Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute

New Releases for May

Mystery The Lost Years – Mary Higgins Clark Good Bait – John Harvey Grevious Angel- Quintin Jardine Victims – Jonathan Kellerman The Fall – Claire McGowan Guilty Wives – James Patterson Fall from Grace – Richard North Patterson The Witness – Nora Roberts   Novel Calico Joe – John Grisham The Mothers Group – Fiona Higgins Gideon’s Corpse – Preston/Child The New Republic – Lionel Shriver The Light Between Oceans – M.L. Stedman   Romance The Good Father – Diane Chamberlain   Literature The Vanishing Act – Mette Jakobsen   Italian The Black Rose of Florence – Michele Giuttari   Australian Echoes from a Distant Land – Frank Coates Women of the Land – Liz Harfull Wattle Creek – Fiona McCallum The Prodigal Son – Colleen McCullough Purple Roads – Fleur McDonald The Lavender Keeper- Fiona McIntosh The Road Home – Fiona Palmer The Hanging Garden – Patrick White   Scandinavian The Drowning – Camilla Lackberg   Non Fiction We Are One Village – Nikkil Lovell True North – Brenda Niall A Youth Not Wasted – Ian Parkes

The Light Between Oceans – M.L Stedman This is the story of right and wrong, and how sometimes they look the same …1926. On a remote island off Western Australia, Tom and Isabel Sherbourne – a young, childless couple – run the Janus lighthouse. Life is quiet, cocooned from the rest of the world, but when one April morning a boat washes ashore with two bodies inside – an infant and a dead man – the path of their lives suddenly hits an unthinkable crossroads.Compelled by Izzy’s desperate pleas and the pain of their own recent stillbirth, Tom finds himself burying the stranger’s corpse while his wife eagerly pulls out her, as yet unused, book of babies’ names… Having rashly decided to keep the child and pass her off as their own, a rift opens in their relationship, which is tested to the limit when two years later they return to the mainland and are reminded there are other people in the world. And one of them is looking for her baby… True North- Brenda Niall Growing up in suburban Perth in the 1920s, the two Durack girls were fascinated by tales of the pioneering past of their father and grandfather overlanding from Queensland in the 1880s and setting up four vast cattle stations in the remote north. A year spent together on the stations in their early twenties ignited in the sisters a lifelong love of the Kimberley, along with a growing unease about the situation of the Aboriginal people employed there. Through war, love affairs, children and eventual old age, the Duracks continued to write and paint – their closely intertwined creative lives always shaped by the enduring power of the Kimberley region. With unprecedented access to hundreds of private family letters, unpublished memoirs, diaries and family papers, Brenda Niall gets to the heart of a uniquely Australian story that spans the twentieth century.   The Drowning – Camilla Lackberg Swedish crime sensation and No. 1 international bestseller, Camilla Lackberg’s new psychological thriller – for fans of Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbo Christian Thydell’s dream has come true: his debut novel, The Mermaid, is published to rave reviews. So why is he as distant and unhappy as ever? When crime writer Erica Falck, who discovered Christian’s talents, learns he has been receiving anonymous threats, she investigates not just the messages but also the author’s mysterious past… Meanwhile, one of Christian’s closest friends is missing. Erica’s husband, Detective Patrik Hedström, has his worst suspicions confirmed as the mind-games aimed at Christian and those around him become a disturbing reality. But, with the victims themselves concealing evidence, the investigation is going nowhere. Is their silence driven by fear or guilt? And what is the secret they would rather die to protect than live to see revealed? International bestseller Camilla Lackberg delivers a chilling and suspenseful mystery that will grip the reader right until its staggering final twist…

The Institute is looking for persons interested in developing interesting snippets or stories from our heritage collection. The aim will be to publicise these via print and the Internet in order to generate public interest.Below, in an excerpt from an 1855 book, is an example of the type of comment/story that can be derived from the collection.

I will mention a few prices at the time of my arrival in San Francisco (1855), though I fear that some readers will scarcely believe these enormous prices. A house with 5 or 6 small rooms lets for 250 pounds a month. The large fashionable shops paid a rent of 150 pounds a month. Carpenters and masons earned $8 a day, dressmakers $4, beef is a shilling a pound, milk a shilling a quart…..

Ida Pfeiffer A Lady’s Second Journey Around the World.

There are many other areas of volunteer work. Please access this page for more information and for online application.

Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute
Strategic Planning Day

November 5 2011

Contents

• Submission Details
• Document History
• Executive Summary
• Who are we
• What do we want to be?
• Timeframe
• The first steps…

Submission Details
Author/Facilitator Name Melissa Watts

Document History

Version Date and Notes
1.0 November 2011 Presented to Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute

Executive Summary
Objective: On Saturday November 5 the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute hosted a strategic planning day. The objective was to create a 5 year plan for the institute.

Participants: The session was open to volunteers, committee members and the general public. Attendees included a wide range; from people who have been members for years and others who came out of interest due to their roles in other Ballarat organisations. It should be noted that of all the participants, each member expressed a sense of love and pride in either the building or the institution itself.

Outcomes: This document outlines the activities for the day and the outcomes achieved.

Who are we?
The purpose of this activity was to compile a list of descriptions about the institute to determine if the participants saw the Institution in the same way.
Responses:

• Library Sense of history/heritage Friday night talks Owned by Ballarat
• Members Volunteers Extension eduction facility Advantage – lift access
• Custodians Hidden gem Historical research Connected to South Street
• Community Facility Activities Retirees Theatre
• Business Education Members aged 55+ People Connect image with memory
• Research Collection Meeting place Important historical building Completely independent
• Community misunderstanding Closed Not members only Welcoming group
• Proud Interesting Self funded Not clear on audience

Outcome: The theme of being unknown to a wider audience was a prominent theme throughout the day and reflects itself in the marketing outcomes for the day.

