“The Fingertip Library” call centre service is excellent, he said, and several other of the city’s library services were second-to-none worldwide.

Mr Hapel, the library director for the city of Aarhus, was invited to Christchurch by Christchurch City Libraries Manager Sue Sutherland when she heard he was to speak to the Public Libraries Association in Queensland.

Mr Hapel specialises in developing library services and introducing new technology to benefit library staff and users. Most modern libraries mixed physical and virtual services, he said.

“They are still physical places with physical collections but must also provide access to computer-based information and databases. One of the best ways to ensure a high-quality service seems to be to cluster small libraries around one large one.” Rolf Hapel