Young Western Bay bookhounds have sniffed out a Hairy Maclary classic as their top read for 2023.

‘Hairy Maclary, sit!’ by Lynley Dodd was the top picture book for the year, and other books by the Tauranga author were sought after too.

Around 350,000 books were checked in and out of Western Bay of Plenty’s four libraries throughout the year by residents young and old, making the most of the offerings.

Classic books and titles remained popular, including the children’s book ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’.

The series has 18 books in its series, and an activity book.

For adults, books from the author of the ‘Seven Sisters’ series were often requested.

The final book in the series, ‘Atlas: The story of Pa Salt’, was the most sought-after adults’ book for 2023.

Fantasy series were popular with young adults.

‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’ by Sarah J. Maas is the first book in a series that Western Bay library users couldn’t get enough of. 

Not only were books popular in 2023, so too were the libraries.

In the 2022/23 year, 235,000 visits were made to our spaces — an increase of 38,000 on the previous year.

Our events have also been a hit. We ran nearly 1,000 events during the same period, with around 10,000 attendees.

If you’re keen to get your nose into a good book over the summer, pop in to visit our friendly teams.

We’ve got more than 91,000 books for you to choose from, or 31,700+ eBooks and eAudio books.

Take your pick this summer!

Books can be returned through the Return slots at each branch.

All due dates for books over the period where libraries are closed have been extended out to 8 January, so there is no rush to return these.

Our libraries in Western Bay of Plenty do not have fines for most books any longer – but fines still apply to our Top Shelf books and DVDs.

Our library locations:

• The Centre - Pātuki Manawa, 21 Main Road, Katikati
• Ōmokoroa Library and Service Centre – 28 Western Avenue, Ōmokoroa
• Te Puke Library and Service Centre – 130 Jellicoe Street, Te Puke
• Waihī Beach Library and Service Centre - 106 Beach Road, Waihī Beach

Our libraries are closed from midday on Friday 22 December 2023, with regular hours resuming Monday 8 January 2024. Regular library hours can be found here.