Bayden Barber: Libraries key to community education

Bayden Barber

When people ask me, what is the council's role in education, I answer that we provide access to arguably the largest repository of books in the district through our public libraries in Hastings, Havelock North and Flaxmere.

Libraries have an important role to play in our community and they should be appropriately staffed and funded. When I was recently asked what I thought the issue with our library system was, my response was that there were too many books.

Whilst this may seem counter intuitive, the fact is that libraries are no longer a place where you go just to read. Libraries are now key social and educational connectors for the community - a place to connect locally and globally through technology.

Traditionally the performance of libraries has been measured by the numbers of books issued. Since 2007 book issues in the Hastings libraries have steadily declined. However, visitor numbers have increased markedly, especially in the last few years.

This can be attributed to things like the offering of free internet and extending opening hours. In Flaxmere where household access to the internet is lower, library attendance has increased to four times what it used to be. Most of these new visitors are young, and would not normally attend.

While technology and free internet are the catalyst, we can do more to facilitate community learning outcomes in our libraries. This could be achieved by offering more dedicated spaces for tutorials and classes, where people can meet freely without disturbing others. The library can be a key contributor to the continuing education needs of our community.

More casual seating and lounge spaces where social connection can be facilitated would also be of benefit. Opening hours need to reflect this increase in demand and changing lifestyles, increasing access and availability of service.

The increased use of library services need not be confined to visitors to the space itself. Many of our rural residents live over 30 minutes from the library and there may be some of our elderly that find access difficult. Online libraries and other initiatives such as collaboration with rural schools could help extend the positive impact and increased access for these residents.

Also in line with my vision for the CBD, our libraries need to be more fun, interesting and engaging. For example, greater connection between the Hastings Library and the Civic Square could help brighten up this underutilised physical space.

I want our libraries to be fun, vibrant, engaging and relevant to the changing needs of the community. They help improve literacy levels, which is key to attaining educational and employment outcomes, and are accessible by all demographics, from the very young to our elderly - which is not always the case with some of our other council facilities.

Our libraries need more focus, planning and resource. They are important public facilities that help keep our communities engaged with learning.

This will help ensure that we achieve the vision of Hastings being the best place to live and do business in New Zealand.

Bayden Barber is a candidate in the Hastings Mayoral by-election. He is currently a Hastings District councillor and chairman of Health Hawke's Bay. All opinions are those of the writer's and not of Hawke's Bay Today.