Haere mai _{by Alessia Belsito-Riera}

Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui Wellington Central Library welcomes Wellingtonians!

Years after one of Wellington’s most-loved public spaces closed in 2019 due to structural vulnerabilities, the iconic Central Library will at long last reopen its doors this March as a place for discovery, learning, and connection.

With a total collection of over 420,000 books, the restored Te Matapihi building includes a full range of library services where you can reserve and borrow books and other collection items; Tō Tātou Pōneke Our Wellington, where the community can engage with the city’s archives; three Maker Spaces; exhibition galleries; Nōku te Ao Capital E PlayHQ for the under-fives; creative facilities and resources for things like filmmaking and editing; programmes for tamariki and rangatahi; bookable meeting rooms; a café; a recording studio; and spaces to read, talk, relax, and work.

All this and more will be celebrated with two days of festivities on the 14^th and 15^th of March. The civic ceremony will begin outside Te Matapihi at 10am on Saturday, followed by the city’s choirs welcoming visitors through the doors. Throughout the day, guests will be able to explore the beautiful new spaces through workshops, tours, demonstrations, talks, and more.

Outside there will be free live music, kapa haka, pop-up performances, interactive experiences, facepainting, and a kai court of food trucks in the new Te Ngākau Civic Square plaza.

On Sunday, the outside celebration will be over, but the fun will continue on all three floors inside from 10am, with storytelling, performances, exhibitions, and tours open to everyone.

Explore Wellington, explore Aotearoa, explore the world from Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui Wellington Central Library.