How do I get there from here?

If you're leaving Rodney for the holidays then be sure to take a good map. Speaking from experience it's terrible to drive past the turnoff to your destination and not realise it for a couple of hours or be lost in a tangle of one way streets.

Come into the library and look at the road map books. 919.3 in the Adult Information or Reference sections. You'll be able to take the ones from the Information section home with you or you can photocopy pages from the Reference items.

Alternatively, go to Wises Maps. Type in your destination and click "go". It will take you to a map that you can print out. You can even get driving instructions - from here to there with approximate distance and driving time included.

Going on holiday

Hands up who is heading away on holiday for the summer! Congratulations, lucky you.

We often get asked by people if they can use their Rodney Library Card at a different Rodney Library than the one they usually go to. The answer is of course YES you can.

So if you are heading away on your holiday to another part of the Rodney District, don't forget to take your Rodney Library Card with you and pop into the local library. There are seven of us around the region - Helensville and Kumeu out west, Orewa and Whangaparaoa in the East and Warkworth, Snells Beach and Wellsford in the north. Your library card will work in all of them.

And if you are heading to your holiday home in Rodney from further afield, don't forget that all Rodney ratepayers are entitled to free membership and use of the Rodney Libraries.

Can't wait to see you all here.

Express Select arrives at Warkworth

The Warkworth Library is the latest of the Rodney Libraries to make available the new Express Select Collection - the quickest stop for popular books and magazines.

Forget the hold queue - this is strictly a "see it and pick it up" collection - Express Select items cannot be requested or have holds put on them. The lending time is shorter for a quicker turn around and there is a charge. Books are $5.00 for a week and magazines are $2.00 for the week. It is possible to renew them but there will be another charge. A quiet warning that they are more expensive if you are late back with them as well.

However if you don't want to wait in the hold queue for a copy to come available - this is a quick easy way to get the latest reading. If you don't want to pay, there are copies of all the books in the Express Select Collection are available free in the general lending collection.

Just another option for your reading. Check it out on the special stand at your local library.

Parties and entertaining

Party season seems to start straight after Labour Weekend but it goes crazy as Christmas and the summer holidays draw closer. If you're looking for a bit of inspiration, try the following searches on the catalogue...

Subject : Parties. There are 5 books listed under this heading. (I especially like the sound of "Diane Warner's great parties on small budgets : celebrations for grownups and kids of all ages" It looks American so it won't necessarily translate exactly for New Zealand products but there should be some fun ideas in there.)

Subject: Entertaining. 51 titles listed here. A nice mix of recipes and styling ideas. (My favourite in this list is "Entertaining for wimps" with the subtitle "Food, drink & style sense for the hesitant host.")

Picture from FreeDigitalPhotos.net

National Jandal Day for Surf lifesaving

Today is National Jandal Day for Surf Lifesaving New Zealand. Brought to you by Bach 22 wines and Surf Life Saving New Zealand, National Jandal Day wants every Kiwi to step out in NZ’s favourite summer footwear, and help make our beaches safer places.

From their website "Last year 1,440 lives were saved by Surf Lifeguards. We have a drowning rate twice that per capita of Australia (shocking eh?), and Surf Life Saving New Zealand needs your help to increase its commitment to public education, expand their services to increase our beach access and meet the ongoing demand for more patrols, more equipment and training for our lifeguards. To do this we need your support!"

Make a donation online to this great cause. They help to keep us safe over the summer season.