Plans for a new-look library at Franklin: The Centre are taking shape to coincide with Auckland Council staff moving to the facility from the nearby Pukekohe council service centre.
Among the changes are a new community meeting room on the ground floor where the hairdresser is now, and the conversion of some upstairs spaces into workspace for Franklin Local Board and its staff.
Only some staff from the nearby service centre will be accommodated at the library, with others being housed in upstairs offices and meeting room areas.
However, some of the upstairs space will still be available for hire, including the large meeting rooms, and The Gallery and Weta Workshop areas will be retained for public use.
Library manager Sue Waldmeyer says the sale of the Manukau Road site coincided with the library’s refurbishment plans.
“The designers are looking at our floor plan and working out how to maximise the space so that we get not only a fresh look but a layout that better meets the needs of our customers.
“It’s going to be good to have a one-stop council business site, and we are certainly hoping that people who have come to register their dog or pay the rates will use the library too,” Sue says.
The revamped site should be more flexible, with some shelving able to be easily moved to create open spaces where activities can take place.
“The days when libraries were only for checking out books are long gone. We have lots of community activities and groups using the library and that won’t change.
“Because we have a long lending service over summer the shelves have been a bit depleted and that has led to people thinking we are getting rid of all the books, but that won’t happen.
“People have access to the millions of books in the entire Auckland collection at any time anyway, through our excellent request system.”
Work is not expected to begin until the middle of this year.
