Libraries in the Whanganui and Rangitīkei districts welcome massive amounts of visitors each year.
With the ever-evolving ways in which people read and receive information, how are these institutions adapting to the times?
Mike Tweed reports.
Whanganui Library has between 21,000 and 22,000 members.
"It's just under half the population, which isn't a bad number," Whanganui District Libraries manager Pete Gray says.
"The library is probably the most used council facility that people have a choice in, and it's free.
"People love books, people love reading and people love libraries."
Gray said libraries were part of the community's commitment to literacy, something that was vitally important.
"It's only grown in importance as time has gone on. It's a skill, and libraries are about providing people with the opportunities to improve it."
Hakeke Community Centre and Library is one of three 'satellite' libraries in Whanganui, along with Castlecliff and Aramoho.
That's on top of the Davis, Alexander and Gonville branches.
Hakeke manager Jane Bilderbeck said having both operations in one building worked really well.
"What we've found is that people will come in under the guise of looking in the library, because that's not threatening, and then actually see what we're like.
"From there they start joining groups and making relationships.
"On the flip side, they'll come in to do a programme and because it's in a library they'll then get some books out."
As for the books themselves, Bilderbeck said nothing beat a traditional hard copy.
"I remember years ago when people were saying E-books were going to ruin libraries. I think the opposite has happened.
"Being in a book is being in another world. That can be important, especially over lockdowns and things like that.
"It can take you away from reality, in a good way."
People of all ages and all walks of life used the facility, Bilderbeck said.
"Libraries will always have a future because books create connection. In our case, they are an introduction to a new community."
There were currently 110,000 books in the Whanganui Library collection, along with tens of thousands of E-books available for hire, Gray said.
"Someone said to me once 'what do we need libraries for? If I want a book I'll just buy it'.
"If you're in a secure, well-paying job, then maybe you can.
"It's astonishing how expensive books are here in New Zealand, and one of the things the library does is create a level playing field. It gives the entire community access to the newest books that otherwise people just couldn't afford."
Whanganui couple Bev and Jack Payne have used the Davis Library for the past 20 years, although as luck would have it the new library sprinter van now parks up right outside their front door.
They both get through two or three books every week.
"We're both great readers. Sometimes we go to bed at 10pm and we're still reading at midnight," Jack Payne said.
"The service of the library van, you can't fault it. It's just fantastic. To have it come right outside your door, you can't ask for better than that.
"I only wish more people would use it (the van) ."
Two people who use the Davis Library regularly are Quinn Boylin, 10, and his brother Kieran, 7.
They've both been going for as long as they can remember.
As well as stocking up on books, the pair also meet their Chinese teacher there once a week for lessons.
"I usually go straight to the couch and the comic books," Quinn said.
As for his younger brother, Geronimo Stilton was the go-to.
A budding chef, Kieran also hires out a variety of cookbooks.
Their mum, Wen Xiong, said they also used the online Libby programme which gave library members access to audiobooks.
That membership also gives customers access to movies, documentaries, newspapers from around the world and online learning courses.
"There are so many cool programmes for kids in the library itself as well. Quinn went to a coding club last year," Xiong said.
"The boys have done a lot of different things there over the years, like holiday programmes and movie nights.
"My advice? Give our libraries more funding and grants."
Gray said libraries always had the catchphrase of 'but wait, there's more'.
"You've got somewhere where education can take place, and you've got somewhere where people can meet.
"It's that last bastion, what some might call the public square. You can turn up and just be, there are no obligations. It's not a commercial space."
The expectations and needs of communities meant users were now coming for different reasons, not just to borrow physical items, Rangitīkei District Council Libraries manager Melanie Bovey said.
"People are coming in to use our computers, wifi, study, read newspapers and attend programmes.
"Our new building in Bulls - Te Matapihi, reflects this change in use. What was the Bulls Library is now the Bulls Learning Hub – where we still have books but also offer a range of literacy, learning and recreational programmes.
"There are colouring groups, book clubs, school holiday programmes, Matariki celebrations, story times, some of which were delivered online during Māori Language Week, and groups that come in and use our libraries as venues."
A Digital co-ordinator was also onboard in Rangitīkei until June next year, running programmes across the district, Bovey said.
"These include internet banking, code clubs, digital drop-ins and any other tech-related courses that the community need – that has been really successful for us."
Libraries, whether mobile or not, remained at the heart of the community, Jack Payne said.
"You've got everything there, newspapers, the lot.
"We've even exchanged vegetables with the library bus driver over the years."
Bev Payne said the couple preferred hard copy to E-books.
Despite her voracious appetite for reading, there were always new books for her to check out at the Davis.
"Sometimes you walk out with six and you think 'uh oh, I"ve only got three weeks to read these.
"Last time I was there I put my books back on the returns shelf and didn't actually leave there. I found about five books on that shelf alone."
As for the future of libraries, Bovey said they would become more like community multi-use spaces as time went on.
"They will always be a place for traditional publications, but there will be a lot of other things going on too. It can be a balancing act trying to ensure we meet those needs.
"There will definitely be more technology, and our libraries have the opportunity to embrace that and to assist the community to feel confident using that technology.
"Just as in years past we would have helped to find hard copy resources for homework, or for personal use we can now help to access good information online, and to enable people living in an online world."
Gray said he had a collection of articles predicting the imminent death of the book that went back more than 20 years.
"Yet here we are, and more are being published and sold than ever before.
"Books will always be at the core, whatever that book might look like.
"In the end, I think all reading is good. I have this little phrase, 'print or pixels, e-book or Facebook, catalogue or cat video, it doesn't really matter'."
The Davis Library would be getting an extension (adding 40 per cent of floor space) by 2025, Gray said.
"The batteries never run out on a book, do they? Books don't need operating systems either.
"They silently transfer knowledge from page to brain. It's a kind of magical osmosis.
"Essentially, you can hear the words of someone who's not present, and who might not even be alive anymore."
