249 days ago

Libraries popularity grows in new yearly stats

The Team from Whangarei District Council

New stats show Whangārei libraries are thriving community hubs! 📔

Library Manager Paula Urlich says it’s really encouraging to see the use of libraries continuing to increase. “In the past, people thought that libraries would become obsolete with the rise of eBooks. In fact, we’re finding the opposite; people still want to read physical books and the borrowing of physical books is increasing at a faster rate than that of eBooks.”

The average number of items borrowed per month, over the past year is 66,000 and average monthly visitors to the libraries is 32,000. This is an increase from the previous year, which saw an average of 63,000 items borrowed per month and 31,000 average monthly visitors.

📸 Picture: Library staff are still buzzing from the Night Café Whangārei at the Central Library during the Love it Here Festival. Performances, tutorials, tours, board games and writing competitions generated a warm, inviting atmosphere where visitors could hang out and ‘just be’.

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More messages from your neighbours
11 hours ago

Poll: Do you set New Year’s resolutions?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

🎉 2026 is almost here!

We’re curious ... how do you welcome it?
Do you set resolutions, follow special traditions, or just go with the flow?

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Do you set New Year’s resolutions?
  • 10.3% Yes! New Year, New Me
    10.3% Complete
  • 20.1% Yes - but I rarely stick to them
    20.1% Complete
  • 69.6% Nah - not for me
    69.6% Complete
184 votes
7 days ago

Poll: Is it ok to regift something that you have been given?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

🎁 Holiday Gift Chat!

Do you ever regift?
What’s your take on asking for a receipt if a gift doesn’t fit?

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Is it ok to regift something that you have been given?
  • 78.7% Yes! It's better to regift what I don't need
    78.7% Complete
  • 21.3% No. It's the thought and effort that matters
    21.3% Complete
1254 votes
1 day ago

Simply Google “Inclusive World NZ”

Glen from Central Whangarei

✨ This is your invitation ✨

Simply Google “Inclusive World NZ” and head to the Digital Library tab.

There you’ll find a wide range of downloadable resources, including children’s flipbooks, disability awareness flipbooks, posters, and more — all created to support inclusion, understanding, and representation 💛

Inclusive World NZ is owned and created by our registered charity, Children with Disability NZ, so every download helps support our mission to build a more inclusive Aotearoa for everyone.

Because inclusion starts with understanding 🌱