An overheard remark from a child entering the building had new Te Awamutu library supervisor Donna Wilson tickled pink.
Sighing audibly at the doorway, the youngster stopped and said: “Mum, I love the library and the smell of books”.
His enthusiastic sentiment delighted Donna … it seemed to perfectly encapsulate everything what she has always believed about books.
Donna is new in the job, having taken over from Sheree Gross who retired late last year after an impressive 28 years at the library.
“They are big shoes to fill,” Donna said.
Te Awamutu Library Source: Waipā District Council
That may be so, but nothing about library work is new to her. She started at Te Awamutu Library as a senior library assistant in late 2016, just before the facility moved to its current home in Mahoe St. Prior to that, Donna worked in a supervisory capacity at Hamilton city library.
“Books have always been my thing. I was an avid reader as a child and I’m the same today,” she said. “It seems to have gone down to my children and grandchildren, which is lovely. As I see it, a good author is worth his or her weight in gold. Books can be a wonderful escape from everyday life … even in the lightest of fiction there is an element of fact, which means you learn so much more by reading.”
Te Awamutu Library runs like a well-oiled machine, she said, thanks in large part to the hard work put in by Sheree Gross and the staff. The numbers using the library are climbing and there is excellent engagement from the community around ongoing library activities, including the youngsters’ holiday reading programmes.
“There’s nothing crying out to me to be changed, but I do have a few ideas… a couple of things I want to tweak,” she said. “I want to find out why we have some people still registered with the library who have stopped coming in. I’m curious to know what’s behind that.
“I also want to look at the feasibility of establishing a service at the library offering people digital help with their computers and phones. Learning to be familiar around their use is essential today and I think it would make sense for the library to offer something in that area,” she added. “I’m working with a fabulous team here so I’m excited to see what we can do.”
Recently appointed Te Awamutu Library supervisor Donna Wilson is a self-confessed bookaholic.
