As Council celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Mossman Library in its current form, borrower‑turned‑Library Officer Kelley Santarossa has been reflecting on the journey from the old library building to the bright, revamped space we know today — and on her own path from eager young bookworm to the person now helping others discover their next favourite book.
“I would ride my bike to the old Library which used to have an old playground adjacent with the token hot in summer metal slide and swing set .
There were beanbags towards the back of the building which was a cool space on a hot day or a dry place in the wet!
Their collection of Mad Magazines drew me in and I left with many a Paul Jennings book.
Unreal, Uncanny and Unbelievable were terrifically fun escapism. I was also partial to the odd Enid Blyton Book.
‘The naughtiest girl in school series’ particularly peaked my imagination with tales of midnight feasts, boarding schools, cold weather and English food and countrysides. So different from my own FNQ reality! And the Choose your own Adventure Series were also popular at the time and our lil town Library stocked a good amount where a child could ‘safely’ engage with peril and dire decision making 😊
As I grew older it was a place to accompany my school work efforts. Particularly when I had a ‘Project’ (FNQ equivalent of an Assignment back then) due.
The ‘new Library’ was a fabulous place to revisit years later. Although I had left Mossman for some of my early adulthood – I recall how I was pleased I was how my town library had evolved into a big aircon building- with CDs and DVDs haha!
It was during this time that I commenced my library studies and employment at the ‘City’ library in Cairns. It was also during the time of Douglas’ amalgamation with Cairns Regional Council. I loved popping items in the ‘Mossman’ crate to be transferred to the Mossman branch and recognising local names! It was also a pleasure catching up with the Mossman library staff when we all had training.
My family weren’t surprised when I ended up working at a library considering my lifelong love of reading. I especially love how the Mossman Library keeps evolving.
From School holiday opportunities of magazines on beanbags to robotics and coding workshops. I cant wait to see what we will be offering in another 20 years!”
