Special Collections

Now that we are all Auckland Libraries, around Rodney we have access to some wonderful special library collections:

The Angela Morton collection is a reference collection of books and other materials covering the visual arts of New Zealand from pre-European times to the present day. It is a memorial collection dedicated to the late Angela Morton, who was a North Shore resident devoted to New Zealand art, and the nucleus of the collection was funded from an original family bequest in 1985. Access is provided in conjunction with the opening hours at the Takapuna Library.

The Denny Hulme Motorsport collection was established to commemorate New Zealand's only Formula One racing champion (1967), the late Denny Hulme OBE, who died in October 1992. Designed for both motorsport enthusiasts and casual browsers, the collection celebrates New Zealand's golden era of motor racing and beyond, with an exciting array of past and present memorabilia. Contact Anne Jaynes, the Denny Hulme collections manager at Takapuna Library for more information.

The Chelsea Archives are a collection of records from the Chelsea Sugar refinery (now New Zealand Sugar Company Ltd) dating back to the late 19th century. The Chelsea Sugar Company in its prime was one of the largest companies in the southern hemisphere.

Children’s Literature Collection - Of use to educators who have a special interest in children’s literature. Housed in Takapuna Library, this is a combination of reference and lending material.

Medal Collection - Books by award-winning authors and illustrators of all the major children’s book awards from New Zealand, Australia, Britain, the United States and Canada. Housed in Takapuna Library this is a reference collection for use in the library.

Family history collection If you are interested in genealogy, The Auckland Research Centre has an extensive collection of resources for family history research. This is located on the second floor of the Central City Library.

International documents collection - Auckland City Libraries' international documents collection is made up of material from the United Nations (UN), encompassing the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), World Trade Organisation (WTO), and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD).

Sir George Grey Special Collections Ta Hori Kerei - Nga kohinga taonga whakahirahira (previously known as 'Heritage collections: Te Taumata o ngā Taonga Tuku Iho') were made accessible to the public in 1997, and are currently housed on the second floor of Central City Library. Since the founding gift to the citizens of Auckland by Sir George Grey in 1887, the collections have grown by purchase and generous donations by benefactors to become one of New Zealand's three major heritage collections.

The Ngā Mātauranga Māori collection includes historical and contemporary material based on Māori content or subject matter. It consists of material written by Māori authors as well as children’s books and easy readers in te reo Māori.Ngā Mātauranga Māori items have a black and white kowhaiwhai label and the word Māori on the spine of the book. This collection includes both lending and reference material. Many of our community libraries have a Ngā Mātauranga Māori section. At Central City Library, you will find the collection on the first floor.

The Manukau Research Library holds the most extensive collection available of materials relating to the history and development of South Auckland and the Counties-Manukau area.

These are just some of the resources you can find around Auckland. It pays to have a good hunt around the website as you never know what you might find that you didn't know you were looking for.

Scrooge and Zombies anyone?

It’s the Christmas season (yes I am admitting it and now that it’s December I am going to get into the swing of tinsel, decorations and, dare I say it, gift buying).

As well as Christmas, this year has also been the season of vampires and more lately, zombies. So in the interests of keeping up to date I picked up I am Scrooge: A Zombie story for Christmas by Adam Roberts.

Now if you have read my reviews in the past, been tempted by the book and ultimately decided it was rubbish and I didn’t know what I was talking about – this is the book for you.

The first time I opened it I think I got to page 5. The second time I persevered until page 48. Then I had had enough. Enough of the blood, guts and brains. Enough of the bad writing. Enough of the story. However, in the interests of good reviewing, here is the synopsis from the publisher:
"Marley was dead. Again. The legendary Ebenezeer Scrooge sits in his house counting money. The boards that he has nailed up over the doors and the windows shudder and shake under the blows from the endless zombie hordes that crowd the streets hungering for his flesh and his miserly braaaaiiiiiinns! Just how did the happiest day of the year slip into a welter of blood, innards and shambling, ravenous undead on the snowy streets of old London town? Will the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future be able to stop the world from drowning under a top-hatted and crinolined zombie horde? Was Tiny Tim's illness something infinitely more sinister than mere rickets and consumption? Can Scrooge be persuaded to go back to his evil ways, travel back to Christmas past and destroy the brain stem of the tiny, irritatingly cheery Patient Zero?"

Like any good book though, this one did teach me something about myself. There is a reason why I don’t DO horror movies, and that now extends to horror reading. I can cope with vampires but zombies are a step too far.

But, if blood, guts, brains and Christmas go together in your mind, this could be the book you want in your Christmas stocking this year.

Top 5 for Friday - Children's stocking fillers

Now that it's December I can formally mention the C word - Christmas is coming. The decorations are going up around the libraries and planning is well under way for a visit from the big fellow at Special Christmas storytimes around the area (more on that next week).

It's also the time when people come into the library looking for inspiration and advice for under the Tree. This week I thought I would start off with something for the younger crowd. So here's some of my favourite picture books that the kids might like to look at, read or have read to them (and the best ones are the ones that we enjoy reading to them).

