Melbourne’s Beth Weizmann to grow

THE Beth Weizmann Community Centre is set to more than double in size, after council issued a notice of decision to grant a permit for the development of the building next door.

The existing centre at 306 Hawthorn Road will be consolidated with the new site at 304 Hawthorn Road, and vehicle access will be integrated, giving the centre an overall space of over 4600 square metres.

“304 Hawthorn Road will be refitted and renovated to be used for library and archives, as well as associated meeting rooms,” Beth Weizmann executive director Ginette Searle said. “The facility will house the new entity, the Jewish National Library of Australia (JLA), comprising the current Makor Library, the libraries of the Jewish Holocaust Centre and the Kadimah National Library, the Jewish Genealogical Society, the Jewish Historical Society as well as several other collections.”

With hopes of construction commencing before the end of 2010, the first stage could be completed as early as the new year. This would involve the establishment of the JLA, which would subsequently release space for other organisations to relocate and expand within the existing building.

In addition to the combined library collections, the new facility will include a user-friendly reception and public space with computers, which can be used for research and training purposes. Journals and audio visual materials will be more accessible and up to 10 meeting rooms of various sizes and configurations will be refit to be used for workshops, conferences, community meetings, classes and discussions.

“We will gain the capacity to fulfill the many requests for meeting and conference rooms that we’re currently just not physically able to accommodate,” Searle said. “The total space that will be provided for meeting and conference rooms will be increased from 90 square metres to 500 square metres.”

The new centre was purchased by the then State Zionist Council of Victoria, which administers the community centre, in 2006 following a $2.25 million grant from the State Government.

DALIA SABLE