Epsom Library
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| Epsom Library | |
|---|---|
 The main entrance of Epsom Library, October 2022 | |
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| 36°52′54″S 174°46′32″E / 36.88164°S 174.77553°E | |
| Location | 195 Manukau Road, Epsom, New Zealand, Auckland, New Zealand |
| Type | Public library |
| Established | 1918 |
| Branch of | Auckland Libraries |
| Branches | One of the 56 branches of Auckland Libraries |
| Collection | |
| Size | Floating |
| Other information | |
| Website | https://www.facebook.com/epsomlibrary/ |
Epsom Library is located at 195 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland. It is one of the 56 branches of Auckland Libraries that serves the residents in Epsom, Mt Eden, and Newmarket. The building is a pentagon, a very distinctive shape in Auckland region.
A brief history
The original form of Epsom Public Library was established on 8 September 1882 by Epsom locals under the Public Libraries Powers Act 1875. It was in the Alba Road area but did not last too long due to the cease of funding by Education Department in 1887.[1]
In January 1917, The Epsom Road Board became a part of Auckland City. The building formerly used by Epsom Road Board and Manukau Water Supply Board on Manukau Road was repurposed to be the new library. The new Epsom Library was opened on 27 August 1918 by Mayor James Gunson. The City Librarian, John Barr and his family home was next door to the library. In 1924, the library building got an extension and in 1930 the library further took over part of the hall.[2] Becoming the 3rd busiest library among the suburban libraries of Auckland in 1970s, the building was further extended by another 93 square metres in 1974-75. This provided a small workroom for staff and an area for public seating.[3]
There was a plan to build a larger library based in Newmarket, New Zealand in the early 1990s, but it was ultimately scrapped. It was finally replaced by a new plan to rebuild a new Epsom Library on the same site. Eighty years since the opening of Epsom Library on Manukau Road, the old Epsom Library building alongside the house next door once occupied by John Barr was knocked down for the current building.[4]
On 29 August 1997, Mayor Les Mills officially opened the new building. Two days later, it opens its doors to the public. The new (current) building has twice the floor area to the old building. It was built by Hawkins Construction.[5]
Art works in the Epsom Library
Weta Sculpture
The bronze Weta sculpture (80 kilograms in weight, 1500mm in the length) was made to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Epsom Library in 1998. It was commissioned by Astrid Malcolm, a community board member then and was sculpted by Jonathan Campbell as one of a series of artworks. It was initially placed on a pillar outside the library.
On Wednesday, 10 January 2007, the Weta sculpture was found stolen from the grounds of Epsom Library by a library patron. However, the actual date and time of the theft remains a mystery and never recovered [6].
A new weta sculpture funded by the Hobson Community Board was unveiled to mark the library’s 90th anniversary in 2008. The new weta sculpture was installed inside the library and a plague was put under the weta to commemorate Astrid Malcom who was killed in a diving accident in 2000 [7].
Phoenix Rising Sculpture
A 2-m tall stainless sculpture “Rising Phoenix” was installed outside the Epsom Library in 1998 to celebrate the library’s reopening of the new building. It was created by award-winning artist, Keith Simpson.
On Wednesday, 9 June 2004 library staff found the sculpture was stolen.[8] Keith Simpson was recommissioned to create a new, slightly larger, "Phoenix Rising Mark 2" to replace the stolen one. The new sculpture was reinstalled on 20 October 2005 and remains there up to now.[9]
Ten years later, in February 2014, the original “Rising Phoenix” was found in a vacant house in Rangataua, near Ohakune (300 km away from Auckland) by police. This rediscovery was helped by an Aucklander who spotted the sculpture on a real estate website. This original sculpture was shipped back to Auckland.[10]
The photo on the right shows the “Rising Phoenix Mark 2” - the replacement, which the phoenix's head faces left. The phoenix’s head of the original sculpture was facing right.
Anecdotes
A book, titled A. W. Reed’s Myths and Legends of Maoriland, was borrowed from Epsom Library in 1948. The book was returned to the library in 2016 after 68 years overdue. The patron was a child at the time of borrowing, but by the time of returning the book, she was a grandma.
Based on the terms and conditions on the back cover, the patron would be fined 102.50 New Zealand pounds for the 24604 days of overdue. That amount of money is equivalent to NZ$7321 in 2016. However, the library has no plan to charge the fines because the patron was a kid by the time of borrowing [11] [12].
References
- ^ Verran, David (2011). Auckland City Libraries: Another Chapter. Auckland: Auckland Libraires.
- ^ Verran, David (2011). Auckland City Libraries: Another Chapter. Auckland: Auckland Libraires.
- ^ Verran, David (2011). Auckland City Libraries: Another Chapter. Auckland: Auckland Libraires.
- ^ Verran, David (2011). Auckland City Libraries: Another Chapter. Auckland: Auckland Libraires.
- ^ Verran, David (2011). Auckland City Libraries: Another Chapter. Auckland: Auckland Libraires.
- ^ "Sculpture stolen from Epsom Community Library". Scoop Independent News. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ "Close eye kept on library weta". Stuff. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ "Crime Scene: Sculpture disappears from Epsom Library". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ Verran, David (2011). Auckland City Libraries: Another Chapter. Auckland: Auckland Libraires.
- ^ "Sculpture found 10 years and 300km later". Stuff. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ "Woman returns Auckland library book 68 years after it was due". Stuff. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ "Now that's a late library book: Woman returns book she borrowed 68 years ago (but she ducks out of paying the $26,600 fine)". Daily Mail. Retrieved 29 October 2022.