After-school hours for Waihi Beach Library and Service Centre

Waihi Beach families will have after-school access to their local library one day a week following a decision by Western Bay of Plenty District Council to extend opening by three hours every Friday.

The new hours, which start on Friday, 12 February, are the result of community feedback to Council.

A three-month review of library use late last year indicated that some Waihi Beach residents were keen for hours to be extended after school so that families could use the library.

Council had already extended the library hours in September last year, to include opening every weekday, 10am until 2pm, plus Saturday mornings. Previously the library had only operated two days a week and Saturday mornings, a limited service that had resulted in declining use and no growth in membership for 10 years.

Council’s Customer Service and Governance Manager, Barbara Whitton, says a further review of the new opening hours revealed that some people were keen for the library to remain open after school hours for at least one day of the week.

Since September, Council has been gathering feedback directly from the community, including Waihi Beach School parents on the initial extension of hours to daily opening.

“Overall most people who responded to our survey were happy with the new extended weekly hours but some also wanted extra time after school. We asked for feedback on which day of the week would be preferred for after school hours and the clear preference was Friday. Council is happy to offer this,” says Barbara.

The new hours each Friday will mean the library is open from 10am until 5pm – an increase of three hours a week.

Since opening daily in September 2020, the library has attracted an additional 45 members, increased 15 percent in foot traffic and library issues have shown a three percent increase compared to the previous year.

Barbara says the new hours have certainly been appreciated by the community and she thanks all those who provided their feedback.

After three months, Council will review the after-school hours to assess whether the community is making the most of the additional opening time.

Starting Friday 12 February, the hours are: