Wellingtonians are not keen to lose the city's pop-up libraries when the central library reopens.
Wellington's first pop-up library, Arapaki in Manners Street, opened on 28 May 2019 after the capital's central library was closed. Photo: RNZ / Michael Cropp
The city council has unveiled preliminary plans for an $187.5 million upgrade of the library, Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui, which was closed in 2019 due to earthquake-related structural vulnerabilities.
Key parts of the vision for the proposed new look are that it is brighter, more accessible and fit for the future.
But during a presentation to media, Wellington mayor Andy Foster also confirmed the council had "no intention" to keep three temporary CBD libraries that opened after the 2019 closure, noting they were all on time limited leases.
Outside the Te Awe pop-up, on Brandon Street, library-goers had a lot of love for the temporary libraries.
One woman, Catherine, thought there would still be a functional purpose and that they were "almost vital".
"I think they serve a real purpose for people who don't have access to internet, and things like that - I think they're real community hubs almost."
Julia, who was returning books, said the pop-ups were more convenient for some people.
She had become "really attached" to Te Awe and said she would be "sad" to see it close.
An artist's impression of the Harris Street entrance of the revamped Wellington City Library, Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui which is due to reopen in 2026. Photo: Wellington City Council
Beth had just conducted a job interview in the space, appreciating the pop-ups for being accessible public spaces spread across the CBD.
"The central library is fantastic but it is a bit more of a walk if you're on this side of town," she said.
A man named Nick wanted to see Te Matapihi open out better onto Civic Square.
"If we're supposed to use that as a gathering space, why not open that face of it to spill onto that?"
He suggested shifting the library's cafe to an entrance there to create better flow between the square and library.
The proposed plans appear to support Nick's ideas: the number of entrances is set to increase from two to five with the Civic Square steps being removed to create a ground-level entrance.
Te Matapihi project board chair James Roberts said there were elements of the council's network of libraries that would be carried through to the new-look Te Matapihi - largely things the council had learned throughout the pandemic.
He emphasised the role of the distribution centre, which was set up in recent years to better connect the city's libraries.
Roberts said use of suburban libraries had increased during the pandemic and there were now "very, very popular" services in place allowing people to order books from one library, pick them up at another, and then return them elsewhere.
Other key changes in the preliminary design include strengthening beams and installing new base isolators.
The building will also be raised 600 millimetres to protect it from the impacts of climate change, like flash floods.
This plan is the first of three design stages before construction.
Te Matapihi is due to reopen in 2026.