Dan Mills puts the finishing touches to his literature-inspired mural.
Whanganui District Library has opened a new suburban self-service library at 10 Rangiora St, next to the Citadel Café in Castlecliff.
This is the second self-service library in Whanganui, after the Hakeke Street Library opened in Whanganui East in January.
Deputy Mayor Jenny Duncan opened the Rangiora Street Library at midday on Saturday, May 4, and afterwards a sausage sizzle was provided by the Mustangs Multisport Club.
The new library was brought about by a partnership between Whanganui District Library and James Barron from Castlecliff NZ, in association with Progress Castlecliff.
Mr Barron has relocated a former classroom to the Rangiora St site, and over the past two months it has been refurbished and had a stunning mural by local artist Dan Mills added to it.
"James approached me about it," says Dan. "Because I've already put a few things into Castlecliff, and because so much of it references literature already, the fact this is a library got me excited.
"There's an electric vehicle charging station on the side [of the building] so I got flying cars and Jules Verne stories and just loving libraries."
One of the flying cars represented is Dan's old Datsun, and another is the iconic Kiwi-produced vehicle, the Trekka.
A face in the mural is that of Julius Vogel, an early New Zealand premier who happened to write a science fiction novel —
Anno Domini 2000, or, Woman's Destiny
— published in 1889 and regarded as New Zealand's first science fiction novel.
The library will share the relocated building with Soul Body Beauty Hairdressing. Half of the building will be the hairdresser's working floor and half will contain the library space with bookshelves, IT infrastructure and a flexible seating and meeting area.
A generous "commons" area outside the library — with outdoor seating and a deck — will extend the reading and community space. A Heartsaver AED defibrillator, paid for by the community and accessible 24/7, will be located in a cabinet in the outdoor area. The co-space and surrounding area will be secured with CCTV cameras.
The Rangiora Street Library will house a collection of about 1000 adult and children's fiction and non-fiction books and magazines, with a focus on the most popular titles. Free wifi internet access is available courtesy of Castlecliff NZ.
Visitors to the library will be able to check books out and back in and pay any overdue charges by eftpos at a self-service machine. A touchscreen PC will enable them to log in to their library accounts, search for and reserve books (which can be delivered for pick up at Rangiora St) and join the library if they're not already a member. Library membership and borrowing is free.
The Rangiora Street Library will be serviced by the mobile library, with the collection regularly refreshed.
Mr Barron says as well as creating a place for people to "chill with a good coffee and a good read" the vision is that volunteer librarians and the Castlecliff community will develop the co-space into a community hub "which could be used for anything from book groups, to art and craft groups, to people helping people with bridging the digital divide, or bike and scooter repairs or anything else they want to provide".
"We are delighted to be able to extend our reach out into Castlecliff," library frontline services manager Nicholas Keene says.
"Having a physical library there will provide Castlecliff residents with much easier access to our collection.
"One significant feature of the Rangiora Street Library is that its hours will be synchronised with the hair salon's hours — 9am-5pm Tuesday to Saturday — meaning people have plenty of opportunity to come in and grab a book or magazine.
"We look forward to seeing people coming together to share the enjoyment of reading."
The Library would like to hear from any organisations interested in hosting a self-service library in other suburbs.
For more information about Rangiora Street Library, visit their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/CastlecliffLibrary