| Hawea Library |
 Background Lake Hawea Library is part of the Lake Hawea Community Centre, at the centre of the community activities in town. The centre is located alongside Fraser Park. Staff and volunteers welcome you and are happy to assist with any enquiries, including selecting and reserving from other libraries in the district. Resources At Lake Hawea we gave a growing collection of resources. However if an item is not available at this branch, we are often able to source it from one of the other libraries in our district or arrange to borrow it from another NZ library. A computer with broadband Internet access is available. It also provides access to the library catalogue, and can be used for word processing and as a homework station. Queenstown Lakes District Council meeting agendas and district plan information, and Otago Regional Council notifications are held at the library. Hawea Community Association registration forms are held at the library. Services The library is part of the Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes shared Library service. Services, membership, borrowing and issuing policies are consistent across the CODC / QLDC Library District. We offer access to the Internet, and photocopying and printing services. Charges may apply. Under Five Story and Craft Session - Monday mornings 10.00 – 11.00am. School Holiday Programmes - Free story reading sessions for children of all ages are held each Wednesday afternoon between 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm during school holidays, with the exception of the statutory holidays. Call the library for more details. Summer Reading Challenge - Every summer holidays we offer a Reading Challenge. This is open to children of all ages. Children decide on a personal target of books they will read during the holiday break. For preschoolers, parents must read 20 books. All those who meet their target will receive a prize. Participation is encouraged by making it a Town/Country event, with prize giving at the Waitangi Day celebrations at Fraser Park. Readers Advisory – promotes the pleasures, rewards and excitement of reading.  Community Hawea Library has a notice board available for display of information about forthcoming events and activities of general community interest. History Hawea's first library service was provided by a National Library van, delivering 100 books (which consisted of 38 non-fiction and 62 fiction) every three months. For many years a room at the Presbyterian Church was used to hold the books chosen from the van. People from surrounding stations, such a Dingleburn, were able to make their selections from this collection. This service commenced in 1938 and was withdrawn in 1988. Hawea locals then decided to keep the service alive by donating books. Over the years the church, the school and then a resident's basement were used. Here books were accumulated from many sources, as plans were underway to build a community centre. A library committee was formed in October 199 1 and books were sorted into categories in preparation for the development of a facility. The community raised funds, and the Hawea Sports Centre (now known as the Lake Hawea Community Centre) was opened on 4 January 1992. The library was given a small room and its wooden shelves were soon filled with a growing collection. The Sports Committee decided they needed a small committee room and the library needed more space. A large extension was built, and the new library opened on 5 July 1997. The Queenstown Lakes District Council assisted with funding and the library came under the umbrella of the Queenstown Lakes District Libraries. In September 2006 a separate children’s section was created in response to the growing membership at Lake Hawea library. This is very well utilised by families and visitors, and the children’s storytime is always popular. The library is a credit to the local community, and greatly appreciated by Hawea residents of all a ges, including visitors and holiday makers. |