THE PRESS SATURDAY, MAY 26, 1984. A regional public library

Press, 26 May 1984, Page 18

THE PRESS SATURDAY, MAY 26, 1984. A regional public library

Renewed efforts to provide Christchurch with a truly metropolitan library service deserve success. The essential ingredient will be the co-operation of all the local bodies in the region. The idea of sharing library services in Christchurch was raised in 1976. It came to a stop about a year later, and foundered because sectional interests and petty jealousies divided the local authorities that should have been working together. The proposal has had a more auspicious revival at a recent meeting of mayors and council chairmen of the region. The suggestion that the Canterbury United Council could run a metropolitan or regional library service is reported to have received almost unanimous support from the meeting. Local body boundaries in the Christchurch area may be historically respectable; but they are currently absurd. They preclude the economical and effective provision of many of the amenities and services that are the responsibilities of local bodies, or they obstruct the fair distribution of benefits and costs. Public libraries are an important part of these services. Here can be found an example of the penalties that local body fragmentation can impose. The Heathcote County Council learned recently that it would no longer qualify for the National Library Extension Service, which provides it with books. The reason given for this decision is that the library at Heathcote Valley is too close to other libraries provided by Christchurch City. Apparently, the libraries at Rangiora and Kaiapoi will suffer in the same way. The users of these libraries obviously would benefit from a truly regional service. This service, like the present services around the city, would still have access to National Library stocks through the usual exchange system. The combined resources of the city libraries would still be able to put a huge stock and variety of books into the hands of everyone in Christchurch at minimum expense. The establishment of a regional library service would moderate the damage done by local boundaries. Even greater benefits might be had from a regional library service that embraced all the areas that look to Christchurch as a metropolitan centre and

perhaps even the local services of the Country Library Service. Administratively, it would be much simpler to wait for an effective form of regional government. This might mean waiting for a very long time. Experience in regional co-operation in supplying a library service might well make local bodies more aware of the advantages of more comprehensive plans to rationalise the provision of local services. The Canterbury United Council has tried to align itself with a cause, or take a role that would convince the public that the council does a useful job and has good reason to exist. So far it has failed; but if parochialism and mistrust can be overcome in the provision of a regional library service, some real progress will have been made. The council’s present work, mainly in planning, happens to be one of those jobs that does not capture the general good will of the public. A more visible and personal task would benefit the council; more important, it would benefit the public. The members of some smaller local bodies may think that they see in the proposal an element of empire-building by the Christchurch City Council’s Canterbury Public Library. The simple fact is that many people who live outside the boundaries of Christchurch City already use the Canterbury Public Library as a regional library, though at a cost above rates. A consolidation of the city libraries would enable a much wider rotation of books and a more ready exchange of books on request. All this must add to the convenience of readers, and save time and money on transport. Establishing a regional library need not be seen as a step towards a monolithic central institution. Indeed, the mark of success would be that consolidation would improve both central and local libraries. It should not be difficult to reassure the smaller local bodies that a regional library would not be simply an overgrown Canterbury Public Library. The efforts of the Canterbury Public Library to provide effective services in suburban areas of Christchurch City are surely a sign of what can be done by any truly regional library. An extension would allow the library, once more, to live up to its name.