Peter Molony organised a presentation on the James Hight building on Thursday where Library and other University staff were able to listen to information about the state of the building, what had been done to the building and what is expected of the building in the future. My apologies but I have forgotten the Structural Engineers last name – Jeff, also answered a large number of thoughtful questions that were asked from the audience. Peter Molony finished of the session with a quick round up of other major building on campus, including the Law and EPS Buildings. Peter noted that the Law Building would probably not open on the targeted date of the 25th July as there were a series of warrant of fitness issues (none were specified) that were under investigation. He also noted that EPS Library was a viable building, it is surrounded at one end by the Mushroom which is not considered a viable building and at the other end by the Seimen’s building which has a number of issues and is also not considered a viable building either. There will be another session run next week for those who were unable to attend this session.

I have not had a full briefing session with Sue McKnight today (for a variety of reasons) on the status of library buildings however I understand an option that is being explored is the closure of the EPS Library building as a library. In the light of limited space in this post earthquake environment, the EPS Library building is being considered as a place to house other University staff that will be need to be relocated from the Mushroom and the Seimen’s buildings, and possibly other areas. No final decision has been made, however the decision process will move through various stages in the coming week. I have been told that both the PVC Engineering and the PVC Science have been involed in these discussions and that they have agreed to the closing of the EPS Library.

Another option under discussion, as mentioned by Peter Molony, is that the Law Building may not be handed over by the target date of the 25th July. I have no further information on why this is the case, only that the building did not meet the standards set out in the certification process. I do not know the timeline that will be required to get it up to standard. I am sure we will be given that information next week as it becomes clear what must be done to reach the standards and the ProjectOffice people create the work schedule.

Should a decision be made on either or both of these options I will do my best to ensure that the information is relayed to you as quickly as possible. Both options will require a great deal of planning to get underway to ensure that Library services and more importantly Library staff are transferred to the libraries that are open and functioning.

Central Library will expand the levels that are available for general use by opening levels 6, 8,9 and 10 on Monday. Joan and her team have done a tremendous job to get to this stage, not to mention all the contractors plus all the other Learning Resources staff who have been working to meet this deadline.