The community will be able to influence the shape of future library services in the Queenstown Lakes District through a series of library forums, which start at the end of this month.
Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Vanessa van Uden said she hoped the forums, being held in Queenstown, Arrowtown, Glenorchy, Kingston, Wanaka and Lake Hawea,
would attract a wide range of people, including frequent users, lapsed members and those who had little idea about what a library could offer.
''This is a genuine opportunity for people to share their thoughts about what library services will be useful and relevant for our community well into the future.
''There is no agenda for these forums - it's literally a blank page.
''We'll be interested to hear whatever people want to tell us.''
Ms van Uden said more than 1750 people had shared their opinions on library services through a survey the council had conducted over the last four weeks.
Some valuable feedback had been generated about opening hours and the kinds of services people found most useful.
More than 95% of those who took part in the survey were existing library members. However, the council was keen to hear from non-members, with increasing patronage one of the aims of the review.
''It's the people in the community who are paying for the library service through their rates but don't necessarily use libraries that we are particularly keen to hear from,'' Ms van Uden said.
• The library forums will be held at the Queenstown Memorial Centre from 5.30pm on January 28; at the Arrowtown Athenaeum Hall on January 29 from 6.30pm; at the Lake Wanaka Centre from 5.30pm on February 3; in the Hawea Community Centre from 7pm on February 3; at the Kingston Community Centre from 7.30pm on February 7; and in the Glenorchy Hall on February 13 from 7.30pm.
