Central Library in Garden Place Te Kopu Mania o Kirikiriroa is the community library for the inner city and nearby suburbs, but is also the hub with larger lending collections than the outer suburban libraries. It holds specialist and research collections such as Heritage, overseas newspapers, world languages, music scores and Stack.

According to our traditional accounts, the original name for the hill that once extended through garden place was known to Ngati Wairere as Te Kopu Mania o Kirikiriroa (The smooth belly of Kirikiriroa). This hill was famed in pre-European times for its gardens and cultivations along its eastern and northern slopes.