| Wellington City Libraries | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| 41°17′1.54″S174°46′33.67″E / 41.2837611°S 174.7760194°E | |
| Location | Wellington, New Zealand |
| Established | 1893 |
| Branches | 14 |
| Collection | |
| Size | 720,000 items |
| Other information | |
| Website | www |
Wellington City Libraries is the public library service for Wellington, New Zealand.
From 1841, various organisations operated a public library, often subscription-based, in Wellington. [1] The first library operated from 1841–1843 in a raupo hut at the bottom of what is now Molesworth Street, and this was followed by libraries in other locations around the city. [2] In 1889, local businessman and politician William Levin donated money to the city for building a library, prompting the setting up of the 'Free Public Library Fund' with fundraising events and donations from other people. [3] Wellington City Council agreed to build and operate a public library, which was officially opened on 21 April 1893 [4] on the corner of Mercer and Wakefield Streets in a building designed by William Crichton, a prominent architect of the time. [5] : 85 [6]
The reference section of the library opened on 1 May 1894 and in its first month was used by 306 men and 28 women. The most requested items included novels by George Eliot, works on sanitary engineering, yacht architecture and sailing, New Zealand Statutes, and science books. [7] The most popular novelists in the circulating area of the library in its first six months of operation included Sarah Grand, Marie Corelli, Edna Lyall, Arthur Conan Doyle, H. Rider Haggard, Stanley Weyman, E. F. Benson, Thomas Hardy, Mrs Henry Wood, and Mrs Humphry Ward. [8]
The library closed in 1940 and the building was demolished in 1943. [1] [9] The site was later occupied by the City Council Municipal Office Building which was to be demolished in 2025. [10]
In 1940 a new library opened on a block between Mercer and Harris streets. [1]
By the early 1960s, the existing library built in 1940 had become too small: some books were stored offsite because of lack of space, the newspaper reading room and some staff sections were housed elsewhere and there was a lack of space for casual seating and study. [11]
In 1989, Athfield Architects were commissioned to design a new Wellington Central Library. Their design won the Environmental Award in the 1992 Carter Holt Harvey Awards and the New Zealand Institute of Architects National Award (1993). [12] [13] [14] The library was built by Fletcher Development and Construction. [15] The new Wellington Central Library was opened in 1991, and the previous library building then became the City Gallery. Both buildings are located in Civic Square, with the library having its main entrance on Victoria Street and another entrance from the mezzanine level onto Civic Square.
In March 2019, Wellington City Council announced that the Central Library was to be closed to the public, after receiving advice from engineers that the building has structural vulnerabilities which mean it might not perform well in the event of a significant earthquake. [16] A month later the Council announced that it would spend $179 million to repair and upgrade the library rather than demolish it. [17]
Following the closure of the Central Library, three pop-up replacement libraries opened in central Wellington: Arapaki Manners Library (opened in May 2019 in Manners Street and closed in 2024), [18] [19] He Matapihi Molesworth Library (opened in October 2019 inside the National Library in Molesworth Street, and closed in 2023), [20] [21] and Te Awe Library in Brandon Street (opened in July 2020). However, none of these has the reading rooms or the opening hours of the Central Library. Wellington Central Library's collection of 400,000 items has been relocated to a new collection and distribution centre named Te Pātaka, in Johnsonville. [22]
Wellington's first branch library opened in Newtown in 1902, stocking general literature and a range of newspapers and magazines. [23] As of September 2024, Wellington City Libraries has 12 branches open to the public. One of these is in central Wellington, replacing the closed Central Library, and the rest are located in suburban areas. [24] Branches have also been given Māori names, usually based on a geographic feature or local legend. [25]
Membership of Wellington City Libraries is free to residents and to those who work, study or pay rates in Wellington. [28] The library has offered a variety of services over the years to keep up with changes in technology, public taste and budget. Public-access computers were introduced in 1998 for patrons to access the catalogue digitally, [29] and in 2001 the library spent $2.35 million upgrading the system to one that was Windows-based, internet-enabled and easier for patrons to use. [30] As of 2025 Wellington City Libraries offers online remote access to databases, e-books and audiobooks, newspapers, magazines, films, music and language learning apps. [31] Events held at the branch libraries include story times for young children, conversation groups for migrants, movie nights, and talks by authors.
From 1947 to 2006 the library operated a mobile service, taking books to communities that had no branch library or limited public transport, but this service was cancelled in 2006 due to low use and high costs. [32] The library still has a housebound service, whereby volunteers will deliver books to those who are unable to get to a library. [33]
Other examples of services no longer offered include the print collection and bestseller collection. The central library formerly held a collection of art prints which patrons could borrow. [34] During the 1980s the library issued 7500-8000 prints annually, but by 1997 the number had halved and the print collection of 1200 items was sold. [35] In 1996 the library introduced 'bestsellers': patrons could pay a small fee to jump the reserve queue for a bestselling book and borrow it immediately. [36] This service ended in October 2022. [37]
On 1 July 2022 the library stopped charging overdue fees for books not returned on time, [38] in line with a world-wide trend in public libraries. [39] The library manager stated that overdue fines "disproportionately affect those who cannot afford to pay" and that some poorer families were too afraid to borrow items in case they became overdue. It was hoped that removing fines would encourage more people to use the library. [38] During the period from 2019 to March 2022, Wellington City Council received more than $800,000 from fines for overdue books, and when the new policy was put into place the council wiped over $500,000 of current fines from patrons' accounts. [39] A survey conducted almost a year after the change found that more people were using the library. [40]
In 2006 the New Zealand Music Board honoured the Library with an excellence award for its "Sing along with Stu" story-time programme.
