Napier Library to close on weekends amid uncertain future

Napier Library will be shut on Saturdays from May 17. Photo / NZME

Napier Library will close on Saturdays from May 17 as the facility faces an uncertain future.

Napier City Council cited the facility being short-staffed in making its Saturday-closure announcement.

It is already closed on Sundays and public holidays.

Napier Library is in the MTG building in Napier CBD, and another council-run library is in Taradale.

“We simply do not have the staff numbers to keep Napier open every Saturday when far more people are at the Taradale Library and we need our staff there,” Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise said.

The Saturday closures at Napier Library are temporary, although no reopening date has been confirmed.

The announcement coincides with the council’s annual plan proposal to close Napier Library temporarily for at least two years, until the new Napier library hub is built and opened in 2027 (at the earliest).

That proposal is aimed at keeping the proposed rates increase for Napier ratepayers below 7.9%, the council has previously stated.

“We had never planned to close on Saturdays, we just don’t have the staff numbers to stay open six days a week,” Wise said.

“However, we are on track with our development of a modern and fit-for-purpose library that will be back in its former location on Station St.

“As Napier’s main library, it will be a hub that supports the educational, cultural, and creative life of our community.”

Taradale Library remains open seven days a week.

“Libraries are knowledge hubs, they are portals to a digital world for those who need support, they are research stations and thinking spaces, they are community gathering places that bring people together, and they offer specialist programmes tailored to very specific needs.

“All of that takes expert knowledge and experience.”

Council will be considering submissions at its annual plan deliberations in late May, and a whether to close Napier Library for at least the next two years will then be decided.

The two-year closure proposal has received backlash from library users, including users stating: “I don’t think this is a good place to save money”.