Mataura Library & Service Centre new opening hours
The Gore District Council is to trial new opening hours at the Mataura Library and Service Centre to meet customers' needs while providing a safe work environment for staff.
In March of this year, the library was forced to change its closing time to 2:30pm due to escalating anti-social behaviour by young people. Groups were loitering after school in the building and outside to use the free wifi.
The Council was concerned about the safety of its two Mataura librarians, who work alone most of the time, and customers.
Since early closing was initiated, there have been no disorderly behaviour incidents in the area.
Library Manager Emma Sherie said staff had come up with the trial following two risk assessments and discussions with staff.
"We were so grateful for the community support our library staff received and the concerns for their safety.
"We wanted to ensure we continued to provide an accessible service while keeping our staff safe."
The trial will see the library open from 10:00am to 4:00pm, giving customers an uninterrupted service. The library currently closes from 12:30pm to 1:00pm for lunch.
The free public wifi would be turned off from 3:00pm to 5:00pm to deter youths from congregating in the area. However, customers can use the library's computers for online research or study.
"Our neighbouring businesses have benefitted from the wifi being off in the afternoons, so we were keen to see this continue."
She said another advantage of being open continuously was more time for not-for-profit organisations to use meeting space in the library.
The trial begins on Monday 15 July, and will be reviewed in three months.