Another month, another monthly challenge, and for July we leaned into the whole “book club thing” and made the challenge about getting more books, and supporting local libraries at the same time.

That’s right, July’s challenge was to get a book from the library and post it on the Pool Hall with the hashtag #treegraveyard. Because books are made out of dead trees.

There are more than 1,600 library outlets across Australia: some are “proper” libraries, some are mobile, some are regional or in big cities. These libraries are an important resource for communities so we wanted to show our support by using them. Libraries support us so we wanted to support them.

For a lot of Goons, the local library is the best way for them to get their monthly book. Not everybody has the money to buy a new book every month, let alone a place to store them all, so they go to their local library. For others, whether they’re book club members or not, libraries provide access to the internet, magazines, and even music and movies.

Put simply, libraries are a brilliant resource.

Unfortunately, visits to the library have declined in the time of COVID, but our libraries managed to adapt quickly by offering more online and click and collect services. They still got the books (and other media) to the people! With a lot of states going in and out of lockdowns throughout July and beyond, a lot of Goons had to take advantage of said click and collect services.

And boy are we thankful for libraries during lockdown. We may not be able to go inside and browse through all the dead trees in the graveyard, but we can at least get more books to keep us occupied while stuck at home.