Whanganui's seaside suburb Castlecliff gets a new library

The new library on Rangiora St in Castlecliff features a mural created by Whanganui artist Dan Mills. Photo / Supplied

Whanganui District Library is opening a new suburban self-service library at 10 Rangiora Street, next to the Citadel Café in Castlecliff.

Deputy Mayor Jenny Duncan will open the library at 12pm on Saturday, May 4 and afterwards a $2 sausage sizzle will be provided by the Mustangs Multisport Club.

It will be the second self-service library in Whanganui, after the Hakeke Street Library opened in Whanganui East in January this year.

The new library was created in a partnership between Whanganui District Library and James Barron from Castlecliff NZ, in association with Progress Castlecliff.

Barron relocated a former classroom to the Rangiora St site where it has been refurbished for two months and also had a stunning mural added to it by local artist Dan Mills.

Barron said that 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.

"[It] 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."

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 area.

An 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 approximately 1,000 adult and children's fiction and non-fiction books and magazines, with a focus on popular titles.

Free wifi internet access will be available courtesy of Castlecliff NZ.

Visitors to the Rangiora Street 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 Street) 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 being regularly refreshed.

Library frontline services manager Nicholas Keene said they are delighted to be able to extend their reach into Castlecliff.

"Having a physical library there will provide Castlecliff residents with much easier access to our collection," Keene said.

"One significant feature of the Rangiora Street Library is that its hours will be synchronised with the hair salon's hours, 9am to 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."

Whanganui District Library would like to hear from any organisations interested in hosting a self-service library in other suburbs.