Piha Community Library Trust

Providing a Library Service for the people of Piha, Karekare & Anawhata

Piha Library News

For more information about the Trust see the entry for 26 November 2010 on this page.

The library welcomes community participation.  You can -

• Offer your services and take on the training programme to become a volunteer library assistant.
•  
• Be a "behind the scenes" volunteer, helping out with displays or assisting with events such as the Halloween Party or ANZAC Day remembrance.
• Offer to initiate, or help with, fundraising activities.  Without funding there would be no library and apart from our grant from the Auckland Council to buy library stock, we have to find the money to meet all other expenses, such as insurance, building maintenance, book processing materials, library equipment etc.
• Serve on the trust and contribute to the business of running the library and helping to maintain its service standards.

We want to provide the best possible library services within our means and welcome community contributions.  The excellent library services that we enjoy exist, and will continue to develop, because of the extraordinary efforts by the community to contribute towards creating such a great asset.

For details of the library personnel see the Contact Us page on this website.

10 February 2011

Time to brush up on the poetry and bring out the card making kit! To get in the mood and be inspired come to the Valentines Day Display. Ann Russell has been creative again and has brought together some books to help you wow your Valentine. These books are available for borrowing so don't miss out!

 5 February 2011

To celebrate this year's Waitangi Day there is a display of books relevant to Maori history, New Zealand History and the Treaty of Waitangi at the library. These are all books from our shelves and can be borrowed by library members as usual. Many thanks to Ann Russell (one of our volunteer librarians) for organising this display.

24 January 2011

THREE NEW MEMBERS FOR THE LIBRARY TRUST!

From left:  Gillian Cotton, Simon Stoddart, Gabrielle Lancaster, Alberto Bonini,
Yvonne Dufaur, Bob Harvey, Lynne Towner
Absent: Jill Stotter

14 December 2010

All the volunteer librarians would like to wish our members a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We have plenty of new books and DVDs in the library and would love to see them out being enjoyed over the holidays.

Our holiday season hours are:

Thursday 23rd Dec - 10am - 1pm
Tuesday 28th Dec - Public Holiday CLOSED
Wednesday 29th Dec - 10am - 1pm
Thursday 30th Dec - 10am - 1pm
Saturday 1st Jan - Public Holiday CLOSED
Tuesday 4th Jan - Public Holiday CLOSED
Wednesday 5th Jan - 10am - 1pm

26 November 2010

Please click on the link below for:

Piha Community Library Annual Report 2010 

4 November 2010

Piha Community Library Trust 

Notice of Annual General Meeting

Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Piha Community Library Trust will be held at the Piha Library, on Saturday 20 November 2010 at 2.15 pm.

All adult members of the library are welcome to attend. The Trust will present its annual report and will provide an opportunity for members to give feedback and to offer ideas or suggestions for the library and its future operations.

Tea and coffee will be served at the meeting.

4 November 2010  Piha Library Halloween Party

The Piha Library Halloween Party was held on Saturday afternoon (30th October) and was a great success. 55 Piha children plus parents attended and fun and games were had by all.

Childrens author, Dianne Boles, read to the kids from her book, Witchy Goes Shopping, which is on the shelves at the library.

All the kids were beautifully (and scarily) dressed up which made the judging very difficult but after much deliberation the best costume winners were:

In the 6-12 year age group:

^1st - James Boyce dressed as Harry Potter

4 November 2010 SCHOOL HOLIDAY COMPETITION

During the school holidays (25/9 - 10/10) we asked our younger readers to design a new cover for their favourite book/series/author in the Piha library, and to bring it into the library.

It is time again for Piha Library's much anticipated Children's Halloween Party. Last time over 70 children and their parents enjoyed the party. Come along for Halloween fun and games to be held at the library.

Saturday 30th October - 2.30pm to 4pm.

10 October 2010 MAINTENANCE OF THE LIBRARY BUILDING

If in the early hours of the morning, or in the early evening, you have seen sparks flying under the Library you would have been observing Jim Trubuhovich removing the old galvanised support fittings. Once removed we were pleased to confirm our suspicions that the rust was only on the surface and the fittings were not as bad as some had purported them to be. However we are pleased to say that, thanks to the generosity of others, the Bowmacs have now been replaced with 316 marine grade stainless steel fixtures and fittings.

 A special Thank You to Jim Trubuhovich of Piha Real Estate Limited, for doing the labour free of charge, and also to Lew Lancaster of Stainless Products Limited, for donating the stainless steel fittings.

5 October 2010 SCHOOL HOLIDAY COMPETITION

We are holding a competition over the school holidays for our younger members (aged 5 - 12 years). Throughout the holidays (25/9 - 10/10) we are asking our younger readers to design a new cover for their favourite book/series/author in the Piha library, and to bring it into the library. If they do so they will be entered into a draw to win a book prize. There are two books to be won - one for the winner from each of the age categories (5-8 and 9-12 years). There is an information flyer about the competition available from the library.

