Auckland's public libraries are remarkably well-organised and genuinely child-friendly. Branches are spread across the region, and wherever we find ourselves, we make a habit of dropping into the nearest one. The system is fully connected — you can request a book from any library and have it sent to your closest branch for pick-up, and books borrowed from one location can be returned to any other. Each person can borrow up to 35 items at a time. We've never hit the limit, despite coming home with a bag or two every visit.
Albany Village Library
Our most-visited branch is Albany Village Library. It's a bit small but easy to park, and there's a playground and park right next door. The Korean children's section is updated often enough to keep the girls interested. Each of the children has their own library card and handles their own borrowing and returning — scanning their card at the self-checkout kiosk, and slipping books into the automated return shelf, which reads the spine and processes the return on its own. Small things that make them feel capable.
Playtime at Kell Park
The children's area is cheerfully noisy in the way good libraries tend to be. Parents reading aloud, toddlers at the puzzle and toy corner, kids talking about books. It's a space where children and books find each other naturally. The library also runs a range of community programmes — Storytime, art sessions, chess, Code Club, and free English classes for adults. School holiday programmes run at branches across the region and are well worth checking in advance.
After the library comes the park. The kids run straight for the playground once the books are sorted, and the adults take a slower loop along the Albany Village Path, which winds around the library and into the trees, crossing a small stream. It's a good walk.
One thing worth knowing: you may encounter a very confident chicken or two wandering the park. There's a story behind it. Kell Park was gifted to the city by the Kell family, with the condition that a number of bantam chickens be kept on the land. The free-roaming flock became part of Albany Village's identity — the rooster logo and the cockerel sculpture in the village square both trace back to those birds. The population eventually grew too large to manage safely, and by 2008 the chickens had been removed. Whether the ones you see today are descendants, escapees, or simply the neighbourhood's way of keeping the tradition alive is unclear. Either way, they belong here more than you might think.
Read more on this series:
Library Tour (2) Glenfield Library
Library Tour (3) Birkenhead Library
한국어 요약
오클랜드 공공도서관은 놀랄 만큼 잘 정비돼 있고 아이 친화적이다. 지점이 곳곳에 있어 어디에 있든 가까운 도서관에 들르는 게 습관이 됐다. 도서관들은 모두 연결돼 있어서 어느 지점의 책이든 신청해 가까운 지점에서 받을 수 있고, 빌린 책은 어느 지점에나 반납할 수 있다. 한 사람이 한 번에 35권까지 빌릴 수 있는데, 갈 때마다 가방 한두 개씩 들고 와도 한도를 채운 적은 없다.
우리가 가장 자주 가는 곳은 Albany Village 도서관이다. 주차가 쉽고 바로 옆에 놀이터와 공원이 있으며, 한국어 어린이 코너가 자주 바뀌어 아이들이 흥미를 잃지 않는다. 세 아이 모두 자기 카드로 셀프 대출기에서 빌리고 자동 반납대에 직접 반납한다. 작은 일이지만 아이들이 스스로 해낼 수 있다고 느끼게 해 준다. 어린이 공간은 좋은 도서관이 그렇듯 기분 좋게 시끌벅적하고, 스토리타임, 미술, 체스, 코드 클럽, 성인 무료 영어 수업 같은 프로그램도 있다.
책을 다 고르면 공원이다. 아이들은 놀이터로 달려가고, 어른들은 도서관을 돌아 숲과 작은 개울을 건너는 Albany Village Path를 천천히 걷는다. 공원에서 당당한 닭 한두 마리를 만날 수도 있다. Kell 가족이 공원을 시에 기증하며 닭을 키우라는 조건을 달았고, 풀어 기르던 닭들이 Albany Village의 상징이 됐다고 한다.
Yussi
Writer · Social work student, Massey University
A mother of three girls and a Korean immigrant making Mairangi Bay home — writing about starting school, home learning and everyday life on Auckland's North Shore.
More about Yussi →Frequently asked questions
- How many books can you borrow from Auckland Libraries?
- Up to 35 items at a time. Books are 28 days, magazines and board games 14 days, and there are no late fees. You can request a book from any branch for pick-up at your closest one, and return books to any branch.
- How do children get an Auckland Libraries card?
- Under-18s must be accompanied by a parent or guardian with photo ID. Cards are free for all ages and you get yours on the spot. Each of our children has their own card and borrows at the self-checkout kiosk.
- What is there to do near Albany Village Library?
- The MDW Playground, the Albany Village Path and Kell Park are right next door — open grass, a small stream along the path, and free-roaming chickens. The library itself runs Storytime, Rhymetime, Code Club and school holiday programmes.
- Why are there chickens in Kell Park, Albany?
- Kell Park was gifted to the city by the Kell family, with the condition that a number of bantam chickens be kept on the land. The flock became part of Albany Village's identity — the rooster logo and the cockerel sculpture in the village square both trace back to those birds.
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