Nelson City Council

About Nelson Public Libraries

How old are we?

The Nelson library service celebrated its 150th birthday on 27 September 1992, making us the oldest public library in New Zealand. Its origins date back as far as 1841 on the ship Whitby when the Nelson Literary and Scientific Institute was formed. Their first reading room was opened in upper Trafalgar Street on 27th September 1842. A plaque in the pavement marks the site. The second and third buildings were in Hardy Street, with the third now the NMIT School of Fisheries. The fourth and current central library building, the Elma Turner Library, opened in 1990. Foundation stones for all buildings can be seen in the foyer. The Council took over the library system in 1965. We look forward to celebrating our 170th birthday on 27 September 2012.

The original premises of the Nelson Institute in 1892, when the building was occupied by Mrs. Maude Cooper, dressmaker [Nelson Provincial Musem].

How big are we?

The Library network operates from three purpose built libraries, has approximately 150,000 items, and each year issues nearly one million items. The library has over 30,000 members, and 41 staff (28 full time equivalents).

The central library

The Elma Turner Library is the central library and is situated in the City centre. The library is open 46 hours per week over seven days and offers a full lending and reference service. Children's services are a substantial component of the service and run several very popular programmes including small time for babies, story times for 3-4 year olds and a school holiday programme.

The Stoke Library

The Stoke Library, on the corner of Neale Avenue and Putaitai Street, is a busy Community Library. It serves individuals, businesses, community groups, schools and residential homes for the elderly. The emphasis is on its loan service, although the library does provide assistance with quick reference questions. The Library is open for 40 hours Monday to Saturday, and holds close to 20,000 volumes.

The Nightingale Library Memorial

The Nightingale Library Memorial is a smaller library sited near the beach at Tahunanui and has many regular customers. It is open 6 days a week for a total of 22.5 hours and houses close to 6,500 volumes.