Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011

This will be my final article for the year and while many of us are a bit alarmed at how quickly the year has passed, I think we are all looking forward to the Christmas break. The Library will be closing at 4:00pm on the 24th of December and remain closed for the next four days. We will reopen at 10:00am on the 29th (it being a Wednesday) and stay open until 5:00pm. On Thursday the 30th we will be open from 9:00am to 5:00pm and on the 31st we will be open from 9:00am to 4:00. We will then reopen at 10:00am on Wednesday the 5th of January and normal hours will recommence from this date. The Wairarapa Archive will close on the 24th of December and reopen on Wednesday the 5th of January 2011.


While some members of staff will be taking their holidays over the Christmas period we will still have plenty of staff on board to deliver our core services. We extend our due dates so that no books are due back when the library is closed, and if you do need to renew a book while you are away you can always give us a call on 370 6253. Our web page doesn’t get to have a holiday so you can continue to access all the online services throughout the holidays.

The holidays are a great opportunity to catch up on reading and while we would appreciate your keeping them out of the sand and surf, books are great to take away with you. They are portable, don’t need to be plugged in or recharged, and best of all encourage the quiet rest and relaxation we all benefit from at this time of year. In response to increased demand we have been making a concerted effort to purchase, catalogue and process more fiction titles and currently have over a thousand new books coming available for our borrowers.

We have new books to cater to all interests and tastes including new fiction such as Patricia Cornwell’s Port Mortuary, Bryce Courtenay’s Fortune Cookie and Ken Follett’s Fall of Giants. Have a look on our issue desk for a list of suggested summertime reading and a list of the top 50 books as borrowed by Masterton Library patrons this year. And while we are pushing fiction we also have many wonderful non-fiction titles coming available and hundreds of books for the kids and teenagers, particularly to meet the demand of the Summer Reading Programme.

The Big Bush Read Summer Reading Programme is a big focus for us at the moment and while there is no reporting in available between Christmas and New Years, the action starts again on the 5th of January, gearing up to the grand finale on the 26th. As part of the Summer Reading Programme, and thanks to the sponsorship of the Eastern and Central Community Trust, we also have entertainers visiting the library during the holidays, and all are welcome to attend their performances. On the 21st of December we had Zappo: the Magical Bush Ranger and next year we will be having Craig Smith – the Wonky Donkey man at 2pm on the 6th of January; and music and stories from the hilarious Mary Kippenberger and Peter Charlton-Jones at 2 pm on the 10th .

The summer break, and the increased down time it hopefully allows, makes it an ideal time for people from outside of the Masterton district to subscribe to join the library. There are three options available: the casual membership which costs $7 per annum and $1 for each item borrowed, a six month subscription which costs $35, or a twelve month subscription for $65. The amount of books you think you will borrow will determine which is the more economical option. Borrowers who take out the six or twelve month subscription do not have to pay any further charges, but all options do incur the usual rental charges for items such as Hot Picks, CDs and DVDs.

Books are great whatever the weather but if it turns a bit inclement our DVDs of films and television programmes may provide some much needed entertainment, particularly for younger borrowers. If you are going to be doing some long-distance driving over the holidays you may like to consider borrowing some of our talking books. We have titles suitable for all ages and they are a great way to make the miles pass by.

Next year will see the return of our much loved programmes such as the Rainbow Kids pre-school programme, Seniors Celebrate, and the Masterton Library Book Club. We have some exciting new initiatives that will be coming online next year and I will be able to expand on these in the New Year. Until then, and on behalf of the staff at the Masterton Library and Wairarapa Archive, I’d like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Jon Adams
Community Outreach Librarian
Masterton District Library