Te Awe Library in Brandon Street won the 2021 New Zealand Institute of Architects Wellington Architecture Award for public architecture for its design and décor. [41] [42]
Victoria University of Wellington is a public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand.
Porirua, a city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Porirua' is a corruption of 'Pari-rua', meaning "the tide sweeping up both reaches". It almost completely surrounds Porirua Harbour at the southern end of the Kāpiti Coast. As of 2023, Porirua has a population of 62,400 people, and is a diverse city with 26.5% of the population identifying as Pasifika and 23.0% of the population identifying as Māori.
Archives New Zealand is New Zealand's national archive and the official guardian of its public archives. As the government's recordkeeping authority, it administers the Public Records Act 2005 and promotes good information management throughout government.
The National Library of New Zealand is charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations". Under the Act, the library's duties include collecting, preserving and protecting New Zealand's documentary heritage, supporting other libraries in New Zealand, and collaborating with peer institutions abroad. The library headquarters is on the corner of Aitken and Molesworth Streets in Wellington, close to the New Zealand Parliament Buildings and the Court of Appeal.
Wainuiomata is a large dormitory suburb of Lower Hutt, in the Wellington metropolitan area in New Zealand. Its population was estimated as being 20,250 as of June 2024, with a density of 1,600 people per km2. European settlement of Wainuiomata began in the 1850s with timber-felling and farming and began to grow in the 1920s. After World War 2 there was rapid population expansion, with Wainuiomata earning the nickname 'Nappy Valley' because of the large number of families with young children. From the late 1980s the economy slowed and the population decreased, but since about 2020 there has been a housing boom and corresponding increase in population. Wainuiomata is noted for being the origin of New Zealand's kōhanga reo movement.
The Beehive is the common name for the Executive Wing of New Zealand Parliament Buildings, located at the corner of Molesworth Street and Lambton Quay, Wellington. It is so-called because its shape is reminiscent of that of a traditional woven form of beehive known as a skep. It is registered as a Category I heritage building by Heritage New Zealand.
Brooklyn is a suburb of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, under the governance of Wellington City Council. It lies 3 km south of Wellington's central business district on the eastern slopes of the hills above Happy Valley. It is located to the south of Aro Valley and Highbury, west of Mount Cook, north of Vogeltown, Mornington and Ōwhiro Bay and east of Kowhai Park, Panorama Heights, Mitcheltown and Karori.
Te Aro is an inner-city suburb of Wellington, New Zealand. It comprises the southern part of the central business district including the majority of the city's entertainment district and covers the mostly flat area of city between The Terrace and Cambridge Terrace at the base of Mount Victoria.
Te Ngākau Civic Square is a public square in central Wellington, New Zealand, between the Wellington central business district to the north and the Te Aro entertainment district to the south. The square is bounded by Jervois Quay, Harris Street, Victoria Street and Wakefield Street
Wellington Regional Council, branded as Greater Wellington Regional Council, is the regional council overseeing the Wellington Region of New Zealand's lower North Island. It is responsible for public transport under the brand Metlink, environmental and flood protection, and the region's water supply. As of 2023, it is the majority owner of CentrePort Wellington with a 77% shareholding.
City GalleryTe Whare Toi is a public art gallery in Wellington, New Zealand.
The New Zealand Parliamentary Library, known until 1985 as the General Assembly Library, is the library and information resource of the New Zealand Parliament. The present building that houses the library was completed in 1899; it survived a fire that destroyed the rest of the General Assembly building in 1907.
Wellington Central Library is a public library building in the central business district of Wellington, in New Zealand. It is owned by Wellington City Council and is listed as a Category 1 historic place by Heritage New Zealand. The building was opened in 1991 and was a key element of Wellington’s municipal centre, Te Ngākau Civic Square. It served as the main hub for the municipal library service, Wellington City Libraries.
Maggie Rainey-Smith is a novelist, poet, short story writer, essayist and book reviewer. She lives in Wellington, New Zealand.
The Sarah Broom Poetry Prize is one of New Zealand's most valuable poetry prizes. It was established to celebrate the life and work of New Zealand poet Sarah Broom. The prize was first awarded in 2014.
Catherine Robertson is a New Zealand novelist, reviewer, broadcaster and bookshop owner.
The Elsie Locke Non-Fiction Award was first awarded in 2002 by the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa (LIANZA). It aimed to encourage the production of the best non-fiction writing for young New Zealanders. The award was previously known as the LIANZA Young People's Non-Fiction Award, before being renamed in honour of Elsie Locke. The LIANZA Elsie Locke Non-Fiction Award became the Elsie Locke Non-Fiction Award when the LIANZA Awards merged with the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults in 2016.
Moa Point is a small suburb in Wellington, New Zealand, situated on the south coast between Lyall Bay to the west and Tarakena Bay to the east. As of 2015 there were 21 households in the suburb.
 Wellington, New Zealand | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government |
|  | ||||||||
| Hospitals | ||||||||||
| Education | ||||||||||
| Public transportation | ||||||||||
| Culture |
| |||||||||
| Places |
| |||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