Please make sure the entrant's name, age and phone number are written on the back of the entry when you bring it into the library.

25 July 2010 ADULT "NEW BOOKS"

As there is such a huge demand for 'Recent Releases' we are requesting that you consider other members by limiting yourself to two 'New books' at any time.

You will now find all Recent Releases will be identified by a 'New Book' sticker in the top right hand corner of the book. We will be trialling this for a period and if we feel it is not working we may have to, in the future, consider limiting the borrowing period or even charging for any Adult "New Book' 

Thanks for your consideration in this matter.

GOLD STAR BOOKS

In the Library we have many books that have received awards, come highly recommended or are popular because of local content. These are the books that you will soon start to see appearing on the shelves denoted with a 'Gold Star' on their spines.

7 June 2010 YOUNG ADULT READERS' COMPETITION  Borrow a Young Adult Book on a Young Adult Card during the Month of June and go into the draw to win 2 DVD vouchers and a Twilight - Eclipse poster.

31/5/10 Leather Couch up for 'Silent Auction'  For full details, including photos please just Have a look here.  Every bid supports your local Community Library

26 June 2010 Come in and meet the trustees.  We are having a Meet the Trustees Day at the Library - 1pm to 3pm on Saturday, 26th June 2010. Come in and meet the trustees of the recently formed Piha Community Library Trust. The Trustees are John Seton, (Chairman), Glenda Northey, (Secretary-Treasurer),  Alberto Bonini, Gillian Cotton, Vicky Dignan, Yvonne Dufaur, Gabrielle Lancaster, Jill Stotter. This is an opportunity to get to know the faces behind the names. 

2 - 8 May 2010 New Zealand Sign Language Week  Have you ever thought that you should learn Sign Language? Well here is your opportunity. During New Zealand Sign Language week, Ursula Thynne will be holding a taster class at the Piha library. All are welcome to come along to listen, see and learn. Donations go to Deaf Aotearoa.  

THINK SIGN!

 AT

THE PIHA LIBRARY

Saturday May 8^th - 2.30pm - Taster Class

Thursday May 13^th - 4.00pm - Storytime in sign language.

 A gold coin donation to DEAF AOTEAROA would be appreciated.

May - New Zealand Music Month

This month is New Zealand Music Month and the library is celebrating this with a display of books, DVDs and CDs of and by New Zealand musicians and music. Librarians will be playing a selection of New Zealand music CDs for members to listen to while browsing the shelves during the month. Thanks to Amanda Corrigan for setting up this display.

25 April 2010  Anzac Day Commemorations at the library:

 Our national day of remembrance was acknowledged by Piha Community Library volunteers this year by taking part in the wreath laying ceremony at Lion Rock.

 Two of our younger members, helped by Sue Yoeman, (left)one of our library volunteers, laid a wreath at the Lion Rock Anzac ceremony on the morning of Anzac Day.

Anzac Day was also commemorated at Piha library with a table setting holding six items, each item symbolising a different aspect of the sacrifices made by our fallen soldiers. The simple and evocative setting was created by library volunteers, Sue Yoeman and Jill Stotter.

REMEMBER OUR FALLEN COMRADES

 

A sliver of lemon sits on the bread plate, to remind us of their bitter fate.

 

There is salt on the bread place - symbolic of the tears shed by their loved ones.

 

The glass is inverted - for they cannot toast with us tonight.

 

The chair is empty - they are not here.

Have your say: Piha Design Guidelines  On Saturday 27th March, 11am - 2pm at the Piha Library the Auckland Regional Council (ARC) is holding a public open day to discuss ideas and options for the development of design guidelines for ARC parkland at Piha. The ARC recognises that Piha is a place where people can enjoy a natural setting that is relatively "untouched", offers informal recreation in a large natural setting and respite from the stresses of everyday life. The aim of the Piha Design Guidelines is to ensure that these qualities are conserved and enhanced while continuing to provide for the well-being of people who visit the park. The guidelines will cover how park assets, such as seating, signage, tracks and buildings will be developed, designed and maintained. They will offer "one stop shop" best practice guidance for park staff and anyone who does work on the park. ARC officers will be at the library from 11am to 1pm to talk you through displays and to receive your feedback. Feedback from the open day will be incorporated into the final draft. If you are unable to attend the open day, information will be available on the ARC website www.arc.govt.nz from 30 March 2010.

