Ashburton has undergone huge change since 1975, with six mayors and countless councillors, but always one constant - the librarian. Reporter Jonathan Leask spoke to Jill Watson about the big changes during her 50-year tenure as the town's librarian

Jill Watson admits “1975 feels a long time ago”.

She is set to retire on August 8 after five decades at the Ashburton Library.

It’s rare someone stays in a role for so long, but it's easy to see why Jill stayed so long – she simply loves the job.

“It’s been marvellous and just the greatest job.

“It’s one of the best-kept secrets as far as jobs go. It just hasn’t felt hard.

“And working with people who have been terrific and put up with a lot from me.”

She can’t have been that bad as she lasted 50 years, and a number of the staff have chalked up multiple decades as well – including Nicky Farrell who has worked under Jill for 45 years.

Jill joked: “It was the only library in town so where could they run to?”

She moved to Ashburton “for a boy” after starting her career at the Christchurch City Library.

While the boyfriend didn’t last long, she ended up staying in the job she loved for half a century.

Jill couldn’t recall her first day back in 1975, where she start in the children’s library.

“We were the centre for the school library service. They would send boxes of books down and the schools would come in for their collections.”

After almost three years, she stepped up to the role of library manager at the age of 23.

When she started the former library building was only eight years old and considered to be an "extremely modern and forward-thinking library”.

The old building had been renovated as a millennium project which “gave the whole place a new lease of life and made it more pleasant”.

Twenty years and some earthquake damage later, it had lost its lustre and “leaked like a sieve”.

Retirement had crossed Jill’s mind but she couldn’t leave with the new library on the horizon and the lure of a new bright and vibrant space that is “two-and-a-half times the size”.

“I wanted to be part of the move and make sure we could offer the modern services and programmes that were right for this building.”

During the planning phase for Te Whare Whakatere, Jill said she never expected the community to tell the council to build the bigger, more expensive option.

After a year-and-a-half in the new $62.1m library and civic centre, Jill believes it was worth it as the place is buzzing.

The new building sparked a doubling of visitor numbers and pushed up borrowing rates.

She said one of the best things about the new library  is they have built lots of nooks and crannies.

“You can find a chair in a corner that will be perfectly quiet and just look at the window.

“I’ve got my favourite spot sorted, on the second floor overlooking Baring Square, hopefully catching a glimpse of the snow on the mountains.”

The times are changing

Technology has come a long way since 1975 and Jill has witnessed it all.

Libraries have moved from using cards to computer systems, which didn’t come naturally for the library leader, who is “not really a techy person”.

“I hit the period where computers just started working out, and I would have quite happily missed it.

“I was pretty happy with the old gooseneck stamp.

“But it was all very labour intensive, so it probably is much better these days.”

A library is no longer just a building full of books, she said.

“I prefer to see it as not only a big building full of books but something else.”

It offered magazines, then videos, cassettes, and DVDs and now eBooks and internet access, but “people still mostly come for books”.

Ashburton Library also offers a long list of diverse programmes and learning opportunities, the result of a “staff that overachieves on you”.

The days of a librarian shushing people are also long gone, she said.

The new library, Te Kete Tuhinga,  is a busy space with people constantly buzzing about – a far cry from the low point of covid when the old downtrodden library was empty and the patronage was slow to return post-lockdowns.

One of the hardest parts of the job was when a previous council introduced fees, including a per-book charge, she said.

The fees and fines have been phased out over time making the library more accessible, and much to Jill’s delight the last of those – a reservation fee - was removed this year.

Jill’s monumental milestone was marked at the recent council meeting where people and facilities group manager Sarah Mosley said 50 years of service was “hard to fathom”.

"[Jill's] dedication and passion has left an indelible mark on the Ashburton community”.

“Your 50 years’ service is a testament to your unwavering commitment and your love of the work you do”.

Mosely said Jill has “always been careful with council’s money, however at the same time is an expert at spending it”.

Jill joked later that if she had been a wasteful spender, they might have noticed before she reached 50 years.

She will leave some big shoes to fill, and Jill would know as the avid shopper converted a bedroom in her farmhouse into a walk-in wardrobe that houses quite the shoe collection – something Mosley quipped could feature in Ashburton’s museum and art gallery one day.

The council was reasonably confident no other employee has ever served as long as her but the old records aren’t reliable enough to confirm it.

Jill couldn’t recall anyone coming close to her five-decade tenure.

The next chapter

Not one to stand idle, Jill has plenty to keep her busy but is looking forward to one of the perks of retirement.

“One of the things I’ve looked forward to for years is getting out on frosty days at about 10am instead of 7:30am, and then getting inside to light the fire at 4:30pm instead of coming home in the dark to a cold house.”

Retirement holds more time on her small farm at Chertsey with some sheep and “a bit of a garden”.

“I’m looking at one of those robots that now the lawns because it’s my least favourite part of living there.”

She breeds and shows dogs – norwich terriers.

One of them is a well-known figure, with Riffraff the children’s reading dog at the library for several years but now retired.

Jill said she plans to continue to spend the summers travelling to dog shows in her caravan.

“I think I will still be very busy.

“I’ve also got a pile of books I’ve been meaning to read.”

Unsurprisingly, the long-serving librarian loves to read.

“My memory is not what it used to be so I could read a book three times but I’ve never been that good at remembering storylines.

“I enjoy audiobooks. I do a lot of gardening and work around the farm which is tedious so you can just listen to something else – it’s a different way of reading.”

By Jonathan Leask