The long-anticipated refurbishment of Invercargill City Libraries and Archives on Dee Street starts next month.

The four-stage project will begin with the renovation of Information Services starting on 7 May. Libraries and Archives Manager Marianne Foster said Information Services resources, such as computers for public use, would be relocated to the meeting room on the first floor while renovations were undertaken.

“All efforts are being made to ensure as little disruption to services as possible,” Ms Foster said. “We are very excited that work is about to begin. We have world-class staff working to provide the best service possible to all library users, and it will be wonderful to have our building modernised and upgraded to help us provide that service.”

While every effort would be made to ensure the library remained open, some closures would be needed. The contractor has indicated the building might need to be closed on Sunday, 13 May, and Monday, 14 May. All future closures of the building would be well notified and advertised.

The upgrade of the Information Services area is expected to take about six weeks.

The second stage of the project will be the upgrade of Adults’ Services, which will be temporarily located at Children’s Services while work is undertaken. More information about potential disruption to services will be  available closer to the time.

The tender for the project was won at $1.4million, and is expected to take about seven months to complete.