While Ashburton’s new library will be more than twice the size of the current library, it will have the same number of books.
District council chief executive Hamish Riach said just over 60,000 books will be moved from the old library, now 57-years-old, to the new facility in Te Whare Whakatere, due to open December
18.
Staff would swap out some older books with new titles, but there would be no dramatic change to the overall size of the collection.
‘‘The new library space does have more floorspace, but will offer much more than just books. It’s designed to be a modern space for our community to connect and share knowledge. New areas include a maker-space (with equipment such as laser and vinyl cutters), a dedicated computer lab and an audio-visual studio,’’ Riach said.
‘‘Library staff are looking forward to showing the community a new place that they can explore over summer.’’
Meanwhile, the district council is looking to engage a real estate agent to sell the current library, located at 130 Havelock St.
Built by Bradford Construction in 1966, the building has since had temporary seismic strengthening work, but leaks when it rains. It will be sold as is, where is.
The site, which includes a car park, is made up of two parcels of land with a combined area of 3053 square metres.
Riach said the district council’s preferred sale process was a deadline sale, with offers not to be reviewed or accepted prior to the deadline date.
‘‘All offers will be presented to council, at a full council meeting, with council to make the final decision on whether or not to accept any offers,’’ he said.
Real estate agencies interested in selling the site need to lodge their expression of interest by November 8, via request for proposal documentation at the district council’s online tender portal.
