An action plan is a way to develop, monitor and evaluate activities that are done by Council. It’s a framework we can use to make sure we’re doing the best we can to support our community. The library LGBTIQA+ action plan is made up of activities that different library teams will undertake over its 5-year lifespan.

Throughout the plan we can measure our progress, allowing us to work towards our goals and ultimately improving our services and community for everyone.

This is project is part of a key deliverable in the Merri-bek LGBTIQA+ Action Plan Priority Area 2.2 (2023-2026).

As part of Priority Area 2.2 Merri-Bek City Council will work towards creating safe, accessible and inclusive services, that are informed by evidence and the voices of LGBTIQA+ communities.

At time of writing this is the Merri-bek Libraries’ LGBTIQA+ Action Plan will be the first of its kind.

Your feedback, ideas, and suggestions, will help us formalises our work across the library to ensure that our work is genuine in supporting LGBTIQA+ communities.

We will be seeking feedback, ideas, and suggestions through conversations with community members and on our Conversations Merri-bek website. Physical/paper copies of the survey will be available at all Merri-bek Libraries branches, with translations in community languages also available.

We will be consulting with members of our council community reference groups to make sure our action plan reflects the diversity of our LGBTIQA+ communities.

Merri-bek libraries’ staff will be surveyed and consulted throughout the process to ensure this action plan is a relevant and useful tool for improving library services for LGBTIQA+ library users.

Merri-bek City Council is proud of the large LGBTIQA+ communities that live, work, create and play in our city. In Merri-bek we are one community, proudly diverse. A city that is strong, vibrant and committed to equality. As a Council we have proudly supported programs and services that elevate LGBTIQA+ communities across the organisation and in our community for many years.

The Library LGBTIQA+ action plan is directly related to the council action plan. In turn, both action plans are guided by and support the implementation of Merri-bek Council’s Human Rights Policy to achieve improved outcomes across our city.