Not just for nerds

Dear the Manager of the Palmerston North Library,

As a regular user of your facility I must say that I am very impressed with the whole setup. I must admit at first glance it doesn't seem as though there are a hell of a lot of books but if I look for one invariably it is in the library catalogue. I also enjoy the DVD section and how cheap it is to hire them out for one week. (NZ$3 (US$2.45) is quite cheap compared to the DVD shops around town.)

I like how you have the computer system all set up where I can renew my books without leaving my seat. Also the fact that I can borrow ebooks is great as well. You are definitely keeping up with the times. Whenever I go to your facility I notice that almost all of the computers are taken with people surfing the net. I also see you can use the PlayStation type games. That is pretty awesome and you are definitely living up to the idea of being the living room of the city.

In saying that there is always room for improvement, so let me give you ten ideas I have come up while using your facility that will make it even more user friendly.

1. I understand that the library is for all members of the family which I agree that it should be and it is good that you have areas for all everyone including children but sometimes it is too noisy. It isn't your typical library environment. I would suggest building a separate room for children so people who are trying to read and study don't have to listen to the screaming and loud talking that sometimes distracts me from my work there.

2. I like that you have a small section for foreign languages. Is it possible for newspapers from different countries be placed in the library. I personally like Japanese papers. You don't have to do this everyday as I know that this could be costly and we can read all of it online but some of us "more experienced" people like to read the actual paper.

3. When I go to the library I tend to take a few books and my computer etc and when I sit down I like to work for a significant period of time, however it is really annoying that if I want to go to the bathroom I have to pack up everything and go and do my business and come back. My idea is to have some kind of locker in the desk where you can store things for a 10 minute period where you can go to the bathroom or check the shelves for a book or something similar.

4. Do you have facilities where we can watch the DVD's in house without having to pay for them? Is that legal? Or even if you pay $1 and then use the library machine and then you don't have to take it home. Do you lose many DVD's over the course of the year? This could be a cheaper way. I assure you that it would be very popular.

5. Please make the Sound and Vision returns slot on both sides of the library. It is a hassle only having it on the George Street side.

6. I use your wifi service when I am in the library and I think that it is a great service however when I am down the Main Street end of the library the connection can sometimes be quite weak, can that be improved?

7. Have you ever thought of a special room that has a bunch of desks in in which people can work in silence? As I said before it can be quite noisy and sometimes you want to put your head down and do some work and a special work room would be great.

8. A couple of more photocopiers would be nice especially if you only have one page to do and someone is in front of you doing all of his or her photocopying for the year in one hit. It can be frustrating.

9. I see that you have quite a few events there and school holiday programmes etc. Have you ever thought of doing other types of programmes for adults. I know you have book clubs but what about things like language classes or cultural activities. Palmerston North seems to have quite a good multicultural population and it would be shame not to get these people to introduce their language and culture to the people of this city. I know someone who could teach the Tamil language for instance.

10. I haven't noticed this yet and you may do this but why don't you have a section exclusively for Palmerston North authors. You can bet that this would be quite popular with the users of the library and it may even inspire some people to attempt to write their own books. That has got to be encouraged.

Keep up the good work. I look forward to using your library again in the near future.

Blair Leighton.