Wellington’s reopened central library, Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui, has reached half a million visits since reopening in March, bringing more people into the central city and giving nearby businesses a welcome boost.
The revamped library, whose name means “the window to the wider world”, is also home to City Archives and Nōku te Ao Capital E.
In its first three months, more than 220,000 books were issued, meeting rooms were booked more than 2300 times, more than 150 archive requests were made, and more than 27,000 people visited the Makerspaces.
The increase in visitors has been welcomed by businesses in the civic precinct, including Central Ground café on the ground floor of the library.
Owner Sam Huy said the first few months had been “absolute madness”.
“We’ve already broken our coffee grinders twice trying to keep up. Our cheese scones fly off the cabinet so fast we’ve started baking twice a day,” he said.
“We really appreciate our customers’ patience while we’ve scaled up our team to meet the demand, from 15 staff to a team of 19. It has been a whirlwind, but the community support has been nothing short of a miracle.
“The biggest complaint so far was that there wasn’t enough room for everyone. We’ve fitted out the lower cafe area with an additional 30 seats so more people can enjoy our beautiful space.”
Central Ground is not the only business feeling the benefits.
Daphne James, store manager of pre-loved designer clothing store Honour Victoria Street, said weekends had become especially busy.
“There’s so much more foot traffic since the library opened,” she said.
“I’ve got an extra staff member helping me on Saturdays because it’s a lot busier.
“We have definitely picked up new clients, people that would not have normally come here. All of a sudden this area has become alive, which is fantastic for us.”
Hannah Wiles, owner of beauty boutique Iris Store + Studio, has increased her opening hours to seven days a week since the library reopened.
“Our customers have responded really positively to being able to come in on a weekend, and we’re picking up new customers too,” she said.
“There’s been a noticeable vibe shift which has been great for the morale of businesses in the area.”
Honour and Iris were among 25 businesses that joined together to form the Civic Precinct Wellington collective ahead of the library reopening.
The collective ran a library book treasure hunt promotion and $5000 prize package during opening week. The aim was to encourage people to explore the neighbourhood.
“Every participating business said the same thing: the sense of partnership and the celebration of something good happening in the precinct, and in Wellington, made it worthwhile,” Hannah said.
“We were doing something together, rather than just existing next to each other.”
Louise Chapman, marketing manager of The Village Goldsmith, helped start the promotion. The jewellery design studio has been based on Victoria Street for 29 years.
“There’s a bit more of a buzz about the precinct. People are feeling more positive about coming to this part of town,” she said.
“It has also been good to build relationships with like-minded business people.”
Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui had been on track to reach 1.8 million visitors in its first year, about 4900 people a day.
This week’s half-million visit milestone means it could reach that mark faster than expected.
