Changes in New Zealand

***Recent Information from a Library Manager in the north Auckland area - NZ***

"In Auckland we are looking at an amalgamated city starting on the 1st November 2010. The city will have 1.4 million residents (one third of the NZ population) and at 60 sites will have one of the largest public library systems in the world as far as I can tell.

The amalgamation is going to be extraordinarily complex and the new city represents an organisation with $27 billion in assets. NZ's largest company is Fonterra (the NZ global dairy company) with $14 billion in assets, so this is going to be something the country has not seen before.

There will be also a Lord Mayor type appointment with executive powers to appoint staff."

My note: Australia's largest Local Government Area is Brisbane City Council with a population of around 1 million. Both SSROC and WSROC in Sydney each cover populations of over 1.5 million Sydney residents.

Robert McEntyre
Executive Director
Public Libraries NSW Metropolitan Association (PLM)