Category: Library News

This month Palmerston North City Library is participating in Together We Read, New Zealand’s largest online book club!

Between October 13 to 27, everyone with a library card is invited to join Together We Read. With your library card, you can borrow an e-book or e-audiobook copy of New Zealand author Nikki Crutchley’s critically acclaimed novel To the Sea.

How does it work?

To join New Zealand’s largest annual online book club, you will need:

• Your library card number (on the back of your card) and pin number
• To download the free Libby App on your device. (from the Apple App Store or Google Play)
• Download To the Sea by Nikki Crutchley as an ebook. It’s free and there are no holds or waiting
• Start reading!
• During the two weeks for reading, you can join the author Nikki Crutchley and other readers across New Zealand for online discussions.

Once you have downloaded the Libby app, get your library card and log in with the barcode number and your pin.

If you’ve forgotten your pin, give us a call on (06) 351 4100.

I need a library membership

1. You can join at any one of our library locations. Bring in some ID and proof of your address to any one of our libraries, and we’ll sign you up. OR
2. The fastest way to join is to sign up and participate is to for a digital membership with Palmerston North City Library
3. The form asks you to choose a library to join – pick Palmerston North Central Library
4. Pick ‘Digital Only Membership‘. This way, you skip the need to provide proof of your address and can use our digital resources (including Libby) straight away
5. (You can change your digital membership to a full membership with a card if you bring proof of your address into any one of our libraries)
6. Fill in the rest of your details, read and accept the Terms and Conditions, and click REGISTER
7. Log in to Libby with your membership, download To The Sea (and anything else that catches your eye), and you’re all set to start reading!

If you’re stuck, give us a call on (06) 351 4100

The Story

To the Sea by Nikki Crutchley (Harper Collins) is an atmospheric, suspenseful, dark and twisty thriller in the tradition of Daphne du Maurier, Paula Hawkins, Anna Downes and JP Pomare. Longlisted for the 2022 Ngaio Marsh Award, To the Sea is compulsively readable, keeping you guessing until late into the night, described by Rose Carlyle as, “An enthralling thriller, as beautiful and deadly as an ocean storm.”

How do I participate?

You are invited to join the zoom launch with Overdrive and author Nikki Crutchley on Thursday 13 October at 7pm.

Zoom link. the passcode is 203012

Or, you can call in from your mobile or landline to listen and join in. Simply call

09 884 6780, or
03 659 0603, or
04 886 0026

Join the discussion board online, for you to chat with other people and share your thoughts on the book as you progress.

What is Libby?

The Libby App is an award-winning digital app from OverDrive, and holds the industry’s largest digital literary catalogue. Available through most local libraries across New Zealand, Libby is a free service offering access to e-books, audio books and other digital content across numerous devices including iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phones and tablets, Chromebook™, and Kobo® tablets and eReaders.

Looking for something to do with the whānau? We’ve got you covered!

Collect a postcard from any of our libraries and check out fun things to do in the Manawatū! Tick off each activity as you go. Once you’ve completed all 7 activities come back to the library and claim your prize!

We’re excited to announce that we’ve added new online tools to our digital collection. LOTE Online for kids, Creativebug, the British Newspaper Archive and new Gale databases have been added to inspire you to explore the pathways of the world.  

LOTE stands for ‘languages other than English’, and is pronounced like the ‘loat’ in ‘float’. It has a catalogue of more than 1,600 digital books in more than 50 languages. It’s a fantastic way to help migrant tamariki hear, retain and read their mother tongue. It’s also great for new language learners of all ages to explore their chosen language by listening and reading.

Visit the Children’s Digital Library on our website to navigate to LOTE and our other fantastic Children’s apps. Keep your library card handy to sign in! 

Creativebug is the perfect place to pick up a new hobby! With over 1000 online classes, taught by renowned artists and crafters, you can learn to paint, knit, crochet, sew and more. Classes don’t expire, so you can learn at your own pace.

Visit Creativebug now to get started. You’ll need to create an account with your library card number.

The British Newspaper Archive is a database covering 300 years’ worth of British newspaper content. One of our team managed to search and find information about their 5x Great-Grandfather! It’s a fantastic resource for those researching their genealogy. 

The British Newspaper Archive is available only on a library computer, with up to 4 seats available at any given time for research. To access and view the archive you need to create an account using an email and password. By registering you’ll be able to view images/documents, keep track of your searches, and bookmark items into folders. 

To start researching, come visit us at the library to use a computer – we’ve got loads of cosy spots. 

We also have seven new Gale databases.

National Geographic Kids (Gale)

Explore amazing adventures in science, nature, culture, archaeology and space. 

Includes the complete run of the magazine from 2009 to the present. Provides authoritative, age appropriate digital content suitable for younger readers. 

National Geographic Virtual Library (Gale)

National Geographic Virtual Library includes the complete archive of National Geographic magazines from 1888 to the present, National Geographic: People, Animals and the World and National Geographic Kids. Along with a cross-searchable collection of National Geographic books, maps, images and videos. 

