Waimakariri Libraries: Providing High-quality Library Experiences With Bibliotheca Technology

Waimakariri Libraries: Providing high-quality library experiences with Bibliotheca technology

November 19, 2024

Challenge

Waimakariri Library in New Zealand needed to replace their aging self-service solutions with solutions to meet the needs of their growing community.

Solution

The library installed selfCheck1000 kiosks in each of their three branches and replaced return slots at their busiest location with smartShelf intelligent shelving.

Result

The Waimakariri community now enjoys high-quality, modern self-service, and smartShelf automated returns allow staff time to engage the community while getting items back into circulation more quickly.

The Waimakariri District lies just north of Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand. Traditionally an agricultural area, the district has grown considerably following the earthquakes in the Christchurch area in 2010 and 2011. Today, the Waimakariri Library serves a growing and diverse population of 70,000 through three library branches.

Partnering for better service and customer experience

Like most public libraries, budgetary pressures require Waimakariri to get all the life they can out of their library equipment. Still, when their old RFID self-service solutions began to literally fall apart, leadership knew it was time for an overhaul.

The library was looking for a core suite of self-service products to serve their immediate needs, but crucially, they wanted to know about vendors’ ecosystems and roadmaps for future innovations.

“We have a new build on the horizon, and we want to be future-ready,” says Luke Sole, District Libraries Manager, Waimakariri Libraries. “We went out to market to engage vendors to tailor a solution for us, Bibliotheca came out on top in that process. We were keen to hear about emergent technologies and Bibliotheca did a really good job of outlining their whole ecosystem and how each component fits within it.”

Service and support were also critical. Bibliotheca’s presence in New Zealand was a definite plus.

“We needed to know that the support would be there – that if something went wrong, we’d have clear communication and a reasonable timeline for service,” says Sole. “Bibliotheca really listened to the problem we were trying to solve and worked to understand the district. They pitched us a partnership rather than just a whole bunch of products with a warranty.”

Curated collections and flexible spaces

The district library model in New Zealand public libraries reflects growing community demand for flexible use spaces and engaging events and programmes, not just book collections. Waimakariri’s proximity to Christchurch and its large collection means the district can focus on a smaller curated selection of titles that suits the needs of its unique community.

“A lot of what we hold is unique to us, our local identity, and our stories,” says Sole. “Our challenge is to provide enough books for our growing district but also to provide multi-use spaces for people to come together.”

Waimakariri’s busiest library location, Rangiora, welcomes around 1,000 visitors per day during busy periods. Post-earthquake migration and growth have brought many families to the area, and the library is a key community resource for children’s literacy programmes and intergenerational programming.

“We are a very family-centric library service,” says Sole. “We have grandparents who grew up through our libraries now bringing in their grandchildren to engage in digital learning together.”

That level of community engagement means space at Rangiora is at a premium. Library leadership wanted to ensure that any new solutions would not only be efficient but also enhance the experience of the library. To do this, the library selected Bibliotheca’s selfCheck 1000 self-service kiosks and smartShelf intelligent shelving for automated returns.

“Sometimes, technologies and experiences in libraries are not equivalent to what you get out in the community and at private businesses,” says Sole. “The user experience and presentation of Bibliotheca’s products are of such a high standard, it’s wonderful to be able to offer them in a library setting. Rangiora library has looked the same way for quite a long time, so the new equipment was disruptive in a nice way.”

Revolutionising returns

For years, customers at Rangiora Library dropped returns through a slot in the wall where backroom staff would collect them, manually check them in, and sort them to be reshelved. Implementing Bibliotheca’s smartShelves changed all of that.

Now, there are no more return slots or staff members relegated to the room behind a wall. Instead, that position has been transformed into a library concierge: a friendly face welcoming visitors into the library and assisting whenever needed. To return items, customers simply place them on the smartShelf, and technology does the rest, removing the item from customer accounts, resetting security, and making it ready for immediate recirculation.

“Rolling out the smartShelf was a good way of engaging with the community and piquing their curiosity,” says Sole. “At first, there was quite a lot of education with the community because they had no idea this technology existed. We had someone standing by the shelf explaining that you only had to place the book on it to have it automatically returned. Over time, that’s become unnecessary, and that person can be away from the shelf, out on the floor assisting instead of in the back room.”

Though many libraries opt for a hybrid return model, using both smartShelves and traditional book return slots, Sole says he wasn’t interested in that.

“I didn’t want it to just be a novelty,” he says. “We don’t have the budget for something that just sits there and isn’t used to its full potential. Using the smartShelves exclusively has improved the lag time between a book being returned and being back out on the shelves. Most importantly, it means we now always have three people out on the floor, roaming the library and engaging the community.”

Building on success

Waimakariri initially put new selfCheck kiosks in every location but decided to use Rangiora alone as a testing ground for the smartShelf. If it could handle the busiest library, it could be used anywhere.

“I know this technology has come a long way in just four years,” says Sole. “But I wanted to make sure it worked well and was accurate before using it in other locations. With such high foot traffic, we don’t have time for clunky systems.”

The smartShelf performed as promised and Waimakariri will soon be installing it in the district’s smallest location, Oxford, where Sole thinks its capabilities will really shine.

“It’s going to be really important there. Oxford is a sole-charge library; generally, only one librarian is looking after the space. Having smartShelves means that the librarian will be out on the floor for the duration of the day without having to duck behind the counter and furiously smash out returns.”

Also, while customers at Rangiora don’t often have a chance to borrow books directly off the smartShelf (the staff are quite quick about reshelving), at Oxford, the smartShelf will offer customers a browsable collection of recently returned items.

Planning the future of the Rangiora Library

Waimakariri is beginning work on the design brief for their new Rangiora building which will be an extension of their current Category 2 heritage building. Sole says it’s quite possible that the new library building will include some Gallery, Library, Archive, and Museum (GLAM) integration similar to that at Waimakariri’s Kaiapoi Library. That location, rebuilt in 2014 after earthquake damage, is housed in the Ruataniwha Kaiapoi Civic Centre and includes Art on the Quay, The Kaiapoi Museum, and the Council Service Centre.

“I think GLAM integrated spaces represent really good value for money, particularly in districts with a smaller population. Not everyone can travel to a large city; many face economic pressures and are quite contained. Offering high-quality experiences within a district are really important. We believe our community deserves nice products and nice experiences.”

Share This Library Story

Bibliotheca really listened to the problem we were trying to solve and worked to understand the district. They pitched us a partnership rather than just a whole bunch of products with a warranty.”

“The user experience and presentation of Bibliotheca’s products are of such a high standard, it’s wonderful to be able to offer them in a library setting. Rangiora library has looked the same way for quite a long time, so the new equipment was disruptive in a nice way.”