Last minute hitch delays library relocation

Arrangements have been made to assist Kaeo public library users while the search continues for a permanent new home for the library's 6000 books.

The Far North District Council was forced to temporarily close the library on Friday (September 26) when plans to relocate the library service and book stock to the Whangaroa Museum & Archives Association lease-hold building struck a last-minute hitch.

The books are being held in storage at Kaikohe while several options are pursued to find a permanent new home.

In the meantime Kaeo library users can still access books via the council's on-line library catalogue, by calling the Procter Library on (09) 407 9297 or the Kaikohe Library on (09) 401 2416. A computer link to the on-line service has been set up at the Kaeo Service Centre, and the books ordered can be picked up and returned through the local service centre.

"We are working with community members, library volunteer staff and elected members to determine the best way forward. There are a number of options being investigated and we are confident a permanent solution can be established before December," Libraries & i-Sites Manager Bronwyn Hunt said today.

The original intention was to relocate the library from the former service centre building to the first floor of the former Kaeo Post Office building under a lease arrangement with the museum association. But engineering advice on the loading which over 6000 books would place on the building structure forced a last-minute rethink of the first floor option.

"It had always been planned to temporary close the library while refurbishing work was carried out in the upstairs section of the Post Office building. Because the costs involved are now substantially higher than first anticipated, we have had to seriously consider other options," she said.

"In the meantime it is business as usual for Kaeo library users, but at a reduced level of service," she said.