New Library News and FAQs

The new Greymouth Library will open to the public on Friday, 3 July.

The first members of the public to be shown through will be the winners of five Golden Tickets – a fun take on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Two tickets will be given away through:
• A chocolate factory-themed voting booth
• A poetry contest

Three more tickets will be announced each Friday – stay tuned to the library Facebook page, or ask library staff. Every person in the district will be eligible.

The winners, along with one family member, will be able to visit the library almost a week before it officially opens.

In the weeks leading up to the opening, the Richmond Quay development will be blessed, and some school groups will visit while the library is being commissioned.

An official opening will be held in mid-July.

Council is working with local businesses and organisations around the opening.

The Regent Theatre is planning special movie screenings and promotions, while the Left Bank Art Gallery will help decorate the library grounds for the opening.

Group Manager – Community, Penny Kirk thanks the community for their understanding and patience while we close, move and reopen in the new library space.

“The new space is incredible, and to quote Willy Wonka himself: ‘If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it’.

“The team is excited for welcoming you on Friday 3rd July. “

The Richmond Quay Development, which includes the library, has a total cost of $24.23 million. It has a café on the top floor and an indoor children’s playground.

There will be bookable meeting rooms and a creative space, as well as a parents’ room with space for strollers and baby feeding, and a new and improved teen area.

Members will also be able to use self-checkout kiosks for the first time.

The existing library will close for over a month from 22 May while approximately 30,000 items are transferred. Staff are working on initiatives to stay connected with the community during this period, including pop-up sessions.

Updates will be provided.

The 2019 Library and Museum Strategy highlighted that the current library was too small for the population it served and could not be extended or built up.

The new library will feature bookable meeting and study rooms, which will generate income.
There will be a flexible room and creative maker spaces for community creative activities, school holiday and after-school activities. There will also be a café and a playground.

The final street and parking layout is currently being finalised and approved, and this will be available to view. Landscaping is also being planned. The plan is to permanently close Richmond Quay to ordinary traffic, creating a grassed area. Ashton Lane will be one-way.

We want to test how things go in terms of hours and see whether there is any demand to open longer. After talking to other libraries, we think there will not be strong demand for Sundays; however, we have a ‘watch and see’ approach. We also have to consider the operational cost of longer hours. At this stage, it will be open Monday to Friday, Saturday mornings, and one late night.

Yes.

Yes, two.

No, this will remain—for now—at two sit-down Chrome stations and six Chromebooks.

Yes, and there will likely be tiered pricing for the meeting spaces for community and commercial use. The small rooms will likely have time-limited free allocations for the public, and again, commercial rates.

It will be leased to an operator who will sell cabinet food, coffee, drinks, muffins, scones, and light lunches.

Other libraries around the country run cafés without noise complaints, and there will not be lots of pots clanging. There are noise baffles in the roof.

Yes, and there is also a lift to the first floor. We have worked with the disability sector.

This year, the library’s operating expenses make up 2.55% of total revenue. Next year, they’re expected to rise to 3.24% of total revenue.

The current library is well used, with an average of 219 patron visits each day during the year ending June.

We already clean high windows at the Westland Rec Centre and are looking into the library.

Yes.

Yes.

April or May 2026.

GDC has the library and one retail unit downstairs, and Development West Coast has two retail units downstairs. There will be a body corporate.