Jason Clare is keen to construct study hubs which provide student support and campus-style facilities for students closer to home. “Sometimes postcode can be a brick wall that stops people from getting to university,” he says
But Jack Goodman wonders why the Education Minister is duplicating community resources already in place – they are called public libraries and there are 1,400 of them around the country, plus digital resources and mobile services.
The Coalition started the study hub scheme in the regions where resources are scare and internet patchy but the Education Minister, at least until the election, is expanding them to outer urban areas. There are 15 announced and expected to be open by year end.
Some will supplement existing services. Liverpool in southwest Sydney is getting one, which will presumably be used by local students who want a change from the Western Sydney U and Uni Wollongong campuses there – it will be run by UNSW, which is also in a suburb, just one 35 kms distant.
But even suburbs without a campus to call their own generally have access to a public library. So why, Mr Goodman asks the Minister in an open letter, not use them? Public libraries “feature highly trained, professional librarians, incredible technology access, huge collections of resources, myriad study and breakout spaces, private rooms, and much, much more,”
As founder of the global study support provider Studiosity, Goodman knows what works for remote learning. As president of Friends of Libraries Australia he makes their case as an education resource.
In particular, he points to programs they already run, in line with support function for Hubs. According the most recent figures for public libraries there were 30,000 plus programs in 2022-23, with 5.8m participants. Libraries are also across digital delivery, with online loans accounting for 30%.
With staff skilled in client support and accessing content online, why not just locate hubs in existing libraries? It’s a question that occurred to the Commonwealth, a discussion paper on creating the suburban hubs acknowledged they could “co-locate with existing infrastructure, for example public libraries or TAFE campuses.” It would be a way to stretch the $32bn over four-years spend.
So how’s that going? There was a reference in Senate Estimates last week to suburban study hubs going to “local councils and things like that” and seven hubs (two suburbans, five regionals) are co-locating in libraries.
But overall, officials argue it comes down to expertise; “hubs are staffed by trained professionals, with specialised skills to meet the needs of tertiary students, to provide tailored in-person administrative, wellbeing, and academic skills support.”
That, and convenience. ”Most Hubs also offer extended opening hours to cater to a range of students, beyond the standard operational hours of a public library.” And librarians can’t adjust? It feels too logical not to pursue, making better use of public resources in times of cost constraints.
