novels including popular authors like Lee Child and Michael Connolly.

“It’s not so much about the actual crime but the clever ways they solve it,” she says.

A former primary school teacher and “never one to sit and do nothing” Elaine also does lots of sudoku, crosswords and newspaper reading and enjoys the company of her daughter and carer Fiona, her grandson Cameron and Beatie the family’s border collie.

Elaine is full of gratitude and respect for the effort Chris goes to in order for her to pursue her love of reading. From Library volunteer Chris’s perspective, offering this outreach service to a small number of grateful community members is more than just a volunteer role, it is a motivation very close to her heart.

She says with conviction “I’m a lifetime reader and it disturbs me to think that someone cannot lay their hands on a book when they want.”

Elaine Walker with Library volunteer, Chris Hitzman.