New Zealand: Proposed City Budget Includes Service Cuts at Most of Auckland’s Public Libraries
Most libraries will have reduced opening hours, while some others will be extended, in a bid to save $1.1 million in Auckland Council’s proposed budget.
The core service is not spared in the 10-year budget, which also targets a 7 per cent cutback in park maintenance. The city’s 55 libraries will remain open on Saturdays, but Whangaparaoa, Mahurangi East and Birkenhead or Northcote will be closed on Sundays.
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In the past year, four new library buildings have opened, at Waiheke, Ranui, Te Atatu Peninsula and Devonport, which will lose three and a half hours of service at its new $7.8 million library.
The council also plans to introduce a $1 fine for people who don’t pick up a requested book.
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Filed under: Libraries, News, Public Libraries
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.