Central and transitional – Christchurch City Libraries in the central city since 2011

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

Preparing for opening. Central South City Library, July 2011. Flickr CCL-2011-07-08-Central-South-City-DSC00091

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

Central Library Peterborough

91 Peterborough Street
Opened on 19 December 2011
Scheduled to close from 5pm Sunday 26 August 2018

Christmas Market. Sunday 8 December 2013. Flickr 2013-12-08-IMG_1042

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.

• Photos of Central Library Peterborough

Central Library Tuam

121 Tuam Street
Opened on 23 July 2012
Closed Friday 1 November 2013

Central Library Tuam opening day – Monday 23 July 2012. Flickr CCL-2012-07-23-IMG_5564

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.

• Photos of Central Library Tuam opening
• Photos of Central Library Tuam

Central Library Manchester

36 Manchester Street
Central Library Manchester opened 20 January 2014
Scheduled to close from 5pm Saturday 18 August 2018

Central Library Manchester. Friday 17 January 2014. Flickr 2014-01-17-IMG_1591

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

---

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 scheduled to close from 5pm Saturday 18 August 2018.
• Central Library Peterborough scheduled to close from 5pm Sunday 26 August 2018.
• 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

Donation of Polish books to Christchurch City Libraries

On Saturday 9th December, Central Library Peterborough hosted Mr Zbigniew Gniatkowskted, the Polish Ambassador to New Zealand; Mrs Winsome Dormer, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland for the South Island; Anna Gruczyska, President of the Polish Association in Christchurch; and Krysia Wiek, member of the Polish community in Christchurch. The Polish Embassy kindly gifted books in Polish, and about Poland, to the library.

The Polish collection has been a part of the Christchurch City Libraries’ World languages collection for several years now, established after the original Polish Library at the Hereford Street Community House perished in the February 2011 earthquake, with the entire collection of books lost.

In addition to purchases made by the Christchurch City Libraries, the Polish collection contains book donations from members, and on this occasion from the Polish Embassy. In addition to a number of books in Polish, the donation includes several books on Poland and Polish history in English, for the Christchurch City Libraries collection.

View Polish language items in our collection.

After presenting the collection to the Christchurch City Libraries our guests stayed for a morning tea – delicious polish buns made by Krysia – and a chat with the Central Library Peterborough team.

Information and photos from:
Anna Gruczynska
President of the Polish Association in Christchurch
Annie M
Central Library Peterborough

An invitation to celebrate Jane Austen

Portrait of Jane Austen, 1873.

Be not alarmed ladies and gentlemen on receiving this invitation to celebrate 200 years of Jane Austen with Central Library Peterborough’s most dedicated Jane-ites. Come in your prettiest bonnet (or top hat if preferred) to discuss Austen’s novels over cups of tea and the most accomplished array of finger food there is.

A pleasing display celebrating all things Austen from the perfect novels by the lady herself to the weird and wonderful crime, zombie and even poultry tributes will also be present for your diversion.

Places for our charming book group and afternoon tea may fill quickly and it would not do to miss your invitation. So what are you waiting for? Come over to Central Library Peterborough to talk Lizzie Bennett, Mr Darcy, Emma Woodhouse, Anne Eliott, and all of Austen’s beloved creations on 18 July, the 200th anniversary of the death of one of the world’s most adored literary giants.

Phone us on 941-7923 or come in person to our handsome estate to register your interest in this free event. For when will you ever be able to attend a more agreeable gathering with such engaging conversation?

Need some Austen inspiration? Take a look at Helen’s Guide to Jane Austen which will advise you on Austen’s works from best to not quite as good (because lets face it, there’s no such thing as bad Austen).

More Jane Austen

• Information about our Celebrating Jane Austen event
• Read other posts about Jane Austen
• Jane Austen 200 Official website celebrating Austen’s life and work
• Learn how to dance in the Regency style with Canterbury Historical Dance (1st & 3rd Tuesdays of the month, 7:00pm, Abberley Park Hall) and attend their Jane Austen dance event on 12 August.

