A series of public forums starting at the end of the month offers the community the opportunity to influence the shape of future library services in the Queenstown Lakes District.

Mayor Vanessa van Uden hopes that the forums will attract a wide range of people, from frequent users and lapsed members to those who have little idea what a library could offer them.

“This is a genuine opportunity for people to share their thoughts about what library services will be useful and relevant for our community well into the future. There is no agenda for these forums – it’s literally a blank page. We’ll be interested to hear whatever people want to tell us.”

Mayor van Uden said that more than 1750 people had already shared their opinions on library services through a survey the Council had conducted over the last four weeks.

“We’ve had a huge response to the survey, and some very valuable feedback about opening hours and the kinds of services that people find most useful.”

Over 95 percent of those who took part in the survey are existing library members. The Council is also keen to hear from non-members, because increasing patronage is one of the aims of the review. “It’s the people in the community who are paying for the library service through their rates but don’t necessarily use libraries that we are particularly keen to hear from,” Mayor van Uden said.

The hour-long open forums will be held in Queenstown on 28 January in the Memorial Centre, 5.30pm; Arrowtown on 29 January in the Athenaeum Hall, 6.30pm; Wanaka on 3 February in the Lake Wanaka Centre, 5.30pm; Hawea on 3 February in the Community Centre, 7pm; Kingston on 7 February in the Community Centre, 7.30pm; and Glenorchy on 13 February in the Hall, 7.30pm.

ENDS

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