Epsom Library
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| Epsom Library | |
|---|---|
 The main entrance of Epsom Library, October 2022 | |
 | |
| 36°52′54″S 174°46′32″E / 36.88164°S 174.77553°E | |
| Location | 195 Manukau Rd, Epsom, New Zealand |
| Type | Public library |
| Established | 8 September 1882 |
| Service area | Epsom, Newmarket, Mount Eden, Greenlane |
| Branch of | Auckland Libraries |
| Collection | |
| Size | Floating |
| Other information | |
| Website | www |
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. Epsom Library, alongside Mount Roskill Library, Mount Albert Library and Point Chevalier Library, reports to the Albert-Eden Local Board.
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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 very long due to the cease of funding by Education Department in 1887.[1] A brief introduction on the library wall gives another version - the earliest form was established in 1880 by the Epsom Mutual Improvement Society.
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.[1] The new Epsom Library was opened on 27 August 1918 by Mayor James Gunson, as the fourth branch library of the Auckland City Libraries.[1] The City Librarian, John Barr and his family home was next door to the library until his retirement in 1952. Mabel Oliver started working in Epsom Library in 1923. She was deeply loved by children and other library patrons. Mabel died on the job in 1935. A remembrance plaque was installed within the current library building. In 1924, the library building got an extension and in 1930 the library further took over part of the hall.[1] Becoming the 3rd busiest library among the suburban libraries of Auckland in 1970s, the building was further extended by another 93 m2 (1,000 sq ft) 1974 and 1975. This provided a small workroom for staff and an area for public seating.[1]
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.[1]
On 29 August 1997, Mayor Les Mills officially opened the new building, after the old building was closed on 17 January of the same year.[1] Three days later, on 1 September 1997, it opens its doors to the public. The new (current) building has twice the floor area to the old building. It was designed by Patterson Co-Partners Architects and was built by Hawkins Construction.[1] The building is a pentagon, a very distinctive shape in Auckland region, even in New Zealand.
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