Knights and Princesses Day

Hear ye, hear ye!

The populace of Central Library Peterborough invite one and all for an afternoon of medieval entertainment, to take place from 1-3pm on Saturday the 25th of March. There will be crown decorating for those of royal blood, and shield making for any knights in need of armour. Catapults will be created and tested! If you are of an active disposition we invite you to attempt the quest, or if of a more mellow nature try out some medieval crafts and board games.

Prizes will be granted for the best costumes so bring your sense of chivalry and your best royal and/or knightly outfit to win! All welcome. This is a free event.

Need help getting into character? Check out my list of favourite books about knights and princesses for kids and teens.

Sleuths and Spies day

Put on your gum shoes, trench coat and fedora and come along to our Sleuths and Spies fun day on Saturday the 29th of October at Central Library Peterborough!

Get your magnifying glass ready to crack our secret codes and puzzles, follow clues to solve a mystery, test your dexterity on the laser beam course and discover how crimes are solved at our forensics station. Science Alive! will also be there with “Science Snippets: Spies and Secret Messages” between 1.30 and 2.30pm, so come as your favourite spy or detective and follow the clues to 91 Peterborough Street.

But don’t worry: if you’ve misplaced your deerstalker hat then you can use our photobooth to create a disguise on the day!

In the meantime check out some of our favourite spy and mystery fiction for kids and teens:

• Spy stories for kids
• Detective stories for younger kids
• Detective stories for older kids
• Mystery and spy stories for teens

Fun Palaces – Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 October 2016

Celebrate art, science and creativity at this year’s Fun Palaces festival! All activities are fun, free and suitable for all ages. Central Library Peterborough will be a Fun Palace from 10am to 2pm on the weekend of Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 October (it’s the middle weekend of the school holidays).

Here’s the schedule for Fun Palaces 2016:

Saturday 1 October

Fabriko Electronic Sticker Fun Palace

Make a card, paper critter or a fan that will light up with a special electronic circuit you make with stickers, batteries and LEDs! Both days, 10am – 2pm

Spider Phobia Demonstration

Who’s afraid of spiders? Don’t miss out on this experience to have Virtual Spiders creep and crawl all over a desk and up your arms! Both days, 10am – 2pm

Nao Robots

A HUGE success last year! Swing by and interact with these incredible humanoid robots! Both days, 10am – 12pm

Interactive Trampoline Gaming

Come alone and have a try of the world’s first interactive, digital gaming system designed for a trampoline. Saturday 10am – 2pm

Quiver Augmented Reality

Experience the exciting world of Augmented Reality! Colour in images the ‘old school’ way and then watch them come to life using Quiver! This is a magical and engaging 3D experience. Saturday 10am – 12pm

MineCraft

Get imaginative and create your own Fun Palace through MineCraft. Work on your own or with friends to create the MOST fun environment you can think of! Only 20 computers available. Saturday 10 – 11.15am and 11.30am – 12.45pm

HTC VIVE

Experience a 360-degree virtual world! This is the very latest in augmented reality technology. Both days, 12 – 2pm

Sunday 2 October

Fabriko Electronic Sticker Fun Palace

Make a card, paper critter or a fan that will light up with a special electronic circuit you make with stickers, batteries and LEDs! Both days, 10am – 2pm

Spider Phobia Demonstration

Who’s afraid of spiders? Don’t miss out on this experience to have Virtual Spiders creep and crawl all over a desk and up your arms! Both days, 10am – 2pm

Nao Robots

A HUGE success last year! Swing by and interact with these incredible humanoid robots! Both days, 10am – 12pm

HTC VIVE

Experience a 360-degree virtual world! This is the very latest in augmented reality technology. Both days, 12 – 2pm

Bee-Bots!

