Christchurch's Central Library in Gloucester Street closed after the earthquake on 22 February 2011. As we move towards opening Tūranga - your new central library - on Friday 12 October 2018, here is a look at the temporary town libraries we've operated since 2011:
Central South City Library
South City Shopping Centre, 555 Colombo Street
Opened on 8 July 2011
Closed 15 July 2012
Central South City Library was a 136 square metre retail space in the South City Mall, on Colombo Street. The library was situated next to the only supermarket open in the area at the time (New World), adjacent to the food court and across from Paper Plus. People enjoyed the convenience of shopping and using the library. In the one year the library was open, 162,830 people came through the doors.
Photos of Central South City Library
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Central Library Peterborough
91 Peterborough Street
Opened on 19 December 2011
Closed 5pm Sunday 26 August 2018
Central Library Peterborough is a 1,250 square metre building. It was one of the first businesses to open in the area after the February 2011 earthquake, and it provided a good reason for people to come into town and provided library services to the local community. The first 12 months saw 305,800 visitors through the door. It was the venue for Christchurch Art Gallery outer spaces exhibitions. Since then, it has been a popular community library with lots of events and activities for whānau.
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Central Library Tuam
121 Tuam Street
Opened on 23 July 2012
Closed Friday 1 November 2013
Central Library Tuam occupied a space of approximately 1,000 square metres next to the main public transport hub. Escarto the coffee cart operated in front of the library. The other end of the building housed the CCC Central Rebuild service, and the Christchurch Art Gallery shop.
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Central Library Manchester
36 Manchester Street
Central Library Manchester opened 20 January 2014
Closed 5pm Saturday 18 August 2018
Central Library Manchester has been the location for important resources like the Aotearoa New Zealand collection, local history and genealogical resources, Ngā Pounamu Māori and the Ngāi Tahu Collection / Ngā Rākau Teitei e Iwa.
- Photos of Central Library Manchester opening
- Central Library Manchester's chalkboard quotes
- Photos of Central Library Manchester
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Town library timeline 2011-
- Central Library (Gloucester Street) closed 22 February 2011.
- Central South City Library opened 8 July 2011
- Central Library Peterborough opened 19 December 2011
- Central South City Library closed 15 July 2012
- Central Library Tuam opened 23 July 2012
- Central Library Tuam closed 1 November 2013
- Central Library Manchester opened 20 January 2014
- Central Library demolition. September and October 2014
- Groundworks begin on the new Central Library site. 22 February 2016
- Central Library Manchester closed 5pm Saturday 18 August 2018.
- Central Library Peterborough closed 5pm Sunday 26 August 2018.
- The Mobile Library was available from the carpark of the former Central Library Peterborough from Tuesday 28 August until Tuesday 9 October.
- Tūranga scheduled to open Friday 12 October 2018.
Information on our temporary libraries
- Library factsheet
- Out of the rubble - the establishment of a new type of library in post earthquake central Christchurch [257 KB PDF] Presentation by Guy Field at the 2013 LIANZA Conference 21 October 2013
- Creating New Library Spaces in a Post-Earthquake Environment by Christine Annan and Sally Thompson, The New Zealand Library And Information Management Journal. 14 August 2013
