Proposed Beckenham Library Service Centre

Notes of public meeting held at Risingholme Community Centre, 7 December 2000

Present:

• Oscar Alpers, Chairman of the Spreydon/Heathcote Community Board
• Nick Chapman, Community Advocate
• Simon Markham, Information Officer
• Sue Sutherland, Libraries Manager
• Hilary Renfree, Spreydon Library Manager
• Fiona Aydon, Advocacy Team Assistant

Oscar Alpers opened the meeting at 7.04 pm.

OPENING REMARKS

The idea to build a new library/service centre on the site of the existing Beckenham Service Centre and Water Works Unit Yard at the corner of Colombo Street and Hunter Terrace came about as the result of the fusion of plans which began with the strategy to replace the Spreydon Library and the St Martins Volunteer Library. The current proposal would see the retention of the Spreydon and St Martins Voluntary Libraries and the building of a large community facility to take the pressure of the other two libraries.

The Spreydon-Heathcote Community Board is enthusiastic about this proposal as the new facility would bring library and information services, in particular, in South Christchurch up to the standard of other libraries in the city and provide new services as well.

The purpose of the meeting is to pick up on ideas for the design of the new facility for which there as yet no design plans, and opinions regarding the proposal in general. Written submissions may also be forwarded to the Christchurch City Council up until Christmas.

SUE SUTHERLAND'S PRESENTATION

A prcis of Sue Sutherland's presentation is attached.

SUMMARY OF ISSUES RAISED

Simon Markham, the Council's Information Officer, opened the floor to questions from the public. The following is a summary of the points raised.

St Martins Volunteer Library

Concern was raised as to the future of St Martins Volunteer Library. The Council is committed to supporting the Library as long as volunteers wish to run it. The proposal at present is to move the Children's Library to the new facility at Beckenham but retain the Adult Library at its existing site. Sue Sutherland is to meet with the volunteers who run the Library in February 2001 to discuss these issues.

Many present at the meeting felt that the removal of the Children's Library would mean that parents of children using the library may chose to use the Beckenham Library resulting in a down turn in patronage and the eventual closure of the entire library. It was also felt that children without transport would be disadvantaged by moving the Children's Library to Beckenham. There was, therefore, a strong desire to retain the Children's Library at St Martins..

The issue of technology being installed at St Martins was also raised. Sue Sutherland thought it might be possible to linked to the catalogue but that it would not be automated.

The question of whether the Christchurch City Council would absorb the St Martins Library and retain the volunteer staff was asked. Sue Sutherland said there was a precedent for this and that the Volunteer Library in Sumner was now managed by the Christchurch City Council. However, the Christchurch City Council, which had always supported Volunteer Libraries, would to continue to support the St Martins Library for as long as the volunteers wished to run it. She did not foresee a change to the grants and assistance that the St Martins Volunteer Library enjoyed. Should the volunteers wish to leave the Library the future of the Library would depend on patronage.

It was clear from the discussions that the patrons of St Martins Library consider it to be a social focal point as well as a library and concern was raised for elderly users who would not have access to, or want to use, a large facility. Sue Sutherland stated that the Libraries Unit is aware of the importance of libraries to the elderly that that is one of the reasons the Christchurch City Council supports voluntary libraries. The historic importance of the St Martins Library to the area and its uniqueness was also discussed. It was acknowledged that the St Martins Volunteer Library was the largest volunteer library in the city and very successful. Some patrons, however, felt a sense of loss and felt that the' village concept' was working already at the St Martins Library, particularly as it is located next to the supermarket. Sue Sutherland acknowledged the importance of the proximity of shops to a library but pointed out that the new Fendalton Library, which is proving to be very successful, is not located near a shopping complex.

The issue of land acquisition for the expansion of the existing library was raised. This had been investigated but would not have been cost effective particularly as the Council already owns the land at Beckenham. Land purchase in St Martins would have been expensive and required the acquisition of land piecemeal as it became available and therefore delaying the provision of new services in the area.

The Proposed Learning Centre

A lot of discussion took place as to the cost effectiveness of providing a Learning Centre at the new facility. Many people felt that schools in the area were well equipped with computer suites and similar technologies. It was pointed out that the Learning Centre would benefit the Community as a whole and offer a wide variety of programmes and information access.

Discussions with school principals in the area have shown that schools would support and use such a facility. At the Learning Centre it is hoped that it will be possible to run 'immersion' programmes where classes, rather than one or two children, can be tutored at one time. Favourable discussions have taken place with the Ministry of Education which would provide funding for the set up of such a facility. The Sydenham Board of Trustees, before the closure of the Sydenham School, pledged their support for this facility and requested that money intended for Sydenham School now be redirected to this new Learning Centre. Libraries are constantly evolving and it has been demonstrated that there is a clear desire on the part of library users to have access to such technology in libraries.

Concern was expressed regarding the operational costs of a Learning Centre, particularly as the Ministry of Education were not committed to such funding, and that traditional library services monies would be redirected to run such a facility. Sue Sutherland commented that the Christchurch City Council provided good library services and that they were well patronised. In previous years the book vote had not be reduced, although the introduction of certain efficiencies had reduced running costs. The management of the Learning Centre had not yet been discussed.

OTHER ISSUES

1. Parking Research shows that most patrons travel by car to libraries and use a number of libraries, not necessarily their local library. The minimum number of carparks required for the site would be determined by the City Plan. It was suggested as 80% of people travel by car perhaps more than the minimum number of spaces should be provided.

2. Access Concern for access to the proposed site was expressed due to the configuration of the adjacent streets and the proximity of the river.

3. Toy Library The establishment of a Toy Library at St Martins was suggested.

4. The Orbiter Bus The Libraries Unit has already begun preliminary enquiries as to whether the Orbiter Bus could be rerouted to pass near to the new facility.

5. A vote of those present revealed 2 people did not want the Beckenham facility to proceed and that the majority of those present were not opposed to the Beckenham facility being built but wanted to maintain the status quo at the St Martins Voluntary Library.

The meeting closed at 9.00 pm.