Library

Early in the year we were gifted a grant from the Hawke’s Bay branch of Te Kaunihera Wahine o Aotearoa. We used this generous donation to purchase a selection of books on historical women of note, and women in science. Our regular Games Nights were held as normal – even during Covid Level 2 – and our first Games Night of the year had a record turnout of over forty students. It also marked the first meeting of the new, student-run Dungeons & Dragons club, which then ran on Wednesday afternoons for the rest of the year. A huge congratulations to Van Acraman, Isaac Robertshaw, Marcus Krekeler, and Kade Lindsay for running such a successful club.

Of course, the library is also about books, and we have positive news in regards to our reading materials. With 2020 has been a great year in the Karamu Library national reading statistics on a downward trend, we are excited to report that our issuing numbers have risen by 9% this year, even with the seven weeks we missed during lockdown. Our Quick Reads section was re-vamped, too. We weeded over seventy old Quick Reads books, and bought in another eighty shiny new ones to replace them. We also weeded and reshuffled the Young Adult and Senior fiction sections so that the top row of shelving could be removed, making our books far more accessible. Lastly, we have subscribed to the Wheelers audiobook library. Which brings over eight hundred audiobooks into our digital collection, alongside our eBooks.

We had two movie nights (Steven Universe and Over the Garden Wall), and a lunchtime Harry Potter Kahoot in lieu of our usual annual Lit Quiz. We also held an art competition, and all of the submissions were astoundingly good. Someone even left an egg on the issuing desk. It’s now the library mascot, and sits proudly above the sink.

“We’re all mad here” – Lewis Carroll