Things don't look good for the Wellington Central Library, with demolition on the cards.
Multiple sources have told Stuff the library has an NBS rating of 15 per cent, putting it well below code and leaving demolition "the only [cost-effective] option."
The library building on Victoria St closed suddenly at 8.30pm on March 19 due to engineering advice about its hollowcore floors.
Mayor Justin Lester said the library's fate was "to be determined" but part of an engineering assessment would be presented in a fortnight with a "knock it down and start afresh" a potential option.
"Technically its earthquake rating under current code is 63 per cent but when you apply the lessons that we've learned from the Statistics Building it is almost 15 to 20 per cent which means it needs significant work."
Lester said a masterplan for Civic Square was being created to take account of the issues the library fix might create for the city's now struggling "heart".
But the Mayor denied the council had received reports indicating demolition was the only option: "There are always options," he said.
"Some engineers will tell me rip out all the floors and replace them and start again and you wouldn't do that, the cost would mean you'd build afresh."
Lester said there would be options available to strengthen the building to 100 per cent, 67 per cent or 34 per cent with the final determination coming down to cost.
Rongotai MP Paul Eagle said he understood the only option available for the library building was demolition.
"Wellington City Council won't say that because it's politically untenable and they want to buy time to get solutions on the table."
Eagle said that could involve kicking the city gallery, the only fully-functioning building in Civic Square, out of its space.
The idea was untenable because New Zealand's creative capital would be without an art gallery, he said
Councillor Fleur Fitzsimmons said the library's closure made it difficult for families to come into the central city.
"There is a real problem with the lack of warm, dry commericial-free play space for families in the city."
"So a partnership with city gallery on that basis I think would be really welcomed by Wellington families."
Three pop-up city libraries will take the library's place. The first, called Arapaki, at 12 Manners St, will open on May 28.
Laurinda Thomas, libraries and community spaces manager for WCC, said there would be 30-35,000 browseable items on shelves across all three of the pop-up libraries.
Books would be spread across the Manners St location as well as further pop-ups in the northern part of the central city and a more central location.
The central library will have a general collection with spaces for kids, the northern location will have specialist collections, research and study space.
All three would stock a small fraction of Wellington Central Library's estimated at 380,000 browseable books.
But Thomas said some of those extra books would still be available in smaller suburban libraries or in online digital collections.
"Even though there are some things right now that are inaccessible they are actually somewhere else out there."
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