The Oamaru Public Library and Council Service Centre is now the place for in-person rates, registrations and application inquiries for the Waitaki District Council but Leave Our Libraries Alone (Lola) spokeswoman Glenys Robinson said libraries should be left as a "non-commercial space".
"The financial transactions taking place in the middle of the library compromise the position of a library being a space dedicated to free provision of educational and recreational resources," she said.
Lola was formed as a lobby group last August against potential changes proposed by the council’s "transformation" at the library.
Ms Robinson said aside from the lack of privacy and "added noise" in the library, having the council HQ based in the library had an adverse effect on trained librarians.
WDC arts, culture and libraries manager Chloe Searle said she was not aware of extra noise being raised as an issue.
"As an open-plan library with a variety of uses we work hard to balance the needs of visitors wanting a quiet space, and space for our own programmes that sometimes generate noise, and where possible use other spaces if noise is likely to be an issue," she said.
However, Ms Robinson said four library staff members had resigned and two had been reassigned to other council activities.
Chief executive Alex Parmley said the library was now managed by the art, culture and libraries manager. The facility is staffed by four people in the librarian role, filling three full-time equivalent roles with two people job-sharing.
Mr Parmley said 12 people were employed on casual contracts as customer liaison officers who work across the council’s "customer service functions" including at the Oamaru Public Library.
A customer service manager and customer liaison officers were responsible for training other staff on how to use the new digital systems, accept and process applications and field inquiries and support the customer, he said.
Ms Robinson said "crossover training" was causing extra work on existing staff.
Several people online who went to pay council fees at the library complained of "long wait times", "stressed" staff, and no privacy for people making personal, financial transactions, plus a lack of parking spaces as issues with headquarters being based at the library instead of the council offices.
Ms Robinson also queried the safety and security of library staff .
In February this year the council went into lockdown after a threat of violence from a member of public to council staff.
Responding, Mr Parmley said should that happen the library would be locked down in the same manner as HQ was.
He said the broader transformation programme was about making the organisation leaner and more cost-effective, while improving access and the level of customer service.
"Permanent FTE numbers have been reduced by 8.9% in the last year.
"This brings it to around 192.3 FTE, or a similar level to around 2021 and is the first reduction in FTE numbers in nearly a decade," he said.
Ms Robinson, a former librarian, questioned why the council had not "simply opened the council headquarters front desk on Saturday morning, rather than this huge transformation, loss of expertise and general disruption to library service".
Mr Parmley said the transformation was a "whole organisation programme" including a different way of delivering for customers.
"It is not just about the library," he said.
The council was also working towards introducing similar access to services at the Waitaki Aquatic Centre, which was open seven days a week, to further extend its ability to serve the community.
This amused many online commentators, many saying the council did not want to deal with the public.
One posted "the next HQ will be set up at The Warehouse".