Australia and New Zealand (Gale OneFile)

Access content with a focus on Australia and New Zealand. 

This database features a variety of magazines, journals, news and multimedia sources, covering important issues and current events related to Australia and New Zealand. 

Smithsonian Collections Online (Gale)

Access America’s premier archive of culture and history. This database provides access to the following collections from the Smithsonian,  

• Evolution of flight 1784 – 1991,  
• Trade Literature and Merchandising of Industry,  
• World’s Fairs and Expositions: Visions of Tomorrow, and the
• Smithsonian and Air & Space magazine archive. 

Science (Gale In Context)

Access information on the latest developments across a range of scientific disciplines. Remain current with the latest scientific developments in the biological sciences, computing, engineering, technology and more. Updated daily. 

Pop Culture Studies (Gale OneFile)

Provides access to scholarly journals and magazines that analyse and contribute to popular culture. 

The Popular Culture Studies database offers useful information for researchers in social science, history, art or liberal arts courses. 

Military and Intelligence (Gale OneFile)

Covers all aspects of the past and current state of military affairs. 

Search scholarly journals, magazines, and reports covering all aspects of past and present military affairs. The database offers content in key subject areas including governmental policies, the socioeconomic effects of war, the structure of the armed forces and more. Updated daily. 

Click here to see all of our Gale databases.

There’s more fun to be had this July with our new reading challenge for kids – Palmy Kids Read NZ’s Best!

We love the finalists of the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults so much, we decided that a new Reading Challenge was in order. The challenge is for Tamariki and Rangatahi aged 4 to 19.

To complete the challenge you have to:

• read at least one book,
• write at least one book review, plus
• earn any other four badges of your choice.

The challenge uses the Library’s online platform Beanstack for monitoring and encouraging reading. Join up and log your reading to earn virtual badges.

The Challenge kicks off on Friday 8 July (right at the start of the school holidays!) and finishes on Friday 12 August, following the book awards ceremony on Wednesday 10^th when the winning books are announced. Will you read a winner? Join up here and we’ll see!

OR Download Beanstack from the Apple app store or Google Play Store.

• Open the app
• Choose Library as the organisation
• Search for Palmerston North
• Touch Sign Up!
• Then join the challenge

If you need a JP, you can find one at Central Library every Friday from 11am to 1pm on the Mezzanine Floor.

They are in the Wharite Room, which is near the stairs heading up to the first floor. If you’re unsure, ask a staff member and we’ll point you in the right direction.

No appointments are necessary. If you need their services sooner, you can visit Palmerston North District Court on Main Street from 11:30am to 1:30pm, Monday to Wednesday, and from 11am to 3pm Thursday – Friday.

You can also call a JP and make an appointment – to find a JP in your area, visit the Royal Federation of NZ Justices’ Association to search.

Palmerston North City Library has several locations around town (and in Ashhurst too!) Do you know where they all are? Grab a copy of the Read Your Way Around Town brochure, or print it out from the file below, and get a stamp for each location you visit!

Colour in a feather to reflect your experience of Our Library or your reflections on the past year or hopes for the upcoming year!  We have a feather template below you can download and print.

Drop them in to any Palmerston North City Library, send via email, Facebook Messenger, post, or just come and colour them in here at Te Pātikitiki. 

Whaea Ruth will whatu (weave) your creations into our Kakahu that has our Pātikitiki as the Taaniko pattern. 

This is an ongoing project and we hope to reach everyone who has grown up here, had their heart touched or their needs met. Please spread the word and the template. 

There will be spot prizes for the feather that has come from the furthest distance, the one with the most moving message and the one with the most spectacular colours. 

From Whaea Ruth and the team at Te Pātikitiki

If your New Years resolution was to learn a new language this year but you haven’t started yet don’t worry, we can help you! Not only do we have books in our libraries to help you learn a language but we also have access to some great digital resources such as Mango Languages to help you. You can get free access to Mango Languages with your library card.

There are many languages to choose from on Mango Languages, from Arabic to Yiddish, with a few fun ones in between like Pirate and Shakespearean English.

You can also find Mango Languages on the app store, or google play store.

LinkedIn Learning for Library offers free access to thousands of online courses.

LinkedIn Learning for Library is a great digital resource you can use for free with your library card, so you do not need a LinkedIn profile. There are heaps of learning opportunities from learning how to use and understand Microsoft Office products, customer service techniques or even creative things like how to do animations.

There is a link on our website or you can download the LinkedIn Learning app. After you download it from your app store, click on Sign in, then click on Sign in with your library card to log in through our Library.

You’ll be prompted to enter our Library’s ID, and then your library card number and pin. Note: the Library ID is at the end of the LinkedIn Learning invitation link, and is palmerstonnorthcitylibrary (lower case and one word).