Palmerston North city councillor Lorna Johnson: Community libraries foster a wonderful feeling of connectedness

Palmerston North city councillor Lorna Johnson says literacy and life-long learning enable people to change their stories. Photo / Kevin Bills Media

OPINION:

A friend recently shared a beautiful photo of her young daughter at Central Library. You could feel the joy in her heart as she skipped out of the children’s section with a pile of books and a huge smile on her face. It has stayed in my mind.

I thought back to my own library experience as a child, and then to that of my children and grandchildren. I can still clearly remember my favourite books in my childhood library: The Ant and Bee stories by Angela Banner. My children loved Mog the Forgetful Cat, and my grandchildren are fans of the Lego books.

As migrants to New Zealand, softball was new to us, but my husband was able to borrow a book from the library to learn the rules, and eventually become a volunteer coach for a school team. More recently, as I have been learning Irish, I have been able to borrow audio materials to help me achieve that goal.

As councillors we take a keen interest in trends in library services and how they are changing to meet the needs of our 21st century world. Learning through technology and providing opportunities to experience and experiment with innovative technologies such as 3D printing, laser cutters and computer numerical control (CNC) routers has become very popular. Our Blueprint Makerspace enables access to this for everyone. There has been a rise in e-lending collections: digital books and subscription sites as well as in the supply of streaming music and video.

Times may change, but the vital role of public libraries in igniting the love of learning, the spark of joy for information and the sheer enjoyment of reading for pleasure remains important.

Beyond books and reading, libraries offer access to life-long learning in finances, digital literacy, design, information and health and wellbeing. In the last six months of 2022 Palmerston North City Libraries delivered a massive 1193 programmes to 27,222 attendees! These included the Summer Reading Programme, Local History Week, Future Living Skills workshops, and Toitu Te Reo.

For many people our community libraries foster a wonderful feeling of connectedness as they attend their regular groups and activities.

Public libraries are life-savers for people during a time of struggle, and life-savers for people at a turning point. Literacy and life-long learning enable people to change their stories, not just for themselves but for their whānau and the whole community.

As the council looks forward to how best we can support the economic, social, cultural and environmental wellbeing of our community, I want to celebrate the vital role of our libraries and their importance as part of the social infrastructure.

Reference: Literacy in Life: Public Libraries of New Zealand Strategic Framework 2020-2025

Lorna Johnson is a Palmerston North city councillor.