[Library Tour] Glenfield Library

The second stop on our library tour is Glenfield Library. With Glenfield Mall sitting right next door, the trip doubles as a family outing. It's also a place I've come to know well through volunteering at the Digital Seniors programme that runs here.

Like many Auckland libraries, Glenfield is unmistakably child-friendly. The children's section is generously sized, with a small toy corner tucked off to one side. Jin took to the library's play kitchen with more enthusiasm than she shows for the one at home, and stayed deep in cooking mode the whole time we were there. Which left me to choose her books — no hardship, with low sofas and child-height shelving running through the area. At the centre of it all sits a colourful Thomas the Tank Engine, holding picture books and quietly receiving the affection of every child who walks past.

Min and Hyun, as ever, made straight for the Korean books. The selection was generous and included plenty of recent titles. Each branch carries a different mix, so whenever we visit a new library we like to take note of which series they stock. Korean book titles are catalogued in romanised English on the library website, which makes searching genuinely difficult — and even checking that we've returned everything before leaving can be a hunt. Knowing what's actually on the shelves at each branch makes it easier to request books across the network later.

Auckland libraries have been rolling out automated returns alongside their self-checkout kiosks, and Glenfield has a large return shelf in its own corner. Anyone can borrow and return without needing to flag down a staff member.

We happened to visit on the day of Glenfield's regular Korean Bookchat. New Zealand being what it is — many cultures sharing a daily life — one wall of the library held a small exhibition of Chinese paintings, and beneath it the Korean book club was meeting, lively but unobtrusive, in its own corner of the room. Just like the everyday we live in.