Haere mai / Welcome

Reading matters

“What do libraries do for us? Well, they introduce many into the world of literacy and learning and help to make it a lifelong habit; they equalise; they teach empathy and help us to learn about each other; they preserve our cultural heritage; they protect our right to know and to learn; they build communities; they strengthen and advance us as a nation; they empower us as individuals.”
Malorie Blackman, UK Children’s Laureate 2013 to 2015

“People flock in, nevertheless, in search of answers to those questions only librarians are considered to be able to answer, such as “Is this the laundry?” “How do you spell surreptitious?” and, on a regular basis, “Do you have a book I remember reading once? It had a red cover and it turned out they were twins.”
Sir Terry Pratchett, Going Postal

More readers, reading more: Whanganui District Library Strategic Plan 2018-2023

Te Kāuru Māori Access Framework

Whanganui’s public libraries offer free access to a world of literature, learning and entertainment. Membership is free for everyone. Encouraging and facilitating reading is the heart of our operation and we have more than 100,000 books and magazines to help us do it, as well as over 30,000 audiobooks, eBooks and eMagazines (and DVDs and CDs as well). We look after our community’s memories and enable people to discover and connect with their own and their community’s stories. We welcome around 400,000 people every year. We are safe, welcoming community spaces that connect people to literature, to knowledge, to entertainment and to the whole world. We are public spaces that connect people to one another.

Checkout our new music app called Freegal Music+

Freegal Music+ is a free music service which offers download or streaming access to more than 18 million songs. In total, the collection is comprised of 200 genres of music from over 100 countries. 

Find out more click here