Whanganui's two newest library hubs are asking for more council support and say they may have to close without it.
On Wednesday Jane Bilderbeck, who manages the Hakeke St Community Centre and Hakeke library hub, made a submission to the Whanganui District Council's annual plan on behalf of that hub and the one in Castlecliff's Rangiora St. Both opened last year.
The Hakeke St hub in Whanganui East is run by volunteers and has at least 600 people through the door each month, she said. There are costs to running it, including rent, insurance, power and consumables.
Covid-19 has made the grants and donations the centre relies on harder to come by. Bilderbeck said she had expected more ongoing help from the council and the Whanganui District Library.
The council's budget allows $50,000 a year from 2018 to 2022 for library hubs, with the aim of improving service levels. The existing hub operators said they understood it is unlikely that another library hub will be set up in the 2020-21 rating year. They are asking for some of the $50,000 budgeted this year to keep them going.