Upper Hutt’s library recently became the fifth in New Zealand to abolish late fees. Should others follow suit? In February 2018, American librarian Dawn Wacek delivered a Ted Talk arguing that library late fees should be done away with completely. Her contention: overdue fees do nothing to incentivise people to return their books, but instead … Read more
What did we check out during the hellfire year of 2020, and what does it say about us? Tara Ward asks nine libraries around the country. Covid-19 marked a new chapter for New Zealand libraries. As the physical buildings closed during the first lockdown, libraries around the country saw a dramatic increase in online memberships … Read more
Creative Rights = Creative Reads is a new campaign dedicated to educating Aotearoa about the crucial role that rights play for enabling local authors, illustrators and publishers. In partnership with the campaign, we’ve put together a brief explainer on what it’s all about. Art by Ezra Whittaker. Written by Toby Morris
Review copies of Tina Shaw’s pandemic novel Ephemera landed in letterboxes just as the country went into lockdown. Here, she reflects on this strange new reality. These new times have the uncanny feeling of fiction – of science fiction, or post-apocalyptic fiction. In other words, the unreal has become real. I keep thinking of Station … Read more
Libraries pay a lot for their ebooks, and each copy ‘expires’ after a certain number of loans. Here’s why that’s fair. There are times I feel as if some librarians don’t like authors much. Last week, for instance, when I read Rebecca Hastie’s Spinoff piece, which began as a guide to making the most of … Read more
Get a quick fix of your former wriggling, rhyming, library-going life in this extract from Susan Edmunds’ debut novel. Editor’s note: Mummy Needs a Break is perfect low-key lockdown fodder. From the blurb: “With a devilish toddler and baby number two on the way, Rachel’s big dream is to one day go to the toilet … Read more
A librarian walks us through all the virtual offerings, and explains why we have to queue for ebooks. Hardly a surprise, but I love public libraries. They exemplify the best of social democracy by providing free resources, services and advice for all members of a community – we have no choice but to stan. Libraries … Read more
Librarian Rebecca Hastie with a crash course on the fraught task of “weeding”, the systematic removal of resources from a library collection. Writer and reviewer David Larsen wrote an article the other week conveying his immense displeasure and concern that the National Library is removing 600,000 books from its collection. David’s piece, along with the … Read more
Yesterday, we published an essay by novelist Lloyd Jones lamenting the change in New Zealand’s book culture. Today, Alie Benge responds with a passionate defence of the modern NZ library. Lloyd Jones is worried. He couldn’t find the New Zealand fiction section in Tūranga library, and now the walls are crumbling. New Zealand’s literary scene … Read more
‘The beautiful are cruel, the cruel are sad, the demons are capable of good.’ Maria McMillan reviews the new novel by Elizabeth Knox, bound to be one of the year’s biggest local releases. Elizabeth Knox’s The Absolute Book has an awful lot going on. I’m still working it out. It’s a story about Taryn Cornick … Read more
As Wellington and Waikanae face a winter without two beloved libraries, Marion McLeod reviews The Library Book, a hymn to a library that burned. This is a book for Wellingtonians. I don’t usually adhere to the geographical school of reviewing but this book, sadly, is published at a perfect time for Wellington, for its librarians, … Read more
The sudden closure of Wellington’s Central Library was a shock to residents in the capital. Gem Wilder reflects on her love for the library and her hopes for its future. I received the news via the Wellington City Council twitter account, posted at 2:50pm on Tuesday afternoon: Wellington’s Central Library building will be closed from 8.30pm … Read more
Add a new central library and a cinema complex to the Margaret Mahy playground and you’ll see a template for how the rest of the rebuild should work, writes James Dann. Christchurch in the rebuild is a city of extreme moods. There are bursts of energy, followed by long periods of frustration and stagnation. The … Read more
Grey Lynn arts lovers just don’t get it. The debate over plans to close libraries at the University of Auckland lays bare a battle for the middle classes, writes design historian Peter Gilderdale. If one were to look for a watershed moment in New Zealand cultural history, Auckland University’s decision to axe specialist libraries in Art, Architecture, … Read more
A razor gang at the Auckland Council led to yesterday’s announcement that the city’s libraries are cutting 74 members of staff. Former Auckland librarian Ethan Sills reports. Libraries are magical institutions. It can feel unreal that they still exist, given how fantastical the idea of them seems. Buildings where you can go and borrow books … Read more
School libraries are a sanctuary and safe place for many children. Here Sarah Forster, co-creator of the amazing children’s literature website The Sapling, lists the things all parents should know about school librarians. I spent a LOT of time in school libraries as a kid. Remember the index cards in those fit-for-purpose filing cabinets? Remember … Read more
Reports of cutbacks at Auckland libraries have prompted the council to issue librarians with a question-and-answer script, so that they might deal appropriately with public inquiries. The script, obtained and published by RNZ, beneficently enables librarians to recite bureaucratically approved, leaden sentences. Lucky things – it’s almost as if they’re call centre operators or, even … Read more