Birkenhead Public Library
The Birkenhead Library and Civic Centre
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| Country | New Zealand |
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| Type | Public library |
| Established | 1949 |
| Location | Birkenhead, North Shore, Auckland |
| Coordinates | 36°48′56.59″S 174°43′36.09″E / 36.8157194°S 174.7266917°ECoordinates: 36°48′56.59″S 174°43′36.09″E / 36.8157194°S 174.7266917°E |
| Branch of | Auckland Libraries |
| Collection | |
| Size | 300,000+ |
| Access and use | |
| Population served | 26,000 |
| Website | Birkenhead Library |
Birkenhead Public Library (Te Whare Matauranga o Birkenhead in Māori) is a New Zealand library, part of the Auckland Libraries system located on Auckland's North Shore. Founded in 1949 it predominantly serves the areas of Birkenhead, Beach Haven, Birkdale, Kauri Park, Chelsea, and Birkenhead East, a population of about 26,000, including six primary schools, two intermediate schools, and two colleges.
Typical of medium-sized public libraries in New Zealand, it is able to provide an extensive range of modern library resources and services through its integration into a wider urban network, and through its association with the National Library, while retaining its own distinct, local connections such as the Archives Collection of the Chelsea Sugar Refinery.
The library was the first public library to be founded in North Shore City, the first to offer dial-up access to the New Zealand Bibliographic Network, and a leading proponent of full weekend services.
For four years the library was located in temporary quarters in the Birkenhead Leisure Centre, while a dispute over the location and design of its proposed new building was resolved. On 17 December 2009, a new Birkenhead Library and Civic Centre was opened on the site of the former library.
The history of Birkenhead Public Library is characterized by four transformations which occurred at approximately twenty-year intervals since its founding in 1949. Three of these transformations involved new buildings, while the other involved amalgamation into the wider North Shore Libraries system. There was also an unexpectedly long interim period when the library was based at the Leisure Centre.
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