On Thursday 24 November, Nelson City Council will consider a recommendation from the Library Reopening Taskforce to approve $1.4m to complete urgent strengthening work on Elma Turner Library to enable its full reopening next year.

Council closed Elma Turner Library on Thursday 9 June 2022 after an initial inspection found ceiling tiles in the building were much heavier (8kg – 11kg) than expected. Following urgent remediation work on the ceilings in two areas of the building, a part of the central library re-opened as a Pop-up Library on 25 July 2022.

While undertaking strengthening of the ceiling tiles for the Pop-up Library, Council simultaneously commissioned a Detailed Seismic Assessment (DSA) Report on the building's structure to assess what work would be required to re-open the remainder of the Elma Turner Library. This assessment was completed this month.

The structural DSA report shows that, while the majority of the building is between 40-60% of the New Building Standard (NBS) and therefore not considered earthquake-prone, the roof bracing system in the southern end (by Halifax Street) is rated at 30% NBS, below the 34% NBS threshold.

The Taskforce and library staff are keen to see the rest of Elma Turner Library strengthened and reopened to the public as soon as possible. To reduce the remedial work timeframes, strengthening work is planned in a phased manner, which means the Pop-up Library can remain open throughout the work period.

“We are working as quickly as possible to fix the ceiling tiles and structural issues so Nelson can return to enjoying use of the full library," says Taskforce lead and Nelson Mayor Nick Smith.

“The Library Reopening Taskforce was established at the first business meeting of the new Council on 10 November, and it met the next day. We received the final seismic structural assessment report on 18 November. Council approval of the Taskforce recommendations this Thursday will enable physical work to start 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 which includes structural strengthening will allow for the full library to reopen in July.

“The seismic strengthening work to the tiles and structure of the library is consistent with the recommendations by engineering experts. It upgrades the building from high risk to medium risk and means the library will not be deemed an earthquake prone building.

“Although the legislation allows 25 years to upgrade, the Council is taking a conservative approach to seismic risk by choosing to do this work as quickly as possible.

“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.”

Library staff have been working very hard to maintain their usual high level of service to the public, and Manager Libraries Sarina Barron says they are viewing this time as an opportunity to improve and innovate what the library can deliver.

“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. We can’t wait to have our doors fully open again.”

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