More Than Books: Inside Rototuna’s Community Living Room
It’s not your classic library. You don’t need to be a bookworm to enjoy this place.
Walk into Te Kete Aronui -Rototuna Library, and it does not really feel like just a library. People are sitting, talking, waiting, reading, charging things, and just existing. It feels normal, but that is kind of the point.
Opened in 2023, Rototuna library offers a diverse range of activities beyond reading books. You can simultaneously feel the buzz and serenity as you approach it.
Carol Jarman, chair of the Friends of the Library, has spent year has spent years supporting and advocating for libraries. The group began when a council question if libraries were still needed in the age of the internet.
She comes back to one consistent idea. Libraries are for everyone.
Places like Rototuna Library are essential part of community and must exist in every town. Not a nice-to-have. “A library is a place that accepts everybody… it doesn’t matter who you are, how much money you have. A library will always welcome you.”
That sounds simple, but it matters more than that. There are not many places left where you can just sit inside without paying. Carol said, “If it wasn’t here, where could you go and sit inside and not spend money?” The answer is almost nowhere.
Carol says that’s part of how a library creates belonging, especially in Rototuna. It gives people a place to just exist. Students come after school, parents bring babies and kids to sessions, older people come just to be around others and fill their time. Some people come because they feel lonely, some just want to be somewhere quiet.
Libraries are also practical. People can use computers, print things, or get help using the internet. “Where else could you go for help using it? A library,” Carol said.
But it goes further than that. Libraries try to include people who might not usually feel included. There are several memory support resources for people with dementia and sensory tools for neurodiverse kids. There are also events, classes, and even spaces you can hire. Rototuna Library has meeting rooms that you can book for a very affordable price.
You can tell Rototuna library was made for its community. Carol says,
It would be fantastic if every library was like Rototuna.”
– Carol jarman
Carol puts it simply: “They are a focus for the community… a place where people can meet and everybody can feel comfortable and at home.”It is not loud or obvious, but it works. In the end, a library does more than let you borrow books; It’s a place that steadily builds a community where someone can walk in and feel relaxed from the first visit. That is what belonging looks like.
Hafsa Hussain is a student on the Diploma in Journalism. This is her first story for the Waikato Independent.
