Self-service library to open in regional NZ

A new self-service library sharing a space with a hairdressing salon will open in Castlecliff, New Zealand, on 4 May.

The library is a partnership between Whanganui District Library, community group Progress Castlecliff and local resident James Barron.

Barron has relocated and refurbished a former classroom for the Rangiora Street Library, which will share the space with Soul Body Beauty Hairdressing. The library will house around 1000 adult and children’s titles, IT infrastructure with internet access, and a seating and meeting area. An outdoor seating and deck area extends the reading and community space.

A self-service machine will enable visitors to check books out and in, pay overdue fines, and search for and reserve books. The library is serviced by Whanganui’s mobile library.

Library frontline services manager Nicholas Keene said he was ‘delighted to be able to extend our reach into Castlecliff’. ‘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.’

Category: Library news