It opened in 1982 on the corner of Oxford Terrace and Gloucester Street but was closed on the day of the 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

The Canterbury Public Library dates back to 1859 and the original buildings were on the corner of Cambridge Terrace and Hereford Street.

[2] The architecture firm Warren and Mahoney was engaged to design the building, and Charles Luney was the principal contractor.

[4] The library had four floors, with a total area of 6,000 square metres (65,000 sq ft).

[3] The Tuam Street library was conveniently located adjacent to the temporary bus exchange and became necessary as more books were recovered from the central building in Gloucester Street, but it closed again as the land was designated for the Justice and Emergency Services Precinct.