tech time

Children’s Event Schedule over the Summer

Stephen Clothier

Kia ora koutou! The summer holidays are a great time for you to relax, spend some time with whānau, and bask in the sunshine with a good book. Our librarians sometimes like to do this as well, so there will be some changes to our regularly-scheduled events and programmes during Christmas, New Year’s, and January. You can find out where and when everything is happening at the Event Calendar, or the children’s What’s On webpage, but here are the basics for you:

Baby Rock and Rhyme:

Our rockers and rhymers will be taking a break at most sites from the 11th of December, and making a glorious return from the 24th of January. However, if you’re itching for that musical fix in your life, the wonderful team at Te Awe Library on Brandon Street will keep running Baby Rock and Rhyme until the 23rd of December, and return on the 9th of January. Karori and Cummings Park Libraries will resume from the 7th of February.

Preschool Storytime and Kōhunga Kōrero

These will run until the 11th of December at most sites for all your storytelling needs, and our storytellers will be returning from the 24th of January. At Te Awe Library, Preschool Storytime will be running right up until Christmas, and will be back from the 9th of January. At Karori, Cummings Park and Khandallah Libraries, storytime will return from the 7th of February.

LEGO® programmes:

Some Let’s Go LEGO® and LEGO® Time programmes will be cancelled over December and January, and some will keep running. It’s best to check the event calendar to see what’s on where.

Term-time programmes:

Our term-time programmes including Code Club, Tech Time, and CRAFTerschool will mostly be starting up again after Waitangi Day 2023, to give you all time to adjust to being back at school before diving back in to library events. Check the event calendar to be sure!

Don’t forget that our Summer Reading Adventure is running until the 31st of January 2023! Visit this page to learn more and sign up now. There are also plenty of special holiday events happening for children and families during the festive season — visit our blog post to find out more!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact your local library, or you can email the Children’s Librarian to find out more.

Children’s Programmes Returning at Orange!

Stephen Clothier

Warning: this post is intended to be read by parents and other adults. Kids read on at your peril!

Kia ora koutou! We are so excited to let you know that next week, from the 7th of June, some of our popular children’s programmes are returning to our libraries! It’s been some time since we have been able to run these events in a consistent way for you all, so we thought we’d lay out the current schedule for you below. We can’t wait to see you there!

With COVID -19 still in the community, please remember that all of these days and times are subject to staff availability, and we may need to change them from time to time. The library’s event calendar will always have the right days and times!

We’re so excited to be welcoming back our Storytimes and other events for tamariki and their whānau!

What’s on and where?

Here is the current programmes schedule for Wellington City Libraries. We’ll be adding to this over the coming weeks, so keep checking back or subscribe to our eNewsletter for the most up-to-date info:

Arapaki (Manners St) Library

Cummings Park Library

He Matapihi (Molesworth St) Library

Johnsonville Library

Karori Library

Mervyn Kemp (Tawa) Library

Miramar Library

Newtown Library

Ruth Gotlieb (Kilbirnie) Library

Te Awe (Brandon St) Library

Wadestown Library

Frequently-Asked Questions

Do I need to wear a mask while attending an event at the library?

Yes — if you are over 12 years of age, you must wear a mask while visiting one of our libraries, including while you are attending a library event. Our staff will also remain masked. For more information, please visit our COVID-19 FAQs page.

Why haven’t you restarted every programme you used to run pre-COVID?

We do aim to bring our wonderful programmes back across the whole library network, but we’ve chosen to restart at our larger branches first so that we can take the opportunity to give newer staff some valuable experience working with their colleagues before they take that knowledge back to their home library to share with their community. Keep an eye on our event calendar and social media platforms to keep up to date with programmes resuming at our other locations.

I feel uncomfortable visiting if I know there is going to be a large group of people there. What are you doing to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19?

At all times we are adhering to New Zealand Government guidelines for the running of events in public venues. We will be continuing, as far as possible, to encourage physical distancing between groups of attendees; we will continue to require the use of facemasks for those visiting our libraries; and we will be carefully cleaning spaces and equipment used for our public programmes between sessions. You can help too, by ensuring that you stay at home if you or your child are feeling unwell or have recently been in contact with a COVID-positive person. If we all work together, we can continue to keep our community safe!

I still don’t think I will come to storytime in person just yet. Is there some way our whānau can still participate in library activities without physically coming to a library?

You’re in luck! On our YouTube channel, thanks to the generosity of New Zealand publishers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, you can find playlists of special storytimes and Baby Rock and Rhyme sessions to keep your whānau entertained without needing to come to the library. Also, the Johnsonville Library Facebook page is a great place to find videos for sensory activities, and musical and crafty sessions to keep your little ones engaged.

I would like some more information about a programme at my local library. Who should I ask?

You can always get directly in touch with your local library by giving them a call or by emailing us. Alternatively, you are welcome to get in touch with the Children’s and Youth Services Coordinator directly with your queries.