Elma Turner Library welcomes community into expanded space

Nelson City Council is pleased to welcome our community into the expanded Elma Turner Library as we reopen 70% of the public space following earthquake strengthening and repairs.

The library was closed for just over a week while staff worked to prepare the extended space for reopening on Wednesday 26 July, which included moving 800 shelves and 25,000 books into the reopened area.

The public were welcomed into the extended space on Wednesday with hot drinks made by library staff, a chance to win prizes as they browsed the extra space in an all-ages scavenger hunt, and a special visit from children’s songwriter and entertainer Kath Bee for the tamariki.

Library staff were joined in greeting library users this morning by Councillor Tim Skinner, who is also a member of the Library Reopening Taskforce. Councillor Skinner says getting back most of the library space and amenities is a great step forward for the community.

"I am very happy that we are able to reopen more of the Elma Turner Library to the public. This is an important community asset, and I know that many people are eagerly awaiting the full reopening next year. The extended area will provide much-needed additional space and will allow the library to offer even better services.”

Nelson Mayor Nick Smith, who leads the Taskforce, was at the Local Government New Zealand Conference on the day of the reopening, but was pleased the extended space had reopened, returning the majority of the library’s publicly available space back for community use.

“It’s been a long road to get here. When we opened the Elma Turner Pop-up Library extension in January, we were on track and on schedule to reopen the entire library in full at this time, but as is often the case with ageing buildings, structural damage was discovered and that pushed all our plans back.

“It has been through the sheer hard work and determination of our Council staff, engineers, architects, and contractors that we are able to reopen more of the library to our community, delivering double the floorspace, and reopening the main entrance, Research and Heritage Room and the main toilets.

“All of the ceiling tiles and ceiling grid in this area have been braced and secured, and access to the toilet facilities has been restored via a purpose-built, enclosed corridor. We are now looking toward February 2024 for the building’s full reopening.”

Elma Turner Library was closed in June 2022 after it was discovered heavy ceiling tiles throughout the building posed an earthquake risk and the ceiling grid itself was in some parts of the building under 34% NBS (New Building Standard), meaning the building was earthquake prone.

As work on the ceiling tiles progressed, buckling and splits in four trusses was found in the building built as an extension in 1985, likely caused by structural changes to the building.

An investigation into the conversion and repairs from 1995 has been commissioned and is expected to be completed by the end of August.

The extended space means the library has more space to host events and can resume assisting people with their historical research in the Research Room. Additional seating, study areas, lounges, public computers and charging docks are now also available.

The total cost of the Elma Turner Library earthquake strengthening project is $2.7 million. Once all the seismic strengthening and repair work is complete, the library will meet 67% NBS (New Building Standard) for the ceilings, and 34% NBS for the structure, giving the building a further 5 to 10 years of life.

For FAQ see: Damaged roof trusses add costs and delay to Elma Turner Library reopening, further section opening planned - Our Nelson.