Month: January 2024

Waitangi Day

// What's on

How much do you know about Te Tiriti? Do you know who translated Te Tiriti? Do you know how many copies were made? Come into the Central Library to test your knowledge.

We are running a quiz from Wednesday 31st Jan to Wednesday 7th Feb. Find the Tino Rangatiratanga flags spread out around the library to help find answers to the questions.

Once you’ve completed the quiz, you can enter the draw to win a prize.

Here are some useful websites to find information on Te Tiriti.

The Treaty of Waitangi – Archives New Zealand

Treaty Resource Centre – He Puna Mātauranga o Te Tiriti (trc.org.nz)

The Treaty in brief – The Treaty in brief | NZHistory, New Zealand history online

Waitangi Tribunal | Waitangi Tribunal

Kāinga – Wai 262, Protecting and Nurturing Taonga Māori

Activity Books from Te Papa

https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/sites/default/files/waitangi_activity_book_a4.pdf

https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/sites/default/files/waitangi-day-activity-book-maori-a4.pdf

Books Just Want To Be Held

// Library News

Like most of us, library books just want to be held. Holds are free at Palmerston North City Library, and it’s a great way to make sure you don’t miss a popular title. You can also place a hold on a book to bring it from another location. For example, if you’re at Ashhurst you can put a hold on a book that’s at Central, and it will be brought out to you.

Here are some ways to place a hold:

  • use the Place Hold button when you’re browsing the library catalogue. Just enter your card number and PIN, select the pickup library, click ‘Place Hold(s)’ and you’re done!
  • ask a librarian next time you’re at one of the library locations
  • contact us on 06 3514100 or at pncl@pncc.govt.nz

Whichever method you use, you’ll receive an email when the book is ready to be collected. Then you have 10 days to pick up the item.

Show a library book some love today!

Tips for using ‘My Account’

// Books

While the Library app is unavailable, here’s a reminder of some things you can do by logging into My Account on the City Library’s online catalogue.

When you’re logged in, you can search for items, and it’s free to place holds on them. Once you receive a message to say an item is available, you have 10 days to pick it up.

Here are few other hold-related things you might find useful:

  • Going on holiday or have a long wish list?  You can ‘suspend holds’ so that they don’t arrive while you’re away.
  • If you don’t want to place a hold, but simply want to keep track of cool things you’ve spotted, try using My Lists. You can have several different lists with different themes, and then easily go back to place holds later if you desire.
  • If you no longer require a hold, you can cancel it. (Unless you’ve already been notified it’s available, in which case please contact the Library to cancel it for you.) Cancelling an unwanted hold speeds the process up for other people in the queue.

Did you know the system keeps a history of two years’ worth of titles you’ve borrowed? Look for ‘Checkout History’ in the Checkouts tab. You can use this literary time machine to travel back through all the cool books you’ve read!

While we wait for a replacement library app, you can still do all this via My Account.  Save it as a short cut on your computer or device for quick access.

Versions Tuarima – creative writing project

// Library News

Versions is back! Each year we throw open the invitation to local writers to be part of an anthology. We provide the prompt (which you’re welcome to ignore if you don’t need it) and you can submit anything from a poem to a short story to a play. Actually, anything creative – music, visual art, sculpture, dance, anything – we’ll figure out how to include it.

Library staff do the editing and formatting, and then the anthology is published later in the year. All writers get a hard copy of the book, and are invited to bring their friends and family to the launch.

All submissions are accepted (unless they are offensive or plagiaristic). So if you’ve ever wanted to write something and have it published, here’s your chance!

This year’s prompt is as brief as it is broad: earth. This ties in with this year’s Heritage Month theme, so if you’re short on ideas, you could attend some of the Heritage talks and see if they spark something.

You might want to write a poem about Planet Earth. Or a short story where the protagonist builds a rammed-earth house. Go wild with it, and write whatever comes to mind.

As this is the fifth instalment of Versions, it will be called Versions Tuarima. (Rima = five.)

Keep an eye on the City Library website as we get closer to March, and we’ll release details of the submission dates and process.

Until then, start conjuring up ideas!

Blue Smoke

// What's on

On Thursday 8 February, there’s a talk about the 75th Anniversary of the “Blue Smoke” recording release, and 28 Maori Battalion in the Second World War. This talk will be presented by Ruma Karaitiana, Rangitāne Kaumatua and Chair, Rangitāne o Manawatu Commercial Arm.

The talk is co-hosted by RNZE CT/ECMC and Palmerston North City Library.


Central Library, Heritage area (2nd Floor), 12:00pm-1:00pm.

Image: Ruru Karaitiana (songwriter and composer) and Pixie Williams (vocalist)