Ideas Box arrives at Masig

The epic journey of the Ideas Box across far north Queensland has reached another milestone with the launch of the mobile library at Masig in central Torres Strait this month.

The State Library of Queensland (SLQ) partnered with French NGO Libraries Without Boarders and regional councils in Queensland to bring the Ideas Box to communities not currently serviced by a public library or Indigenous Knowledge Centre. Masig is the fourth community to welcome Ideas Box in Queensland following installations at Mer, Kowanyama and Mapoon.

Ideas Box arriving at Masig

The Ideas Box is cleverly designed to be ultra-portable and is made up of several core components including a library, cinema and technology module. However, no two installations are the same with each community hosting the Ideas Box invited to re-imagine what the Ideas Box could be.

Revealing the contents of the Masig Ideas Box

Ideas Box in Torres Strait communities is being delivered by Torres Strait Island Regional Council.   After a very successful implementation at Mer, the Council has embraced the opportunity to extend the reach of their Indigenous Knowledge Centre network to more people across the region's 15 communities.

The Ideas Box at Masig was launched in true island style with talented community members making use of ukuleles which were included with the Ideas Box to provide a soundtrack to the event providing a joyful celebration of local history and culture.

https://youtu.be/78vb2dz3RpI

Why not watch this lovely video of the Ideas Box event which was so successful that library memberships surpassed a quarter of all residents within a few days of opening!

Ideas Box Coordinator Elizabeth Waria signing up new library members

Congratulations to Torres Strait Island Regional Council staff Ella Kris (manager of Indigenous Knowledge Centres) and Elizabeth Warria (Ideas Box Coordinator) on a very successful start to the Ideas Box in Masig community.

Elizabeth and Ella with some of the items from the Ideas Box