People in Shannon will have to wait a little longer for their library to re-open – but it will be worth the wait.

Libraries Horowhenua is refurbishing its Shannon branch over the next three weeks.

Library Services Manager Wendy Fraser said the refurbishment will create a bright, vibrant space for the Shannon community.

“It’s important that our libraries are inviting and aesthetically appealing places for learning and recreation. The Levin Library has excellent modern facilities at Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō, and in 2017 we moved the Foxton Library into new premises at Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom. We wanted to make sure people in Shannon got a fresh new library environment too,” she said.

The refurbishment will include new carpets, shelving and desks, and work will be carried out by local contractors where possible.

Ms Fraser said the new furniture will allow the library to make more flexible use of space.

“Our new shelving will be on wheels, so we’ll be able to move it around easily to make extra space for special activities, such as our school holiday programmes.”

Book stock will also be refreshed.

“We do continually rotate our stock among branches to keep something fresh on the shelves, but as part of this refurbishment we’re going a step further. We’ll exchange all the current stock at Shannon for stock from our Levin and Foxton branches, so people will have plenty of new books to browse when we re-open,” Ms Fraser said.

The library will be closed while refurbishments take place and is expected to re-open in early June.

The refurbishments were scheduled to begin in March, but had to be delayed due to COVID-19 lockdown.

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