1. Having toured around parts of Northland earlier this year with the irrepressive Donovan Bixley, I was looking forward to his new book The Wheels on the Bus. Yes, it's a familiar tale and it's been done before, but that is part of the joy of this Kiwi styled edition. The birds, mammals, reptiles and vistas of Aotearoa pop out of the pages and children will delight at identifying all of them, including the fantail who appears on every page. The bus travels from Cape Reinga through to Milford Sound stopping at iconic New Zealand spots to pick up a whole host of Kiwi characters. You can sing along as you turn the pages (as we did at Storytime on Monday) or if you want to sit quietly and read the book, you find lots of other things hiding in the pictures as well. This vibrant soft covered picture book will make an ideal stocking filler and is definitely top of my list of picture book purchases for the special kids in my life.


2. Julia Donaldson (The Gruffalo) has a new book out called Cave Baby. The illustrator is Emily Gravett. It’s a fun story about a cheeky baby who scribbles on walls (can anyone relate to that) and a hairy mammoth who takes him for a thrilling nighttime ride. It’s a great read aloud book (I’v tried it out at storytime).


3. Something completely different, and a little bit of a tear jerker for the soft touches amongst us is Potato Music by Christina Booth and illustrated by Pete Groves. Each night the family gather around the piano and sing and dance. Pa says the music “helps to keep our dreams and hopes alive”. But then the war comes, boots march by outside and everyone is hungry. Can the music keep them warm and stop them from starving? It’s sad but uplifting – ideal for quiet time with your child.


4. The highlight for me of To Market To Market by Anne Miranda is the stunning and hilarious illustrations by Janet Stevens. They fit the simple text so well with the animals and the shopper springing off the sepia background chaos. The book itself has been around for a while (1997) and has been honoured as both a whole and for it’s illustrations. If you find it, have a look and see if you agree with me.


5. The Mountain who wanted to Live in a House is Maurice Shadbolt's only known children's story. Published in picture book format for the first time with illustrations by Renee Haggo it is the story of young Thomas who saves the town from a wandering mountain, at the same time helping the mountain to achieve his dream.

Honourable mention must go to the Kiwi classics such as Hairy Maclary and the stories of people such as Margaret Mahy and Joy Cowley (some of which were re-issued this year), Yvonne Morrison's kiwi re-workings of the traditional christmas tales (e.g. The Night before Christmas), new releases such as Marmaduke Duck and the Marmalade Jam (Juliette McIvor) and the Kiwi Corkers (which also have a Kiwi retelling of the Christmas Carol just released). Do you get the impression I could go on and on? I could (I haven't even mentioned Wonky Donkeys or Piggity Wiggity yet). It's the child inside and it is never more evident than at Christmas time.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Barbara Kendall at Orewa Library

She has the full set - Gold, Silver and Bronze medals from the Olympic Games. She is a Quadruple World Champion and can put the honorific MBE after her name for her services to windsurfing.

She is of course Barbara Kendall and she will be at the Orewa Library tomorrow (Friday 3rd December) from 11am to 11.45am. This is a free event but numbers are limited so get in touch with the Orewa Library today to reserve your space. Phone 094273923 or email them at orewalib@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

Barbara's biography Wind Driven can be found at most of the Auckland Libraries. Check out your copy today.

Summer Hours and loan periods

With the way the temperature has been the past few days it's time to start talking about summer. It's also one way to put off for another day bringing up the 'C' word in great detail (it is mentioned briefly in the following advice).

HOURS
The Libraries in the Rodney area close at 5pm on Friday 24 December.
We will be closed Saturday 25 - Tuesday 28 December and Saturday 1 - Tuesday 4 January over the Christmas and New Year period.
From Wednesday 29 - Friday 31 December the libraries will operate with normal hours but will close at 5pm.
Wellsford, Mahurangi East, Orewa, Helensville and Whangaparaoa libraries will open from 9.30am - 5pm. Warkworth and Kumeu libraries will be open from 9am - 5pm.

Normal opening hours resume on Tuesday 5 January.

LOAN PERIODS

Once again we recognise that as the busy Christmas and holiday period approaches, you have a lot of things to think about as well as getting your library items back on time. So our extended loan periods are back and those checking books out this week will have already noticed that they are not due back to 2011 (which makes the year seem to go even faster)

Our extended loan periods are as follows:

1) Until 31 December 201028-day loans (e.g. books, audio books) will be issued/renewed for 42 days.

2) 11 December 2010 - 8 January 201114-day loans (e.g. magazines, CDs, bestsellers) will be issued/renewed for 28 days.

3) 18 December 2010 - 22 January 20117-day loans (e.g. DVDs, standards) will be issued/renewed for 14 days.

Relax and enjoy the festive season (avoiding the use of the C word) with our extended loans on books and items including magazines and rental DVDs. If you enjoy borrowing a few extra books, now's the time to do it!