7 Reasons We Love Timaru District Libraries

Libraries, like the Timaru District Libraries, are portals to knowledge and culture and they play a role in preserving the culture of reading and learning. It is a sanctuary for friendliness and community spirit.

Coming to Timaru as a migrant and newcomer years ago, these are the values that the library in Timaru offered us.

But like everything else, libraries are also moving in the digital worldwide web to reach more people. The Timaru District Libraries are no exception.

The libraries in the Timaru District are not only a place to borrow books. They are a community hub that caters to diverse users.

You can still enjoy the good old fashioned way of borrowing books and sitting in the sanctuary of silence that is the library.

But Timaru complemented these “book taverns” with online features and engaging activities to cater to the branching needs of the ever-changing community.

The good news is, whatever your age or preference we are sure that the Timaru district libraries can be your own personal learning haven. Here are seven things you can do there:

1. Bring your kids along

If you think that libraries are going to bore kids to death, Timaru begs to differ. Besides books, the libraries are home to different fun activities for the young ones.

The Temuka Kid’s Library, for example, hosts Kids Construction Time every Friday afternoons. This is a time where kids go crazy about making crafts or constructing through Legos and inventor kits.

All libraries in Timaru also have playing areas where the children can have fun.

2. Join activities

Timaru District Libraries almost always have happenings up its sleeve. You can sign up to attend sessions like School Holiday Programme for Kids or story-telling events. They also initiate donation drives for a cause (like the Bread Tags for Wheelchairs in South Africa) and book sales.

Want to know how a library operates? Join scheduled library tours. Timaru libraries literally do not run out of things to do!

3. Read books, feel books

If you are one of those who savour the smell of books old and new, then you can enjoy reading and feeling those books. The friendly librarians will help you find the book that you need to immerse in.

4. Experience Timaru District Libraries Online!

If you prefer to read good books in your own home using your electronic devices, you can still access the district libraries’ vast collection of reading materials at https://library.timaru.govt.nz/home.

The eLibrary has the following applications to make your experience easier:

• AudioBook cloud is perfect if you like listening more than reading.
• Borrow Box lets you browse and borrow eBooks and eAudiobooks.
•  Kanopy is an online streaming video service that gives you a variety of films and documentaries.
• OverDrive boasts of a repository of more than 10,000 eBook and eAudiobook titles ranging from fiction to non-fiction for different ages.
• Wheelers ePlatform features a collection of 5000 eBooks from New Zealand and Australia that you can also borrow.

5. Have full access to Digital Resources

The digital library database of Timaru gives you complete access to articles, journals, and other worldwide resources.

If you go to the Timaru District Libraries’ website, you can also check resources by category or alphabetically. The press reader also allows simultaneous access to more than 5000 newspapers from New Zealand.

6. Watch movies through the website

Besides documentaries, Timaru’s online library also offers various movies, most of them those adapted from beloved books. You can find that the site has separate pages for general users, kids, and teens so finding age-appropriate movies will not be difficult.

7. Request a book

Another good thing about Timaru’s libraries is that if you can’t find a book that you are looking for in the physical library or online collection, you can ask them to buy it!

It is comforting to know that our district libraries are adapting to this digital generation. Also, it is equally amazing and a blessing to be in a town where the library is flourishing.

The Timaru District Libraries is one great reason we LOVE Timaru!