Library offers four-in-one
Customers can expect an exciting new library experience when the Parklands Library/Te Kete Wananga o Waitikiri opens on 6 August.
The building and fittings are designed to be flexible, offering different activities for different customers at different times of the day. It will also offer four zones, each with a distinctive character and atmosphere.
During daytimes, adults will enjoy up-to-date resources, great coffee at Ditto café, and helpful staff. At pre-schoolers’ time, staff will swap adult chairs for beanbags and cushions. After school,the learning centre will offer the latest technology for help with homework. Saturdays will offer a low-stress environment combining relaxed reading, coffee and cake, music and technology.
Christchurch City Libraries’ Sally Thompson says all the elements are coming together to create a special building for both Parklands and for the city.
“This is a unique project, which will result in one of the most innovative community libraries in New Zealand,” she says. “It’s going to be a great place to visit and spend time, and we’re sure it’ll quickly become the hub of the Parklands community.” The library’s four zones will be:
- Flexizone — Te Manawa (heart). This lively hub will transform at least once a day to accommodate whatever’s happening in the library, from afterschool activities to storytimes. A dynamic space, where change is guaranteed.
- Easyzone — Te Whanui (community). The sunny, offers four-northern end will house the library’s most popular items — bestsellers, magazines, DVDs and CDs, and the cafe. Big bifold doors will open out from here onto the courtyard and garden. With its sofas and tables, it’ll be a great place to stop for a coffee,
meet friends or sit and read.
- Waitikiri Learning Centre — Te Ako (learn/teach/discover). The library’s “technozone”, complete with a video wall, headphones and laptops, will be used by schools and groups of all ages for study programmes, workshops and clubs. A staff member will be on hand to provide help and support when the zone is open.
- Quietzone — Te Marino (calm/relax/peace). Ideal for escaping the hustle and bustle, this zone is tucked behind the non-fiction section on another level, with easy chairs and big windows overlooking a rock garden.
Learn more about the Christchurch and the Parklands libraries at the following websites:
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