Members of the Tibetan Community going through Dee Why Library’s new section on Tibetan books.

Canberra: The residential library of Dee Why, a coastal suburb in New South Wales, Australia, opened a new section for Tibetan books on 3 June 2023 with a brief commencement ceremony.

Sue Heins, the Mayor of Northern Beaches Council, attended the event, along with Orina Acenedo, Director of Dee Why Library, and Maera Masterson, Director of Northern Beaches Library. It was also attended by the President and Secretary of the Sydney Tibetan Association, students from the regional Tibetan Language and Culture Weekend School and members of the Tibetan community.

In her keynote address, Mayor Sue Heins said the area had a long standing connection with Tibetan people and Tibetan is one of the top five spoken languages in Dee Why. The Director also said the inception of a new department for Tibetan books in Dee Why Library is the first of its kind in Australia.

Director Orina Acenedo stated that the library had purchased around 800 Tibetan books and further said to gather about 1000 volumes. She also said the library would further collect more Tibetan books for all age categories if the readership increased.

As a gesture of appreciation for the residential library’s pioneering effort, the President and Secretary of the Sydney Tibetan Association presented books authored by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as a token of mementoes to guests at the ceremony. The guests and attendees were enthralled by Tibetan cultural performances at the end of the event from students of Tibetan Weekend School students.

-Report filed by Tibet Information Office, Canberra