Water damage forces Civic library branch to stay shut for weeks

Canberra's city centre will be left without a public library branch for more than a month after a water leak damaged the 20-year-old building.

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The Civic Library will stay shut until December while work is completed to fix the branch, the ACT government said.

The Civic Library in Civic Square, pictured in 2012. Picture by Melissa Adams

"The water leak was identified following roof inspections within the precinct. Additional testing and investigations confirmed damage to the roof, ceiling, walls and floor in a section of the building. Surface mould was also identified in the wall and floor cavity," the City and Environment Directorate said.

"To enable rectification and remediation work to occur the Civic Library will remain closed."

Library members will need to return books to other branches, where they can also continue accessing library services, the government said.

Specialist contractors will remediate the damaged areas of the library, including cleaning and treatment works.

"Testing will also be completed before reopening the library to ensure the building is safe for the community and staff. The health and safety of the community and staff remains our highest priority," the City and Environment Directorate said.

"We recognise the closure will inconvenience library members and visitors and thank the community for its patience and understanding while this essential work is completed."

The $14 million purpose-built Civic Library opened in December 2006, described at the time by then chief minister Jon Stanhope as the "best in Australia".

An independent working group that examined the performance of the ACT's public library system considered closing the Civic branch, which handled about 5 per cent of all branch visits across the network.

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