After 30 years much loved Taumarunui Librarian Kamu Lala has retired to spend more time with her whanau and new grandchild.
Mrs Lala said that she had many happy memories from working in the library environment where she had enjoyed great friendships with different colleagues and library users many who visited as children and are now coming in with their own kids.
"Looking back over the years it's amazing to think about how much change there has been in what the library offers and how we do things," she said.
"When I started out as a part-timer 29 years ago there was no computerized library management system, and the old catalogue and borrower ‘card’ records and their cabinets were still in use.
I remember there was always constant chaos with the old card system as they were always getting misfiled," she said.
"Today the modern library offers so much more with free computers and WIFI and members being able to access many of our services 24/7 including e-books, databases and movies amongst other things.
When we introduced the free computers it highlighted the digital divide in our community and how many whanau were disadvantaged by not owning, or being able to access, digital devices and the internet.
I was very proud, as manager at the time, to have been part of helping to make computers and internet access freely available for public use at our libraries," she said.
Manager Community Libraries Fiona Thomas said that Kamu's warm, caring and upbeat nature will be sorely missed by Council and her library 'family'.
"We all wish her the very best with much content and happiness in her retirement years.
Hopefully she will now have more time to read and we will get to see her as a regular library user," she quipped.
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