NZ Life

This is the first of Things We’ll Miss–those big and little aspects of NZ that we particularly like. It’s not like we’re not leaving tomorrow, but we’ve already started planning our repatriation. As such we’re starting to take special note of those things that we’ve come to enjoy here in Christchurch and NZ.

We’ll miss the Christchurch library system. Of course Peoria has libraries, but we’ve found the Christchurch network particularly good for a number of reasons:

• Newer buildings with modern layouts
• Recent books, lots of magazines and other periodicals
• Cafes in many of the branches
• A website that lets you find, reserve, and transfer books. (Sorry, the Peoria CARLWeb is too crappy to count.)
• Local branches that we can bicycle to
• People. The libraries are usually bustling. It’s great to see little kids scanning the shelves and checking out armfuls of books.

I read a promising report on plans to upgrade the Lakeview branch in Peoria–including adding a cafe–but while that helps the North Siders, the downtown library still is down right depressing.

I don’t expect the Peoria library system to receive an overhaul anytime soon (if ever), so for us the fine Christchurch libraries will definitely be missed.