{"id":61595,"date":"2026-09-21T10:27:58","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T22:27:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yaketyyakfurniture.com\/projects\/marlborough-district-libraries-keep-choosing-yakety-yak-counters\/"},"modified":"2026-10-15T16:47:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T03:47:38","slug":"marlborough-district-libraries-keep-choosing-yakety-yak-counters","status":"publish","type":"yakprojects","link":"https:\/\/yaketyyakfurniture.com\/en_au\/projects\/marlborough-district-libraries-keep-choosing-yakety-yak-counters\/","title":{"rendered":"Marlborough District Libraries keep choosing Yakety Yak counters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Location:<\/strong> Marlborough, New Zealand (situated at the top of the South Island)
\nPublic Libraries:<\/strong> Marlborough Library + Art Gallery (Blenheim) – Te Kahu o Waipuna, and Picton Library and Service Centre – Waitohi Whare M\u0101tauranga
\nKey Contact:<\/strong> Glenn Webster, Libraries Manager; Philip Manson, Facilities Coordinator
\nProject Focus:<\/strong> Three service desk installations across the Marlborough District Libraries network, 2023\u20132026
\nProducts: <\/strong>4 x 305 Radial Counters, 1 x 300 Cash Module and 2 x 300 Under Counter Storage Modules<\/p>\n

Marlborough District Libraries is a longstanding Yakety Yak Customer; a look through the archives revealed their first order from us was in 2008! So it has been a pleasure to work with Glenn and Philip to supply an information desk and children’s area desk at Marlborough Library in Blenheim, and a circulation counter at Picton Library.<\/p>\n

\"Marlborough
Marlborough Library + Art Gallery – Te Kahu o Waipuna opened in Blenheim in 2023.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Location<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Marlborough District Libraries operates two public libraries: Marlborough Library + Art Gallery – Te Kahu o Waipuna in Blenheim, and Picton Library and Service Centre – Waitohi Whare M\u0101tauranga (a smaller community library).<\/p>\n

Marlborough Library opened in May 2023, following a $20 million redevelopment that doubled the footprint of the old Blenheim library, co-locating it with the Marlborough Art Gallery on a riverside site. The M\u0101ori name Te Kahu o Waipuna, gifted by mana whenua, means “the protective cloak of Waipuna.\u201d Designed by Warren and Mahoney, the building has collected a string of architecture and design awards and become, in the words of Mayor Nadine Taylor, “a living space… a children’s space, an all-ages space, a future technology space.” Three years on, it is tracking around 300,000 visits a year (up roughly 50% on the old facility) and passed one million visits in mid-2026.<\/p>\n

Picton Library and Service Centre, designed by Athfield Architects, serves a smaller, tight-knit community. It is a building with its own strong architectural character \u2014 full-height timber panelling, a mezzanine level, and beautifully designed joinery.<\/p>\n

\"Picton
Picton Library and Service Centre – Waitohi Whare M\u0101tauranga opened in 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Challenge<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Shortly after Marlborough Library opened, Glenn approached Yakety Yak to order a 305 Radial Counter in finishes to match the furniture in their new facility. The desk was positioned near the entrance to serve as the W\u0100HI P\u0100TAI information point. Although it was the first new Yakety Yak desk installed in the freshly constructed building, some of our old style \u2018classic pods\u2019 had been repurposed around the floor.<\/p>\n

\"A
A YAKETY YAK 305 Radial Counter serving as the W\u0100HI P\u0100TAI information desk at Marlborough Library, Blenheim.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two of these \u2018classic pods\u2019 were deployed, along with a Yakety Yak 100 Work Module, as the service desks in the children’s area. While they served the team well when the building first opened, staff increasingly felt like they needed more workspace – a barcode scanner, receipt printer, monitor arm and keyboard all competing for space. A children’s area is invariably one of the busiest parts of a library, and they needed a solution that offered more space without compromising on flexibility.<\/p>\n

At Picton Library, the existing circulation desk was a striking piece of joinery \u2014 curved copper cladding and a solid timber worktop that suited the building\u2019s architecture. However, the staff who used the desk daily were finding that it didn\u2019t quite meet their requirements. They put a lot of thought into identifying what the right solution would look like.<\/p>\n

In both cases, the library teams needed desks that would:<\/p>\n