Dunedin residents now have free access to 35 libraries and 3 bookbuses

More than 300,000 people living in Otago and Southland now have free access to 35 public library branches, 3 Bookbuses and a collection of more than 1.5 million items, thanks to the collaborative efforts of Councils in Otago and Southland.

In 2009, all eight Councils in Otago and Southland signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate in the delivery of public library services across the two regions.

The Councils that are party to this Memorandum of Understanding include the Dunedin City Council, Invercargill City Council, Southland District Council, Queenstown Lakes District Council, Central Otago District Council, Waitaki District Council, Gore District Council and the Clutha District Council. The libraries collaborating under this Memorandum are collectively referred to as the SouthLib Consortium.

Since the establishment of the SouthLib Consortium, five of the Councils have collaboratively implemented the Symphony library management system to share costs and improve the quality of library services across the regions.

In a new development, all libraries in the SouthLib Consortium now provide free reciprocal membership of any public library in the Otago and Southland regions to permanent residents living anywhere in the regions.