Libraries were hit hard by the pandemic, but one demographic in particular is coming back to these public spaces in droves, writes Sam Brooks.

When you hear the word “library”, a few images might come to mind. People quietly hunched over tables, or sitting in aisles rifling through piles of books; a stern, older woman peering over spectacles, ready to shush you for breathing too loud…

In reality, your local library is nothing like this. It’s far more likely a busy and vibrant hub of activity. The shelves of books on hold are, in Tāmaki Makaurau at least, bolstered by the recent decision to ditch overdue fines. The staff are more likely to help you sort your life out, show you how to do something on the computer or give you a warm smile than they are to shush you. And tables and chairs across multiple floors are full of young people doing homework, studying or completing any form of life admin in a warm, dry, quiet(ish) environment.

Richard Misilei, the connected communities lead and coach at Auckland Council, says that feedback from his teams indicates that teens and young adults are coming back to the libraries to do what they did pre-Covid – hang out, catch up with friends from other schools, do homework, study for exams. Teenage stuff, essentially. “Numbers are not at pre-Covid levels yet but we are definitely seeing growth again,” he says. “Library staff have helped bring teens back with a focus on relationship building and providing entertainment options that appeal – gaming consoles, table tennis, card games.”

“Our engagement needs to be balanced between what they find important – their interests – and the Auckland Libraries focus of lifting their literacy and education levels”, he says. They’ve recently relaunched the teen room on Overdrive – a part of the libraries’ system that issues and recommends ebooks, and they are continually adapting resources to reflect changing preferences. Misilei notes that some libraries in the system are seeing more demand for the fiction and romance genres, with BookTok having a noticeable impact on what books are in especially high demand.

“Essentially, teenagers want their own space. Many are seeking comfort and safety away from home, and libraries are often where they can find that.”

One library that has seen a particularly noticeable bounce back is the Botany Library in East Auckland, nestled in a prime location inside the Botany Town Centre (the best mall in the city?), down the hall from Hoyts Cinema and Timezone, upstairs from a well-stacked food court. 

Imraan Ali manages the Botany Library, and has done so for two years, but he’s also been working in the library system in Tāmaki Makarau for much longer, managing various locations across the city. Botany Library is one of the success stories of the system, having bounced back from the pandemic for usage and attendance across the board.

“If anything, we’ve actually increased,” Ali says proudly. “Our door counts have increased to more than what they were pre-Covid.” A few weeks ago, Botany Library had 2,300 people through their doors on a Saturday, between 9.30am and 5.30pm (he bought his team a round of coffees as thanks for that particular shift).

But where Ali has seen the biggest surge is in the teen and young adult demographic, particularly during study breaks, and the December-January summer holidays. “It becomes a space where they come to meet and hang out, and that’s because of a few major factors.”

The first factor, obviously, is the physical space of the library itself. It has the best of both worlds – it’s part of a mall, but it’s also tucked away from the “hustle and bustle”. It is accessible, safe and warm, “which obviously tends to draw people in,” Ali says.

Crucially, the library also is concentrated on providing services and spaces for youths. While computers are available for free public use, it’s probably not surprising that the service most young people use is wifi on their personal devices. Like most libraries, there are also spaces to book to use to study, to write, or just to hang out. “These are very high use areas, especially around study periods,” he says. “Any space we find, we try to make tables and chairs available for people.”

For Ali, the most crucial factor is his team – a group whose ages range from their early twenties to well into their sixties, but who have been in Botany for a number of years all around, and who are extremely adaptable in their approach. “Youth are a very, very challenging demographic,” he says.” If you judge them, if you don’t communicate with them on their terms, you’ll lose that connection.”

Misilei concurs with Ali – he believes the libraries’ staff is their greatest asset. “They know how to engage young people, they have their best interests at heart”, he says. “And, most crucially, are able to establish respectful, reciprocal relationships with many of our teens.”

When Ali’s team is out on the floor, everybody is acknowledged, regardless of demographic. He observes that while adults tend to ignore children and teenagers, that’s not the case at Botany. His staff take everybody at face value, and that makes youth enjoy coming into his library. They’re not singled out or ignored, but accepted just like everybody else.

And, he hastens to add: “We don’t police behaviour as much as people might think!”

Ali’s previous positions include managing Glen Innes, Onehunga and Glen Eden libraries; all branches that are in lower socioeconomic areas where it was more difficult to retain regular attendance and use of the facilities. “But when people get a good experience, in any demographic, in a library, they will come back,” he says.

He mentions a programme that Glen Innes Library ran while he was there, a simple after school homework programme, aimed at fairly young children. As the children aged out of the programme, they would lose them to after-school sports and other priorities. “But once they’d gotten through whatever life transition they’d had, because of that initial good experience, we’d see them back in the library.”

He attributes the library becoming a third space to a post-lockdown shift in attitudes and behaviour. As classes and meetings shift online, it means more people can work remotely, or colloquially, work from home. “But people can’t be home all the time. They might not have the internet, or simply might not want to be at home. So they find spaces like the public libraries.”

While Ali acknowledges that while he and his team are the “gatekeepers” of Botany Library, it really belongs to the general public. “We want them to treat it as if it is their second home,” he says. “And for some people, to be honest, it is! We’ll see them four, five, six, seven days a week, in the library.”

“They actually want to come –even better, they enjoy being there, and look after the facility themselves.”