All Hamilton City Libraries branches are public assets, managed by Hamilton City Council on behalf of the people of our city.
The Council has a programme of work, often called “renewals”, to ensure our buildings and other assets are properly maintained and cared for. These maintenance projects can include a range of different work, from new paint outside and inside the libraries, to replacement carpet, furniture, and even roof work and plumbing!
We plan this work in advance and aim to minimise the disruption to our service. We’ll always strive to keep our libraries open when this work is underway, but depending on what’s involved in the project, there may be situations where programmes and activities are cancelled and some parts of the collection are unavailable.
On this page, you’ll find up-to-date information on our maintenance projects, and we’ll refresh the content on this page whenever details of a maintenance project are confirmed.
You can also follow all our maintenance projects on our Facebook page.
Current and Future projects
Central Library Boiler Replacement
The first phase of a two-phase project to replace the boilers at Central Library started on 31 January 2024, and lasted six weeks, with no impact to library visitors. The second phase will start later in the year and there information here will be updated closer to the time.
Completed projects
St Andrews Library Electrical Maintenance
St Andrews Library had some major electrical maintenance work done at the beginning of June 2024. This necessitated the temporary closure of the library, including the after hours returns chute and Wi-Fi, for several days.
Dinsdale Library Electrical Maintenance
Dinsdale Library had some major electrical maintenance work done at the beginning of March 2024. This necessitated the temporary closure of the library, including the after hours returns chute and Wi-Fi, for one week.
Central Library Level 1 and 2 Toilets
The Level 1 and 2 toilets were closed for upgrades in 2023, and are now open to the public. The upgrades have created a more inclusive facility, including parents’ rooms and accessible toilets, that ensures the Central Library is an inclusive space for our community and visitors. Check out these cool photos of the refreshed facility.
Central Library lift upgrades
The Central Library passenger lift was upgraded in late 2021, and the goods lift was upgraded in early 2022. These upgrades have enhanced both lifts' operation, reliability, and accessibility.
Roof renewal at Glenview Library
The roof at Glenview Library had work done between August and October 2021.
Chartwell Library Courtyard
As part of our commitment to looking after community assets, we have renovated our courtyard area to provide customers with a more versatile outside space. This happened from early February and was completed in April.
New Shelving at Hillcrest Library
As part of our commitment to looking after library assets, we are refreshing the shelving at Hillcrest Library between Wednesday 2 December and Friday 4 December. We are remaining open throughout this work, so please ask one of our team if you need help to find anything.
Renovation at St Andrews Library
St Andrews Library is getting a spruce up in November 2020. The library will close from Monday 16 November for two weeks while we change the layout, install a new fire system, update the furniture and shelves and repaint inside and out. The layout changes will see the community room space incorporated into the main library area. We’ll be using the extra space to expand the collection and for our popular public programmes.
We looked for ways to avoid a full closure but it’s the best option to get the work done as quickly as possible. The after-hours returns slot will remain open or you can return your books at another branch or Council facility. We apologise for any inconvenience. The doors to our larger, refreshed space will reopen on Monday 30 November and we know you’ll like what you see. Please contact us if you have any questions.
Glenview Library is set for a spruce up
The Glenview Library, which bears the old Hamilton City Libraries colour scheme of blue and orange, will close on 11 November 2019 for three weeks for a range of work including interior and exterior painting, new carpet and a reconfiguration of the collection it holds.
The project is a planned renewal as part of Hamilton City Council’s 10-Year Plan, reflecting the Council’s focus on maintaining the assets it manages for the community.
Stephen Pennruscoe, Hamilton City Libraries Director, says the most effective and efficient way to update the library will be to close it for three weeks to get all the work done.
“The Glenview Library project also includes installation of technology for our new RFID item issuing system, and although we’d have liked to have kept the library open, we felt it was more sensible to close it for three weeks and get all the work done at once,” Mr Pennruscoe says.
“We appreciate this closure will inconvenience our regular Glenview customers and we do want to thank them for their understanding while we have this work done.
“We’re confident our customers will like the results of this work which will give the Glenview Library a fresh and bright new look.”
Mr Pennruscoe says customers who would usually return items to Glenview Library will be able to drop them off at Gallagher Aquatic Centre on Collins Road, Melville. Library items can also be returned to a range of Council facilities, listed here.
Hamilton City Libraries’ staff will publish updates on the project to the libraries’ Facebook page, and a short video capturing the change will also be created.
The Glenview Library will reopen on Monday, 2 December. The Glenview Library is the second to last branch of Hamilton City Libraries to be redecorated in the contemporary green and grey colour scheme. St Andrews Library will be the final library to undergo the transformation, with a project planned for the 2020-2021 financial year.
Renovations that will open up Central Library to Garden Place
Hamilton’s Central Library is set for further transformation.
Following closely after the opening of the new Smart Space, the Central Library’s frontage will be further renovated to incorporate a community space and a maker space – the latter a digital-focused learning initiative.
The work to renovate the front of the Central Library has begun and is expected to take about eight weeks.
“The first part of the project will see the deconstruction of the offices at the front of our building, which our management team has recently vacated,” Rebecca Whitehead, previous Hamilton City Libraries Director says.
“Parts of the ground floor of the Central Library will be off-limits to our customers, but our opening hours won’t change and our front doors will still be the main access point for everyone who comes in to take advantage of the services we offer.”
The noisiest parts of the project will be undertaken when the Central Library is closed.
Mrs Whitehead says the renovation of the front of the Central Library will open up the building more to Garden Place and make it a more inviting space for the public.
“We want our libraries to be hubs for our community, and with this project we’re taking a big step towards achieving that at our flagship library, right in the heart of the city.”
A maker space enhances existing libraries services and embraces the opportunity presented by modern technology. Libraries staff have been offering a mobile maker space programme across all the services branches, and this will continue so the service remains available to all customers.
“The Central Library maker space gives us a great opportunity to expand this programme and its focus on science, mathematics and technology through digital tools.”
Once completed, staff running a maker space will collaborate with those in the Smart Space to deliver combined programmes.
The redevelopment of the front of the Central Library has been funded through the Council’s 2018-2028 10-Year Plan, and reflects several of the key themes in the Hamilton City Libraries Strategic Plan.