22 September 2004

Books Galore For Botany Library

It's raining books at Botany Library this week! Manukau Libraries are pleased to announce thirty thousand new books, magazines, DVDs and CDs are arriving at Botany Library, as the countdown to the new library's opening begins. The library's collection has been sourced from suppliers throughout New Zealand and around the world and is expected to take almost 2 full days to be delivered to the site on Wednesday and Thursday.

The collection has been steadily amassed over the last 6 months while the lengthy processes associated with cataloguing, stock preparation and inventory has been undertaken.

Botany Library Manager, Kim Taunga says "The challenge is to ensure the stock is as fresh as possible so that the latest titles are available. This means that the final few weeks of collection development tend to be very intense.

"The newly prepared stock is arriving packed in 450 boxes, stacked on nearly 30 pallets, and will take over six hours to unload. Placing the books in the correct order in the right areas of the library is expected to take more than two days. Over 700 metres of shelving is currently waiting to take the load."

Kim explains that the thirty thousand items are essentially a start-up collection. "We expect the collection to nearly double over the next 18 months, and become refined in response to the specific needs of the Botany community. The stock includes a balanced mix of leisure reading and standard information resources, with particular focus areas around food, lifestyle and popular culture.

"The focus areas are a response to the Shopping Centre's development of the first floor location as a 'food, fun and film' precinct in anticipation of the Berkeley Cinema opening along with new cafes and restaurants."

Botany Library opens to the public on Wednesday 6th October, with a special family fun day planned for Saturday 9th.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

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