Contact Details

Contact can be made by visiting the Library in Jellicoe Court or by using the details below:

Street Address: Jellicoe Court, Kawerau,3127
Postal Address: P.O. Box 103, Kawerau, 3169
Phone: (07) 306 9041
E-mail: library@kaweraudc.govt.nz

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Library History

1953-1963 

The first Library was established in the mill-site cafeteria during the construction days of the Mill, with a major fire destroying the collection at one stage. In August 1954, a group of residents approached the Town Commissioner, Mr F. Prideaux, requesting the establishment of a Public Library service in Kawerau. After assistance from the Country Library Service and a group of willing volunteers, the Kawerau Public Library opened for business in the Commissioner's Offices Monday 13th September 1954. It began with 1,411 books and was open 8 hours a week, including 4 hours at night. The first paid Librarian, Mr A. McKay, began in February 1955 and was paid one pound a week.

By 1962, the Library collection had grown to 20,000 volumes and books were stacked everywhere. The donation of the town-site cafeteria by Tasman meant a new Library, along with restrooms and Plunket facilities could be developed. This Library, which is the current Library building, opened 10th April 1963 with 3006 members.

1963-1993

The Council appointed a professional librarian, Flora Dow (in October 1962) to manage the new facility. Over this time the number of customers remained similar but the size of the book collections grew to approximately 33,000 items with Flora having to create a card catalogue. New collections were introduced such as Large Print, Videos and a Māori collection, and the Library was now open 38 hours a week.

1993-Today

In 1993, a new District Librarian (now Library & Museum Manager), Susan Harris, was appointed to introduce computer technology to the Library and a new Library system, Catalist, was launched to the public in May 1996. At the same time, the library workroom was altered along with new carpet and metal shelving. Developments with technology continued with an upgrade to the Horizon software in 2000 and public access to a pc (1998) and internet (2001). In 2006, Council made a considerable investment in the future of the Public Library by expanding the building by a third, extending the upstairs mezzanine floor, and linking the facility with the Sir James Fletcher Kawerau Museum which now inhabits the former Plunket room space. New collections, such as DVDs, Junior Readers, Magazines and Graphics, and programmes like Summer Reading (StoryTime) and Toddler Time were developed. On the 23rd November 2007, the Kawerau District Library became the first library in New Zealand to offer the Aotearoa People's Network Kaharoa free internet services and in 2008, wifi service to the internet through APNK was added. September 2010 saw the introduction of Kete Kawerau which allows people to add digital memories and photos to an online repository service. Another technology leap was taken 28th March 2013 with the change of library management system from Horizon to Kotui. This meant customers now had access to online services such as databases and e-books plus renew books and place holds online. Over the years, a number of staff have worked at the Library. Staff with over 20 years service include Rose Cartman, Flora Dow, Ramona Wood, Rowena Dowie, Erica Valk and Susan Harris with the latter two still employed by Council.

The Library Murals

In May 2010, the Library and Museum got a new paint job and roof but to make it even more fantastic, we had acclaimed trompe l'oeil artist Marc Spijkerbosch create two murals on the Jellicoe Court faces of our building. His brief was to come up with something WOW that would make people realise that there is a museum and library within the building, and we think he did a fantastic job with our Book Magic murals. A detailed overview of these murals can be seen in Kete Kawerau plus more information on Marc and his work can be found at his website.