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Mangawhai book-lovers, rejoice! There are big changes ahead for the town’s community library, with plans to hire paid staff for the first time in its 130-year history, and to significantly extend the opening hours.
Kaipara District Council (KDC) is recruiting for a full-time lead librarian and two part-time assistant librarians, after elected members approved funding last December.
The library in the historic Mangawhai Library Hall on Moir Street is currently solely volunteer-run and is open for less than 15 hours a week. With paid staff in place, the library will be open 32 hours a week, and expand services for the growing community.
Currently, Dargaville is Kaipara’s only library with paid employees. Community libraries in Mangawhai, Kaiwaka, Paparoa and Maungaturoto are all run by volunteers.
Mangawhai is by far the busiest, issuing 24,398 items last financial year.
With the changes in place by August, it will be known as the Mangawhai branch library.
KDC said it would offer the same professional, modern standard of services as Dargaville, including digital support, programmes and events, embracing te ao Māori, and connecting with the community via outreach and social media.
Judy Langmuir, who has been managing the Mangawhai community library for 20 years, said volunteers were very happy to hear the news.
Langmuir said membership was 1017, up from around 400 when she started.
Although volunteering could “become a grind at times”, she said some volunteers – there are 28 at the moment – would want to continue after the changes. Her own favourite part of the job was buying and covering books.
“I want to acknowledge the volunteers who have worked tirelessly for decades to run the library in Mangawhai,” Kaipara libraries manager Lisa Salter said. “However, the workload to service the library’s growth now exceeds what can reasonably be expected of a volunteer.”
Initial funding would come from existing budgets, and further operational funding was budgeted in the Long Term Plan for 2024-2027.
The need for a new and larger library in Mangawhai has been under discussion for several years, although a council spokesperson said that when the branch library opened later this year it would retain its present location.
“There are plans for a future community hub in Mangawhai, which will include a library, but this project is in its early stages and a location for the hub has not been confirmed.”
Council is currently seeking public input on a draft masterplan for the 34-hectare Mangawhai Community Park on Molesworth Drive which, among other things, identifies an area below the Mangawhai Club as a potential location for a future library, community hub or similar civic building. The consultation period ends on May 6 at 5pm.
Applications for the librarian positions close on May 1.