What do we want to be?
This activity was a brainstorm of what participants would like the institute to achieve within the next 5 years. These were broken into categories which could be evaluated and goals created from them.

The key areas which developed from the activities were:
Library:

Proudly old fashioned – the library should work on what it’s got. e-books – lending system, courses to decide. Research centre – online Australian library, promotion for the collection, online catalogue, universities.
Relaxed and Welcoming – lunchtime talks Technology – access to technology services, apps and iPods. Collection access and records.
Co-ordinate with city library, universities and schools – can’t do everything ourselves. Collection Conservation.

Intellectual:

• Charles Darwin books within 18 months – keeping up to date with change, broker modern topics, knowledge, more than a library. Powerful organisations in Ballarat – e.g. Committee for Ballarat. “We are in a heritage building; we don’t need to have a heritage mindset.” John
• Emphasis in ‘institute’ not ‘Mechanics’’. Intellectualism – new members, modern. Wheeler Centre
• NSW & Queensland School of Arts – incorporate into name. Not Mechanics’.

Marketing:

• Younger Members- Future generations to appreciate history. Demographic – Older and Middle demographic. Diverse Membership – Not just age, but interests and skills.
• School Tours – Secondary schools history classes. Heritage Stories – Collection, writers/research, rare and exciting material, abstract. Education Facilities – History as an industry, schools, universities, involve the collection.
• Tourists – Tell the story of the institute to wider public only a small section of the community comes through the door. Her Majesty’s/South Street Niche Marketing – Travel, Retro shopping, newspaper collection, newspaper on birthday, modern Aust publishing/writers book launch, 60 year olds, universities.
• U3A, Rotary, Probus universities Centre for modern Australian Writing Links with Australian publishers, writing centre, Ballarat writing community
• Heritage Week Cultural Precinct – railway, un, gallery, Craig’s, Her Majesty’s Publicity – graphic design, send info out to above mentioned groups
• Website Advertise at railway Member tours

Activities:

• Wedding Venue – foot in the door subtle market, something different. Relationship with caterer. Exhibitions – Minerva Space – big potential, good size, use of hallway. Encourage more exhibitions.
• Arts Festival – Don’t clash with other events, cultural precinct with other organisations. Determine which organisations match well – small function to explain to other groups what’s on offer, bring together fragmented groups. Combined memberships with other organisations.
• The place people think of first to book a space. Comedy – Theatre sports, poetry slams, Melbourne Comedy Theatre. Meeting Place – Origins chess and billiard room, drop in coffee area.
• Concerts – Jazz groups, younger demographic. Music – walkway to Her Majesty’s, use building for more music. Cinema – Dropdown screen with rear projection, Regent don’t cater for art house, big market, Bendigo example. ACMI links, state funded.

Business Plan:

Profitable Business – sustainable, ready income. Encourage new members- offer member discounts, incentives to become a member. City Council – link with them, get a councillor on board, help with parking.
Open front of building – clean glass tatty notices, rack of books, make people want to come in, leases for front of building (café, gift shop) inviting

Financial:
Donations – near front desk, publicise donations, offer something, humour, Bequests – actively seek bequests, brochures of stories with bequests. Sponsorship – collection sponsorship, adopt a book.
Build a foundation or trust.

Timeframe
The following activities were noted to begin within the next 5 years

• Library Review existing business report to take the key points
• Create a welcoming and relaxing space in the library
• Photocopying in library by staff at a cost
• Maintain the identity of the BMI Library
• Approach other organisations to link to Mechanics’ Institute website.
• Scanning materials for the library
• Application for a tablet or phone about the library collection
• Marketing/
• Intellectual Second-hand book table removed, and replaced with a book sale once a year. Apply for grants for a tourism App. for phones and ipads. Ipod tour around the building.
• Article in a general magazine – Ballarat Lifestyle, RACV, The Age.
• Focus on next year’s opening with a Courier supplement to promote each room and membership.
• Add a calendar of events in the entry and include in the Courier.
• Add a bookmark about the venue in each library book.
• Get a local councillor on the board.
• Link in with the 2012 year of reading.
• Get a marketing expert.
• Get signage advertising BMI at the Ballarat Station
• Create a membership loyalty card with local businesses – a volunteer to co-ordinate
• Activities/Events Create a mission statement.
• Engage a marketing person.
• Create a brochure to highlight the options for the building e.g. weddings and conferences
• Create a database of local providers to help with functions e.g. caterers.
• Procure/rent audio visual equipment.
• South Street rehearsals.
• Film Festivals (with database of who can provide services)
• Exhibitions (create database and work with other providers)
• Business Plan Consider the membership process, including duration and membership card. Potentially a yearly membership for $50.
• Review rental rates
• Review the current business plan and review the next 5 years.
• Create a membership committee; consider working with the gardens and gallery.
• Solve car park issues. Consider using other company’s spots when not used, a sticker, permit, maps of free parking.
• Create a focus group in the committee
• Establish a trust for funding.
• Financial Legal advice on bequests. Create a ‘hook’ for potential donors. Begin marketing for new bequests.
• Adopt a book
• Honour board for sponsors and a sign for them.
• Promote corporate membership and create a policy for corporate members.
• Bequests begin.

The first steps…
The points below were outlined as the first steps:

• Create a membership committee
•  Library committee to work on objectives and liaise with other groups
•  Foundation committee, to be arranged during the next financial committee meeting
•  Building committee to work with a focus group on ways to improve the entrance. Advertise in newsletter for required skills to work on the entrance committee.
•  Marketing committee, ratified by the board. Promote spaces first and clients will come. Neil should be on the board.
• Friends of Minerva to be included where relevant for fundraising and social elements.