New Brighton

Following Shirley we visited the very striking New Brighton Library.

Very striking view and beautiful building. Not a purpose buit library and it felt quite cluttered but lthere were ots of little nooks and casual seating, taking in the panoramic views.

Shirley

What unexpected place to find the library. Shirley library has had a shopping centre and multi-storey car park grow up around it and as an outsider you don't even know it is there until you are upon it but for regular shoppers it is very convenient.

Outside it is fairly non descript but it has nice clear signage, obviously lots of convenient parking, and inside is a very vibrant space.

A circular desk, as most of the branches have had, along one wall and here too a Council customer service desk.

A great feeling of space throughout and lots of little nooks to sit and read or chat.

Take me riding in your car car

On Thursday we had the honour and luxury of been given a guided tour of 3 more of Christchurch's lovely libraries. A big thanks to the Places & Spaces team for being so welcoming and putting their precious time & energy into me!

Even cooler (library cool not normal person cool) we got to see their funky library mobiles.....think "bat mobile" not "mobile library"

South Library

We taxi'd straight over from from Spreydon to South, spookily the furniture colours were similar to those we had for Altona North, it gave us a homely feeling!

The building is striking from the outside and again highlights are the real integration of the outside environment and bringing the green in. As seems to be Chirstchurch's theme the building was long and rectangular, with a cafe and a spacious reading area.

To me the shelving felt quite industrial for the space, looking back at my pics it has been the same everywhere but it feels it here, not sure why.

The building was multi use hosting a learning centre and a Council customer service desk offering residents a "one stop shop" for Council and Community services.

A fantastic addition to the outside is the striking moat, chessboard in the courtyard and external artwork. Only sad thing was that it was a VERY quiet night, an hour from closing and only a handful of customers.

Spreydon

Wednesday evening we taxi'd it over to funky little Spreydon Library where they had made great use of a really unusual building.

Unable to extend out due to heritage on a tree they had revitalised the inside and made good use of the small ground floor space and mezzanine area.

A small space so not a lot to say really, a funky accessible lift, cute little children's area and great outlook onto those trees! Staff were very friendly too.

Library Police NZ

Given the glorious weather we decided to walk back to the hotel from Upper Riccarton and I got the scare of my life...what was this on the other side of the road??? On my ICK!!

I hadn't seen this on the Christchurch website, did they have a second stream of dodgie sub-standard secret libraries? Of course not!

This embarrassment to the library sign, is one of a number of war memorial libaries around the area, run by volunteers and offering limited opening hours. They are sadly in need of a bit of branding and a lesson in curb appeal.

Upper Riccarton

We hit Upper Riccarton at 4.30pm, a perfect time to see the library being shared by all manner of customers. Upper Riccarton is a joint use school and public library, built on the side of the school site.

It was a long building but had a great feeling of light and space and a really good vibe, it also features ESD principles.

The school uses the meeting rooms in the day and the public have the opportunity to hire the meeting rooms in the evening.

There is an exhibition space along one wall, a cafe overlooking the school playing fields and a light and bright reading space at one end.

Great space with a vibrant feeling, being well used by all ages of the community. GREAT SPACE!