Letters: Give the elderly back the ground floor

Tauranga Library. Photo / File

It is a couple of weeks since my wife and I dropped into the Tauranga library to browse the newspapers whilst waiting for our bus.

We went to our usual newspaper table only to find that rows of computers have taken their place meaning the senior citizens (I am 76) who used to spend time perusing the local and national newspapers now have to climb the stairs or take a lift to their new location.

All the computers on the ground floor were in use by young people including several children aged between 6 and 10 years all playing computer games, none of them reading books or news on their screens. Very educational, I'm sure.

It is a library for goodness sake, the definition of which is "a building or room containing a collection of books, periodicals and sometimes films and recorded music for use or borrowing by the public or institution".

Children or young people surely these days have computers or smartphones at home to enable them to play games etc without encouraging them to spend more time doing the same in the library.

Most adults and especially senior citizens don't use the library for that, we borrow books and catch up with news from home and around the world. I am not suggesting we throw out the computers, just transfer them upstairs and give the oldies back the ground floor spot to enjoy catching up with the daily and weekly news.

Bryan Simmonds
Katikati

Bayfair underpass
I agree with Chris Brown (Letters, August 24), that the council (together with the NZTA) has its priorities wrong. In my opinion, critical issues are the retention of the Bayfair inderpass on the one hand, and consideration of the viability of the city coastal pathway on the other.

One will save lives and the other won't.

While the TCC considers the merits of these issues, it could fix the Mount base track in time for summer.

Dr Meg Butler
Welcome Bay

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