Auckland Libraries blog

In the July school holidays, we ran the Ngā Tamariki o Matariki challenges on Auckland Libraries Beanstack for tamariki and rangatahi. Our young readers learned about Matariki, with reading suggestions for different ages and lots of activities to try. As they learned, they earned Ngā Tamariki o Matariki badges and entries into our prize draws. Together, our Ngā Tamariki o Matariki readers logged over 1637 days of reading over two weeks! Read on for details about our prize winners! Ngā Tamariki o Matariki reading challenge prize pack winners We’re pleased to announce the two winners in the kids’ category! Priya (8) from Rānui Library won a Creokit three-month subscription and a gift voucher to take family and friends to Auckland Zoo. Temilo (10), also at Rānui Library, won a Creokit three-month subscription and a gift voucher for a group outing to Jump Trampoline Park. Aamnah (14) of Blockhouse Bay Library won our youth prize pack – a JB Hi-Fi voucher and a gift voucher to take some ma...

Highlights of the week ahead: 22-28 August With We Read Auckland 2022 about to enter its second and final week, it’s time to take a look at the wonderful events happening in our libraries and online. From discovering the hidden female figures of 19th century Aotearoa to a pop-up book club at the pub, We Read Auckland offers scores of opportunities to celebrate reading, writing and storytelling! Beanstack Online Reading Challenge 1 – 31 August, Online The Beanstack Online Reading Challenge is running all through August. Open to all ages, you can earn cool prizes just by logging the hours you spend reading. You can also complete fun activities which give you more chances to win. Download the Beanstack Tracker app on your Apple or Android device and select ‘Auckland Libraries’ or visit the Beanstack website to register. Author talk: Eileen Merriman Tuesday 23 August, 6.30pm – 7.30pm, Warkworth Masonic Hall When she’s not winning rave reviews for her novels, such as Pieces of You , Moonli...

Highlights of the week ahead: 15 - 21 August We Read Auckland 2022 kicks off next week, and heaps of exciting events are happening across Tāmaki Makaurau! Discover what’s going on at your local library or online, from reading stories to dogs to taking midnight strolls in the bush with authors. Explore all We Read Auckland events on our website. Descended from Rangatira exhibition Monday 15 August – Sunday 28 August, 9am-5pm. Māngere Arts Centre Māori and Pasifika people have a long tradition of powerful leadership, with mana passing down from generation to generation since before recorded history. Every day during We Read Auckland, the ‘ Descended from Rangatira ’ exhibition will be sharing stories of Polynesian identity and culture to help rangatahi from different backgrounds become the rangatira they were born to be. Piringatahi | Special Collections Up Close Monday 15 August – Friday 26 August (weekdays only), 10.30am-11.15am. Special Collections Reading Room, Level 2, Central City ...

Over the next few months, there will be a few small changes to how you access OverDrive and Libby. No need to panic – your favourite eBooks, eAudiobooks and eMagazines will still be available! Read on to discover what changes are happening and what you need to do. The OverDrive and Libby login process is changing A change is coming with the OverDrive and Libby login process in the coming months. This change will mean you will need more than just a barcode to sign into OverDrive and Libby   - you will need to use your library barcode and the PIN/password you use to log into your Auckland Libraries account. You can get ready for this change by making sure you know your library login details and how to log into your Auckland Libraries account . Don’t remember your login details? No problem! You can easily reset your PIN/password on our website . All you need is your library card barcode number. If you’ve never had a PIN/password or you’re having trouble resetting it, contact your loc...

After a few years cooped up at home, you’d be forgiven for dreaming of an overseas holiday. Read on to discover the intrepid journeys you could embark on, from the farthest reaches of the globe to right here in Aotearoa. The happy isles of Oceania by Paul Theroux Cold winter weather naturally brings dreams of relaxing getaways to warm paradises in the Pacific. White sand beaches and quiet atolls are hard to say no to when frozen windscreens begin to greet us each morning. In this “exotic and breath-taking” journey, Paul Theroux explores 51 Pacific Islands by collapsible kayak, starting with the rainforests of Aotearoa. There are plenty of travel ideas alongside Theroux’s witty observations and exotic adventures. Cold by Ranulph Fiennes Or perhaps you feel that New Zealand’s winter isn’t cold enough? While we would not recommend following exactly in his footsteps, ‘Cold’ is an intriguing chronicle of the more extreme adventures that can be had on our wild planet. Sir Ranulph Fiennes fam...

From environmentalism to race relations to feminism, the titles in the BWB Texts Collection boldly tackle the most pressing issues in Aotearoa’s cultural conversation. Described as ‘short books on big subjects’, they are written by some of New Zealand’s foremost authors and experts, and their purpose is to educate kiwis on our past, present and future. With 93 published titles in this steadily growing collection, there are plenty of topics to get stuck into.  Access to BWB Texts Online is free and always available (no need to wait!) – all you need to do is log in with your library card. Read on for some of our picks of the BWB Texts Collection: Imagining Decolonisation Bianca Elkington, Moana Jackson, Rebecca Kiddle, Ocean Ripeka Mercier, Mike Ross, Jennie Smeaton and Amanda Thomas / 2020 What might New Zealand look like if it adopted decolonisation? Led by highly respected scholar Moana Jackson, the authors of this compact but impactful book use real-life examples to bring to li...

It will come as no surprise that our library staff are exceptionally knowledgeable about books. But even this bunch of bookworms admit that they haven’t read some of the books widely known and regarded as must-read classics. Read on to discover the titles that haven’t quite made it onto the ‘TBR list’. Dan I have seen the Disney cartoon movie of The Jungle Book so many times, yet never read Mr Kipling’s revered collection of short stories. However, I have read The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. This wonderful tale is inspired by The Jungle Book. Rather than Mowgli abandoned in the jungle, we have the orphaned Nobody Owens, taken in and raised by the ghostly denizens of his local cemetery. Baloo the bear is replaced as Nobody’s stalwart guardian by the stern and mysterious Silas (who may just be a vampire!). A marvellously dark, enthralling, and ultimately uplifting dance along the borderline between our world and the next. Alison I’m really ashamed to admit to not reading these c...