END OF THE ROAD FOR BOOK BUS?
Christchurch’s mobile library was deemed a ‘‘lifesaver’’ after the earthquakes but the city council now wants to scrap it to save costs, leaving isolated residents unable to easily access books.
Anne Brown loves reading, but at
93 she relies on a mobile library bus to bring the books to her.
The Russley Village resident is one of many users of the $91,000 per year service the Christchurch City Council is proposing to scrap as part of its next 10-year budget.
With key services such as post shops and banks shutting down, pensioners like Brown are upset at the thought of losing the mobile library that keeps their brains ‘‘agile’’ while unable to drive about town.
Her village is one of 19 locations the bus visits each week.
Her former Canterbury University academic husband Colin is in
24-hour care in the same village, so Brown chooses his books – usually about history and biographies – to take to him on a Monday afternoon. ‘‘The library is one of the really lovely things we just enjoy so much.’’
The librarian often brought them books she knew they would like, and helped them find large print books.
‘‘I do hope it carries on. Let’s save the bus.’’
Noel Strack, 95, and his wife Valerie, 92, found the library a vital way to keep their minds active – particularly with failing sight and hearing, and an inability to drive or catch the bus.
Without mental stimulation, it led to elderly people becoming depressed and withdrawn, he said.
‘‘When we heard they were thinking of closing the library, I thought ‘Oh golly, that’s another thing’.’’
Russley Village manager Tim Dearsley said the village’s residents, aged 70 and up, could be found waiting at the road for the library’s arrival.
Losing it would be another thing for them to come to terms with, he said.
Mount Pleasant mum Kylie Kamo had been using the service to foster her three children’s passion for reading for 10 years.
‘‘It’s a really cool community connection where everyone meets once a week to chat about books and say ‘hello’.
‘‘The bus visits the local school every Tuesday, which was invaluable because there was no nearby library in the hilltop suburb.
‘‘It was also brilliant during the earthquake period ... a real lifesaver when so many libraries were gone.’’
It offered a personal touch at a time when main libraries were becoming automated.
‘‘I just know it will never come back once it’s gone.’’
Her daughter, Ana, 10, said she loved that she could put books on hold and they would ‘‘turn up right outside my school’’.
Christchurch City Council head of libraries Carolyn Robertson said the mobile library van – a donated diesel Mercedes Sprint due for replacement next year – visited rest homes, social housing and areas a long distance from local libraries.
Its last vehicle was replaced in December 2012. It was proposed the service would be discontinued from July next year to coincide with the retirement of the current bus. She knew many customers valued the service but the council would explore alternative ways to meet their needs if it was discontinued.
This could include an outreach and learning service to rest homes, prisons, special needs centres, preschools, and schools, attending a range of community events, finding relatives to collect books on behalf, and group library visits.
Submissions on the council’s long-term plan close on Sunday. Submitters would be able to speak to the council at hearings next month.