Two million library books couriered since November

Nearly two million library books and items were couriered around the Auckland region in the first five months of the Auckland Council, throwing into question the sustainability of this ratepayer-funded service, says Auckland Councillor Cameron Brewer.

“Being able to order a book from any one of the region’s 55 libraries and having it couriered to your local library is proving to be very popular. The public has taken up with great enthusiasm open access to the region’s 3.5 million books and library loan items We now need to see if we can sustain this policy. However, given the state of the council’s finances I don’t know if we can in its current form.”

The new Auckland Council library card gives members free access to source library items around the region from Wellsford to Pukekohe and Helensville to Howick. The 55 library locations and four mobile libraries make the Auckland library network the largest in the southern hemisphere.

“A lot of people love the free access and delivery of library books from anywhere in the region, but it’s going to be a real balancing act regarding the policy’s on-going affordability.”

Mr Brewer says he also has concerns around the current policy of children and teenagers not being charged overdue fees for ‘children’s and teen items (except for rentals)’.

“There must be a lot of children’s books lying under beds, with other Auckland kids missing out. With no late fees for young people there is absolutely no incentive for books to be returned on time. That sends out an irresponsible ‘it doesn’t matter’ message to our children and teenagers and it will lead to a lot of books disappearing out of circulation.

“With these added pressures, the Auckland Council’s yearly operational expenditure of $116 million for the region’s libraries in the 2011/12 draft annual plan may turn out to be a little undercooked.

“The council leadership has made some big promises but we now need to work out how ratepayers can fund and sustain such a policy. It’s going to be a real challenge when you consider we’re trying to find millions of dollars worth of savings to keep rates down.”

Mr Brewer revealed official figures released by council officers to him on the number of books and items being couriered between the 55 libraries in the Auckland region for the five months since November on a monthly, weekly and daily basis, with a daily average of 246 items being packed up per library:

November 2010
Monthly 324,617
Weekly 81,154
Daily 12,485

December 2010
Monthly 383,927
Weekly 95,982
Daily 14,220

January 2011
Monthly 395,231
Weekly 98,808
Daily 14,638

February 2011
Monthly 399,768
Weekly 99,942
Daily 16,657

March 2011
Monthly 365,176
Weekly 91,294
Daily 13,525

Total for five months
1,868,717

Ends

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