Mobile library back on city beat

Daniel Petersen helped design Tauranga's new-look mobile library, with themes that go to the heart of the city. Photo / John Borren

Tauranga's new-look mobile library has been welcomed as bold enough to brighten a gloomy winter's day.

The new livery featuring a giant photo of one of the Bay's iconic views was unveiled yesterday at the library's first stop of the day, the Melrose Retirement Village and an adjoining children's day care.

One of the designers, Tauranga Libraries' promotions assistant Daniel Petersen, hoped the bus would brighten people's day.

The concept was put together by Mr Petersen and the libraries' customer services team leader Joanna Thomas. It preceded the crash on October 22 that put the bus off the road until December 18.

Mr Petersen said the design showed off what people associated with the Bay.

"It looks beautiful on a nice day and will brighten up a gloomy winter's day. It's so different to what we were used to."

The other partner in the design was Tauranga's Marathon Visual Media, with work continuing on the new livery right up until Monday night to make yesterday's deadline.

One of the challenges of the make-over was to find a logo that was not a cliche. In the end they opted to stick with the Tauranga Libraries' theme of Te Ao Marama, The World of Life and Light.

"It reflects everything that modern libraries provide," he said. Ms Thomas said she was really pleased with the end result. "It has exceeded our expectations"

It was the first repaint since the bus entered service in 1999 and the bus was in good enough condition to stay on the road for another 10 years.

Tauranga libraries manager Jill Best said the old paint job had been getting chalky and the real-life kids who featured on the side of the bus had grown up. The repaint had been postponed three times because councils had not been sure whether they wanted to keep the service going.

"It was well and truly due for a repaint."

The photo of Mauao with an undisclosed Tauranga woman in the foreground was taken in November, just as pohutukawa were coming into bloom.