08/02/10  PIHA COMMUNITY LIBRARY AFTERSCHOOL SESSION TRIAL - Piha Library will be open Thursday afternoons 3.30pm to 5.30pm beginning Thursday February 18th. Everyone is welcome. We especially hope to provide families with school-aged children greater opportunity to access the Piha Community Library collection and learning resources. This afternoon session will be trialled for the first school term and will only be continued the following term if there is sufficient interest. We would like to encourage all families with school-aged children to make use of this session, and welcome any ideas and feedback on how it could be developed in the future to meed the needs of local families.

Yvonne Dufaur:

" Her life is a testament to the strength of character that gets forged in this community.  She has worked tirelessly for 11 years to develope the Piha Library.  Her efforts have taken it from a "broken down shed" to a well stocked and well used facility which serves Piha, Karekare and Anawhata.  In the process, she has become a cornerstone of those communities and a respected figure on the West Coast" 

R.A. Harvey QSO. JP.  Mayor Waitakere City

Photos: Above: Yvonne with the superb gift from the librarians to her at her farewell dinner.  This is a beautifully bound 'history' of the Piha Library under Yvonne's governance.

Left: The letter to Yvonne, in the book, from Bob Harvey, Mayor of Waitakere.

22/11/09  SITUATION VACANT : LIBRARY ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT  

The Piha Community Library is offering, on a contract basis, a position for a part-time Administrative Assistant.  The job is interesting and varied and requires a strong level of computer skills.  This is a great chance for someone who is interested in books and libraries to learn about library management. The applicant will need to be prepared to work flexibly and take a level of responsibility for important areas of the library's administration.  

23/10/09 Celebrating 10th birthday of New Building

A great celebration centred around Piha's children and their favourite book character.   To see more photos please Go here

Left: One of Piha's young listening to a librarian reading.

20/10/09  Great News! 

 The Piha Community Library has realised its long-held intention and set up a trust to ensure that the future governance and management of the library is taken care of.

We hope our many supporters will call in on Saturday after 2.30pm and have a glass of bubbles with us at our party celebrating the 10^th anniversary of the new library building as well as the creation of the Piha Community Library Trust and our ongoing commitment to assistance from our Council.

10/3/09 Easter at the Piha Community Library:  Colouring in Competition (for the children!!)  Return the completed colouring in form, below,  to the Library any day up until 1:30pm Saturday 11th of April.  If you are unable to print then pick one up from the library.

• Midday - 2:00pm: Easter Bunny, Face painting and games.  (koha for face painting)
• 2:00pm Colouring in competition prize giving
• THEN the Easter Egg Hunt

Left: 1 - 4 year olds; middle5 - 8 year olds and right 9 - 12 year olds. 

These are thumbnails - click on them for big images to print on normal printer paper

24/2/09  Dear Friends of the Piha Library,

Several items of interest and information for you.

Future of the Piha Library:   For some time now the Piha library committee has been informally discussing the problem of the growing needs of the library and the difficulties of containing everything within the present space available.   Suggestions that one of the alternatives for the post office may be to either attach it to the library or within the area of land around the library has prompted us to ensure that we exercise proper guardianship of the library and its premises for the future and have a more serious look at just how we could meet future needs.

A meeting organized for us by a WCC Councillor, comprising representatives of the library and senior WCC staff from involved departments,  has clarified the situation and the steps that would be necessary if we are to undertake some expansion. Our meeting was very productive and we were given good advice by council people. We have had confirmed that the library building is right on the boundary of the footprint of land leased for library purposes on three sides, and there is only a very small space still unused on the south side.

Therefore any expansion would need a resource consent if we are to need more land on the northern or western sides of the building, and the process to do this would be fairly lengthy as it would necessitate a council assessment process prior to a resource consent.

To start the ball rolling,  we have had a suggested plan drawn up of a possible option.  We will display this in the library for comment,  ideas and discussion.   We have put an item to this effect on our website under the News section and the plan and some explanations and a call for comment will be in the library from Tuesday 23 February.   Next time you are in the library, please take the opportunity to have a look and give us your reactions and your ideas and comments we want the community to be fully conversant and supportive of any expansion that we undertake. We are conscious of the time and effort that we will need to take to bring any plans to fruition, so it is important to us that we consult the community widely and know that we have support for what we are suggesting.

More bins:

With more and more picture books being added to our collection, our present bins are overflowing and we have had to order 2 new bins to add to the 4 already in the library. One is a standard bin similar to the present bins, the other is raised up with slots underneath for the oversized picture books. The bins will cost us over $700 expensive but necessary and, unfortunately, will make our children¹s area even more crowded. This may mean that when the bins arrive in a couple of weeks we will need to remove the present large table to give us sufficient space.

19/2/09 Message for library supporters:

For some time now the Piha Library has been considering its plans for the future.  As we continue to grow and our membership continues to expand, we can see that the future must include plans for expansion of our premises.  If this is to happen, we must consider that any future options must include consideration of keeping any expansion in total harmony with our wonderful library building design.

