Progress Castlecliff takes over running Whanganui's Rangiora Street library

Progress Castlecliff Incorporated chairman Jack Bullock outside the Rangiora Street Community Library in Castlecliff. Photo / Bevan Conley

Progress Castlecliff has agreed to take over the running of the Rangiora Street Community Library for at least the next year.

It will have funding from the Whanganui District Council to the tune of $18,000.

Chairman Jack Bullock said the organisation had taken over the leasing of the facility, along with the management of operations.

"Because the building is owned by James Barron, who is a district councillor, people have a perceived thought that it might be a conflict of interest to essentially give him money to run a service," Bullock said.

"He was doing the service for the community though, so it was mainly a perception thing that we had to tidy up.

"We would like to see a bit more work done on drawing people in to sign up to the library service and to come out and use the facility too. Another thing is trying to run more workshops out of here as well.

"Basically, it's about ensuring that the doors stay open and people have a safe space to come in and read, or write a CV, or search for things online."

Bullock said that while Progress Castlecliff was in charge of the library for the next 12 months, it was ultimately up to the council to decide if libraries such as the ones in Whanganui East, Gonville and Castlecliff were "a worthwhile thing to have in the community".

"The council now have the opportunity to go away and do some research that will inform their 10 Year Plan decision making, and they're going through workshops at the moment to do that sort of thing.

"They've got to base any decision on national and international research, as well as local research as well, because each of these libraries is quite unique."

Bullock, who became Progress Castlecliff chairman in September, said projects like the Rangiora Street Library were "exactly what our committee was set up to do".

"This is what we should be doing, we should be enhancing and supporting this kind of venture. It was the first thing that we dealt with my first full meeting with the committee, and we got it through in the end.

"We're really lucky to have a lady called Dianne [Love] who works in the library services who is a volunteer for us too.

"She puts in all these hours and without that it would be hard for us to sustain these kinds of operations in the community."

Project Castlecliff would be able to "get some other really cool stuff going" for the local community, Bullock said.

"There are other streets that we want to beautify and uplift, like Cross St for example.

"I want us to look at other places too, like the entrances to the industrial area and to Morgan St. We've got a few beach entrance points, so let's try and enhance them all."