Local libraries buck national trends

NOT JUST BOOKS: Wanganui central library.PHOTOS/STUART MUNRO 260315WCSMLIBRARY2

Wanganui libraries continue to lend out books at a consistent rate, despite numbers dropping off nationwide.

Wanganui District Council community and cultural manager Sally Patrick said "issues" of books had remained largely static - unlike many other libraries which had dropped.

"There was a dip for a while but now we're bucking the trend," she said. "We either lift very slowly or maintain issues depending on the month."

Wanganui council runs the central library, heritage library, Gonville cafe library and a mobile library service.

Ms Patrick believed a strong focus on community engagement had helped borrowing levels remain consistent.

"Wanganui are a community of readers. E-book issues are going up exponentially but the main comment we get from people is they feel guilty about taking out e-books because they're not talking to staff or each other any more.

"We rolled out self-checkouts this year as well. We're really slowly putting numbers through because most people would rather talk to a member of our team."

Libraries were no longer just about borrowing books, she said.

"There's a huge other side of the business. Wanganui's uptake of internet in the home is still lagging a bit behind the rest of the country. We get a lot of people coming in using computers to fill out [Work and Income] applications, apply for jobs and student loans.

"Libraries have filled a lot of the gaps that have come from government departments reducing their resources and encouraging people to do things online."

Family reading and literacy programmes, clubs run from the libraries and in-home services were also popular, she said.

Nationwide, there are more than 300 public libraries and 110 community libraries.

In the last financial year, more than 2 million members borrowed 48 million items across the country. The number of members and borrowings were down slightly on the previous financial year.

More than twice as many e-books were available than the year previous, and almost 500,000 more e-books were downloaded.

Public Libraries of New Zealand executive director Tim Antric said the country still had a love affair with printed books.

"There's been a huge increase in e-book usage but it's still less than 4 per cent of total borrowing," he said. "We'll continue to see a steady increase in e-book usage but the need for printed books won't go."

Public Libraries of New Zealand believed libraries were an important part of breaking the poverty cycle, he said.

"Libraries are for everyone. Books are a key part of a child's learning process and on top of books, there's a range of programmes available at libraries for free.

"Libraries are run at a local level so they best meet the needs of locals. They're as important in the community as anything."