To this extent we are alarmed that there is a suggestion that the Piha Post Office function should be attached in any way to the Piha Library, thus limiting our options.  There will only be one library building in Piha, and that is on our present site, whereas there are other options for a post office.

If you would like to see the proposed plans for Piha library's future, you can view an initial sketch plan at the library.  If you are supportive of our plans, please take the opportunity to support us by signing our letter of intent that the area should be set aside for library purposes only.

25/1/09: Library Report to AGM of the Piha Residents and Ratepayers Association

I am making this report to the 2009 AGM of the Association with a real sense of disappointment at the course of events that have transpired over the last few months.

I know that the Piha, Karekare and Anawhata people that the library serves will endorse the fact that over the years the Library Committee has demonstrated its good guardianship of the community library facility and has continued to make sound decisions to ensure the care of the building and the maintenance of a high standard of loan material.  Our small band of volunteers have given an extraordinary amount of their time and talents to continue the library service, to improve and increase our acquisitions, to provide special events and to plan future developments to meet the needs of a growing community and ever-increasing numbers of library patrons.

The Library Committee feels, therefore, that the actions of the R & R Committee in failing to consult with us on our views on the suggestion that the library could be added to for a post office service is not only discourteous, but also is dismissive of the responsible attitude that we have always taken to ensure the best possible service to our members.  Because we have always taken our responsibilities seriously, we have naturally been looking at strategic planning of services for the future and we have been considering the very real need for expansion as our premises struggle to find sufficient room to house our collection and meet the needs of members, particularly those of our children.

Had the R& R Committee met with us to discuss this issue, it could have been pointed out that the lease of the area from the WCC states that the area is for library purposes only and they would have learned that the footprint of land on which the building stands has only a very small amount of unused area which will certainly be required to meet the expansion needs of the library in the future.   We would also point out that there are a number of options for the placement of a postal service, but the library has one option for expansion only, the very small piece of unused leasehold on the south side of the building.  It is largely to meet the community?s growing library needs that the Library Committee has managed over the last period to put aside funds for future expansion.

We trust that in the coming year a spirit of co-operation and consultation will make for better understanding and consideration of library services.

To move on to more positive things.  In the last year we have spent a great deal of money to maintain and improve the building.  The library has been fully repainted and recently we have installed expensive gates at the library entranceway.  This has been gratefully received by parents in particular, who can now come to the library and take part in the story-reading sessions, or take time to choose their own books, knowing that the child-proof gates keep their children safely in the library area.

Because of our premises being severely strained for space, we have also purchased and had erected a small shed under the building for storage purposes, and had some steps and a pathway put in to enable access.  Expanded storage needs in the future will probably require additional use of space under the library premises.  The expansion of the children?s area to allow more space for activities for junior members is another matter that we are currently considering.

Two of our highlights for the year have been our wonderful Anzac Day display which was very well received by the community, and our very successful Halloween Party for the children.  This latter event saw 70 children and many parents crowded into the library and under the gazebo erected over the crowded deck for fun, games, a magician and drinks with a suitably decorated cake.  The Halloween decorations were really wondrous and created a marvelous atmosphere for a very happy crowd of children.

Both of these events, plus the other displays during the year and at Christmas took endless hours of preparations and planning.  These activities have been led by Gabrielle Lancaster, with a small team of helpers.  The amount of volunteer time and artistic expertise given by Gabrielle to these projects is incredible and we all owe her a huge vote of thanks, and a vote of thanks also to the librarians who have also given so much time to this work.

With the increase again this year in the grant for acquisitions from the Waitakere City Council we have again been able to provide continual new material.  We thank the Council for its support and generosity and our thanks too to Jill Stotter for her many hours of work in selecting and ordering books, and to Mary Mead for her purchases of DVDs for the library.  Again, many hours of voluntary time has gone into this important area of our work.

Libraries of this size do not operate without a great deal of administration and behind-the-scenes work.  To all the librarians my grateful thanks for their continued dedication and their very real commitment to providing the community with this very popular community service.

Yvonne Dufaur - Library Manager

22/1/09  New Piha Library Gates:

Just before Christmas we had the new (and expensive!) gates installed at the entranceway to the library deck. For some time we, and many of our parents, have been anxious about the possibility of children running out onto the road from the library area.  An accident to one of our library children would be too awful, so we decided to install toddler-proof gates for safety purposes.

Parents have been delighted with the result.  They can now come and spend a relaxed time searching for their own requirements without having to rush back and forth to restrain lively children, and we are delighted too and relieved that the deck can be a safe place for children to play without our having to keep a close watch for escapees!

We normally keep one of the gates open for easy access, and ask that parents or grandparents close the gates if they bring small children with them to the library.

Yvonne Dufaur - Library Manager  

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