Come and learn about Robot technology by having a play with these cute little guys! Sunday 10.30 – 11.30am and 1 – 2pm

3D Printing Demonstration

What’s all the hype about 3D printing? Come in and see yourself during a live demonstration. Learn a little about how these cool machines work, what we use and other facts about this exciting technology. Sunday 11am – 1pm

Kitchen Science Lab – Solar Oven

Build your very own solar oven and harness the power of the sun to cook yourself a wee treat. Sunday 12 – 2pm

Saturday is crafts and music day at Central Library Peterborough

Want something fun and free on Saturdays this month?
You can Get Crafty from 11am to 12pm at Central Library Peterborough. This week’s session is printed bug craft, and upcoming  slots on making fantastic forts, Picasso faces, and CD dreamweavers.
See all the Get Crafty sessions.

On Saturday afternoons from 2 to 3pm you can enjoy music performances.  This Saturday 6 August it’s children’s entertainer Floyd: “Calling all babies and tamariki, let’s sing sing sing”.
See all the Saturday music sessions.

Want some more Saturday sessions? There are Super Saturday Storytimes at Shirley and Upper Riccarton Libraries.

Superheroes and villains

Have you recently been bitten by a radioactive spider? Do you like to wear colourful tights under cover of darkness? Can you leap earthquake-damaged buildings in a single bound?

If you answered yes to any of the above (or even if you didn’t), Central Library Peterborough needs your help! We’ve received word that the local supervillains are planning to descend on us between 1-3pm on the 25th of June, and we’re woefully unprotected*!

If you don’t have a secret identity pre-prepared, we can help you create your own superhero masks and cuffs on the day, and if you’re feeling out of practice we’ll have some superhero training activities to test your superpowers. When you’re ready, hunt for the supervillains around the library! Or have a go at our comics table — design your own superhero/villain costume, participate in our collaborative comics, and colour in some of your favourite comics characters!

There’ll be spot prizes on the day, so dust off your Armageddon costumes and head over to Central Library Peterborough for some comics-related shenanigans.

If you’re after some inspiration or practical advice, we can help –

• Costuming
• Children’s costumes

*Barbara Gordon/Batgirl is out of town for a library conference

In a library far, far away…

Are you counting down the days until The Force Awakens hits our screens? Is one month too long to wait? Your pain we at Central Library Peterborough feel!

In anticipation of the movie release we have organised a Star Wars Day on Saturday December 12th, so if you enjoy dressing up — or even if you don’t — do come along and enjoy our wide variety of Star Wars themed activities and competitions for the chance to win some great prizes.

Star Wars toys and memorabilia at Central Library Peterborough, Flickr File reference: 2015-11-16-IMG_0627

We’ve already got books, DVDs, and memorabilia on display, fiercely protected by Princess Leia. We’re still finalising the details of what should be an awesome afternoon, so if you have any special requests or ideas then please help us: you’re our only hope.

And if you find those droids please send them our way too.

In the meantime, re-watch old episodes and enjoy the massive range of Star Wars library items we have to offer! I’m settling in for a Machete order screening this coming weekend.

Start with a smile :)

Noticed the Start with a Smile campaign on billboards around town or in the media and wondered what it was all about?

We all know that the face of our city is changing. Newcomers have moved here from the Philippines, China, Ireland, Fiji, Great Britain, India or even Wellington… Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce is leading this campaign to make newcomers feel welcome and encourage them to stay.

What’s the easiest way to welcome someone and make them feel at home? Start with a smile!

Central Library Peterborough will be the first library to host the Smile Couch on Monday 23 November and Tuesday 24 November. This is a great opportunity to to sit on the couch, grab a conversation starter card (located in the couch), and get talking.

So why not come join us at Central Library Peterborough and share your smile? (You can also enjoy our collections, including our World Languages collections, and fantastic Star Wars display).

Want to know more?

• Listen to Lana Hart explain the reasons behind the campaign, and what it hopes to achieve in this Plains FM interview.
• Check out the Focus Group findings and the final report: Residents’ attitudes towards an increasingly multicultural Christchurch.