Activity Group: People Activity: Library Services What is this Activity About? How this Activity Contributes to the Vision and Related This activity provides the community with a professional library service. The purpose of the library is to help customers help themselves by encouraging a joy of reading and Community Outcomes the pursuit of knowledge, through the provision of a wide range of current resources in This Activity helps to achieve the Vision by contributing to a smart and globally- various formats, as well as computers and educational programmes, in a safe and connected community, and to the Community Outcomes of Governance, People, accessible environment. Library services are consistently one of the highest rated Economy and Living as outlined below. Council services in the annual Resident’s Satisfaction Survey. Outcome Actions The Council provides library services to all Marlborough residents through a network of Governance Assisting members of the community to participate in central and library facilities. These comprise a District Library in Blenheim and a Branch Library in local government issues by providing free internet access to Picton (a combined Library and Service Centre) which are both open seven days a consultation documents/papers, physical displays and brochures. week. Council also supports school based community libraries in Ward, Havelock and Waitaria Bay, along with a community library in Renwick. Providing access to the resources available through the Kōtui All age groups are catered for — from birth (through the "Bookstart" programme Library Management System . offered to every mother with a new baby born in Marlborough) to senior citizens (some People Providing free library services to all Marlborough residents. of whom are confined to their own home and make use of the housebound service). Providing expert staff, a varied range of services and resources, The promotion of books, literature and literacy is the main focus of library services for (including access to national collections via the Interloan service), children across the District. Programmes include the Summer and Winter Reading helping people to develop digital literacy skills and running pre- Programmes, along with Picton’s ‘Library on Wheels’ project which takes the library school and school holiday programmes. into the community by regularly visiting local schools and preschools. Providing access to the digital library resources. As well as providing comprehensive book collections for informational and recreational Providing the Housebound Library Service for residents who are use, assistance and support is available for those seeking information or needing help unable to visit the libraries. with computer hardware, smart phones and tablets, software (eg MS Office), electronic Economy Providing internet access to all visitors to the libraries, which allows resources or the internet. Free internet and Wi-Fi access is provided to all library the overseas workforce to keep in touch with families. visitors through the Aotearoa People’s Network Kaharoa. Living Providing a collection of self-help books (SMART) that are promoted Asset Description by medical practitioners. Promoting topical local and national issues and campaigns through Marlborough District Library, Blenheim library displays. The Marlborough District Library was opened in 1989. Since that time, library patronage and the number of items issued has increased, and new services have been Providing access to the internet, a wide range of resources, introduced. The library now requires extra space that the current site cannot provide. including the Community Database, regular programmes (eg The Council proposes to build a new library by 2022. BookChat), and tutorials (eg; e-Book training, Stepping-Up computer courses). In the 2016–17 year 406,806 items were issued. The library’s central location has proven popular as a central meeting place for those visiting the CBD. As the collection has expanded and new services have been introduced to meet the changing needs of the community, free space has become increasingly scarce. 2018-2028 Long Term Plan Page 46