As the lockdown started in March, Wellington City Libraries welcomed over 1,110 new members, a 300% increase compared to 2019.
The number of people using eResources remained high throughout, averaging 10,000 eBooks issued and 5,000 reserves per week. Audiobooks averaged over 5,000 issues and 2,000 reserves per week.
Compared to early March 2019 the average number of ebooks issued was around 6,000, with 1,800 reserves. Audiobooks for the same time last year sat around 3,000 issues and 1,000 reserves.
“With Miramar Library opening 27 May, and Island Bay and He Matapihi opening 2 June, all 13 branches will have reopened – but with Level 2 restrictions there is still a lot of online activity going on,” says Laurinda Thomas, Wellington City Council’s Libraries and Community Spaces Manager.
“We are not running any face-to-face group activities under Alert Level 2, and our hours are a bit different from normal, so check our website before you visit. In the meantime, we are streaming our popular programmes such as Storytimes and Baby Rock & Rhyme, live on Facebook from Mondays to Saturdays, and the recorded Storytimes are available on the Kids pages of our website.
“We are currently planning for Alert Level 1, and we’re hoping that will see the return of many of our much loved programmes like Baby Rock & Rhyme to our libraries.”
Michelle Obama’s ‘Becoming’ was one of the most popular adult eBook and Audiobook over the past two months, and the Harry Potter series remained the most popular Audiobook for children, including the foreign language editions – although Horrid Henry was taking over from Harry in the eBooks stakes.
Such high levels of engagement with our library services during lockdown is reassuring for Councillor Fleur Fitzsimons, Portfolio Leader for Libraries.
There has been a library in Wellington for over a hundred years and the record use by residents during the lockdown shows the huge value and trust Wellingtonians place in library services today. We are so lucky to have such committed staff running our city’s libraries.
“The libraries of 2020 are not just about books – it’s audio, visual, historic, futuristic, online, offline, and for public events. Now that our branches are reopening, they’re also demonstrating what an important public space they are for residents as well.”
To meet the required social distancing for staff and customers Wellington City Libraries have introduced a number of systems to adhere to the Alert Level 2 guidelines, says Mayor Andy Foster.
“We know everyone loves our libraries, but we ask visitors to limit their time to 30 minutes to let everyone have a chance to pop in while we’re still operating under Level 2 guidelines.
The Rippl app is in place too, so make sure you register through that or manually while we continue to use contact tracing systems for the health and safety of our staff and customers.”
Top 10 from Kanopy (April)
1 Ex Libris
2 The Dressmaker
3 The Phone Call
4 Carol
5 Kedi
6 Stash Short Film Festival: Comedy
7 Bobbie the Bear
8 The Trip to Spain
9 Bauhaus: The Face of the 20th Century
10 I Am Not Your Negro
Top 5 from Beamafilm (April)
1 Catherine The Great
2 Un Village Francais
3 Book Club
4 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
5 The Name of The Rose
Top 10 Adult and Children ebooks and audio (April)
using the QR codes.
“Under Alert level 2 all libraries will remain open for normal hours, with a few changes to keep everyone safe and able to use our spaces,” says Laurinda Thomas, Libraries and Community Spaces Manager. “This includes encouraging everyone to follow the social distancing, use hand sanitiser and wear masks.”
Each year during May it is always New Zealand Music Month, but 2020 is an unusual one due to the COVID-19. It is forcing artists to find new ways of working and connecting with audiences, and there are a surprising number of things still happening. Check out the 
