Defibrillator donated to Hastings library
The Hastings library took possession of a new defibrillator this week, a much appreciated donation from the Friends of Hastings District Libraries Inc (FOL).
The FOL is an independent charitable society that supports the work of the libraries to provide the best service for the community.
The Friends’ members provide advocacy, as well as running a speakers’ series, supporting special programmes and sponsoring resources for library users.
Over the years this has included buying or subsidising the likes of furniture, display boards, and desks for public internet computers.
FOL Inc chair Richard Peach said the society decided this would be another good use for some of the money they had fundraised.
“Every citizen should be safe in the library and access to a defibrillator would be very useful, allowing an early response should a library user suffer medical issues.”
Hastings District Libraries and Gallery manager Paula Murdoch agreed, saying every moment counted in such an emergency.
“Every 30 seconds you save, the higher the possibility of saving someone’s life – this is a very valuable addition to the toolkit we have to keep people safe in our community facilities.”
