Public Libraries

PUBLIC LIBRARIES

Public libraries continue to increase their support and services to increasingly diverse communities, while maintaining core services around access to information. While public libraries maintain their role as protector of equitable access to information, they continue to morph into vibrant community hubs by offering a diverse range of programmes (from coding to knitting and everything in between!) to serve their increasingly diverse patron base.

FUNDING

As local government looks to provide value for money for ratepayers, library budgets in some areas are coming under threat; there is a strong requirement to deliver measurable value and a solid return on investment. The benefits of public libraries are largely quantifiable in that they help to educate a population, allowing New Zealanders to contribute positively as a member of society, however, ensuring that councils understand this economic benefit to their community is an ongoing challenge.

EMBRACING DIGITAL

As the world becomes more digitised, ebook lending is seeing exponential growth – since 2011 annual eBook lending has grown from 17,000 loans to over 2.1 million loans per annum. This is in spite of the strict limitations still being placed on e-lending by publishers. The trend to more hybrid collections impacts on library spaces and the user’s experience. New library builds and library redesigns are consciously allocating less space to collections and including more community meeting spaces / other areas. Many public libraries are now content creators, especially through the digitisation of unique local history content. Crowd sourcing of data is becoming more common as the community is engaged in developing and updating content.

TRENDS IN NEW ZEALAND'S PUBLIC LIBRARIES

Public Libraries New Zealand has identified a number of trends across the country:

Libraries are moving to deliver a full and effective library service in the digital and physical space. These services offer similar experiences and levels of interactivity both on and offline. Free wifi and internet use is becoming ubiquitous, although there are issues with the aging infrastructure. Some libraries are also piloting subsidised internet access for low income households.
Space is being rethought as libraries are used in diverse ways for different purposes. Services are being reshaped but buildings are often no longer fit for community needs.
Libraries are rethinking their traditional service offerings. As their increasingly diverse communities make different demands on local services, libraries need to rethink their services. Co-design principles are being used to ensure libraries fit the needs of local citizens. Libraries are also actively considering the needs of their business community for research and other services.
There is a greater focus on programmes and events. These events range from Pride Festivals to summer reading programmes, to Science, Technology and Maths (STEM) workshops to adult reading challenges.
Digital literacy and capability remains an issue for many individuals and communities. Public libraries are delivering digital programmes, often in partnership with organisations like the 2020 Trust.
Pop up and outreach programmes are becoming more common. They help to take library services to where people live, work and play.
Libraries are increasingly being seen as one stop shops. They deliver customer services on behalf of district councils, can be co-located with galleries, museums, sport, health services and other community facilities.
A core principle for public libraries is that anyone and everyone can access public library services. As service offerings have expanded, this has meant that non-traditional library user numbers have increased. Libraries have had to develop strategies to integrate different user groups and expectations. This extends to working with iwi and other groups to ensure libraries are relevant to different groups, including tangata whenua and mātāwaka.
Many libraries are experiencing staffing issues. We have an aging workforce, difficulty in recruiting qualified staff and an increasingly diverse skill set is needed for staff. Ensuring that staff in smaller libraries are able to full support their users digital aspirations is particularly challenging.
Collaboration is important. Increasingly, library services, councils and other community organisations are collaborating. A number of consortia have developed across the country, largely focused on collection provision.
There has been some decline in print loans. ECollection usage varies depending on the maturity of the collection. Libraries that have been offering eBooks and other services are seeing the demand slow down. This mirrors the digital fatigue which has been seen in the eBook retail market. Many libraries have removed fines from children's books which has effectively increased use of these collections.

As library services have evolved, we also need to consider how we gather evidence of the positive impact libraries have on their communities so that we can all tell our stories and be effective in advocating for library services that support individuals and the wider community. This remains a challenge for our members and Public Libraries New Zealand will continue to explore how we can support the development and adoption of new measures.

Last updated September 2017.