Library reopening on the cards

Nelson’s Elma Turner Library could be fully open in July next year, with sections opening up from January as staged repair work is completed.

A report will be up for discussion at this week’s council meeting from the library taskforce, recommending a $1.4 million programme of ‘‘urgent strengthening’’ to address the earthquake safety issues discovered earlier this year.

Ceiling tiles posed more of a risk than realised, as they weighed 8kg to 11kg, much heavier than thought.

A detailed seismic assessment completed this month found that the problems with the building were not as bad as feared. Most of the building is at 40 to 60% of the New Building Standard (NBS). The threshold is 34%.

The southern end of the library, on Halifax St, was found to be below that threshold at 30% NBS, and is therefore earthquakeprone.

The council meeting tomorrow will make a decision, but the recommendation in the report is to enter a phased refurbishment programme, leaving the pop-up section of the library open throughout, and reopening sections of the library from January.

Nelson mayor Nick Smith said that if the council approved the refurbishment programme, work could begin as soon as next week.

‘‘The first phase of work will take about seven weeks, and will enable the full riverfront area to be opened in January. The second phase will allow further expansion in April. The final phase, that includes the structural strengthening, will take until June enabling reopening of the full library in July,’’ Smith said.

He said the strengthening work would move the building from the high-risk category to medium-risk, and would take it out of the earthquake-prone category.

‘‘This proposal strikes an appropriate balance so we can make good use of this facility for several more years, making it as safe as practicable but without spending an excessive amount on a building that in time will need replacement.’’

Council libraries manager Sarina Barron said the work was a chance to innovate and improve the library.

‘‘We’re really excited to have a fully accessible Elma Turner Library building on the horizon. Staff and customers have had to be quite resilient throughout this process. This is our chance to have a think about how we make the library space even better and more inviting, whether that’s refreshing the layout or exciting new programmes and collections.’’

Smith favours repairing the library rather than building a new $44m facility. He had that project suspended at the council’s first meeting this year.

‘‘The first phase of work will take about seven weeks.’’

Nelson mayor Nick Smith