Christchurch City Libraries Blog

I like to read a bit of New Zealand fiction, but lately I have run out of ideas on what to read next, so I decided to have a bit of a poke around on our website in search of inspiration.

Book awards are always a good place to start of course and being a bit of a crime buff  I started with the latest Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel. This year’s winner, Blood men by Paul Cleave, looks like a starter to me.

Then I moved on to the New Zealand Post Book Award for fiction. The Hut Builder by Laurence Fearnley won the Fiction prize in 2011. This author is entirely new to me. The book is described in the Sunday Star- Times reviewer  as having “enormous integrity, is beautifully written and quietly proud of its Southern roots”. Sounds interesting. The New Zealand Book Council site described an earlier novel as ‘exquisitely realised… exact, sparing, lovely’

Taking a look in the new BiblioCommons catalogue, I found a lists on topics from New Zealand crime novels to New Zealand historical fiction (many new authors). The great Kiwi novel list introduced me to an earlier novel by Fearnley and a fantasy novel set in Christchurch.

There were also some hidden gems. A search for the Auckland Readers & Writers Festival in our blog led me to an interview with Vincent Ward mentioning his book The Past Awaits – not fiction but I thought it looked interesting. I also picked up a reference to Christchurch writer Tusiata Avia. Another entirely new author to follow up.

NZ on screen also opened up a new approach with its New Zealand Book Month Collection which allowed me to view a 1996 documentary on Hone Tuwhare and a selection of  films based on New Zealand books, including State of Siege, a Vincent Ward adaptation of one of Janet Frame’s novels.

All together I thought it a pretty useful experience and I’ll know where to go next time I need to branch out.

A common Christchurch greeting now is  “What zone are you?”
This has come about as a result of the earthquakes in Christchurch and the subsequent government efforts to restore order and a future for our battered citizens. There will be many people buying land, building, making plans, and sometimes leaving us for somewhere less shaky.

• If you are looking to buy property we have some online resources and books to help you. We also list  websites for property buyers and sellers.
• If you’ve been out of the property market for a while,  The streetwise home buyer will be useful to you.
• If you are green in all aspects, then some repairs may be on the cards. Try searching our BiblioCommons catalogue for remodelling and maintenance and repair.
• In the event your house is munted, then you may be wanting to consider a design for a new home. Some things to consider are floor plan size, siting for the sun, likely occupants, solar and green capabilities etc. Search BiblioCommons for books on house design.

Along with your new and fabulous plans,whatever they may be, it could be time to have a think about what you would like the new face of Christchurch to look like. The Christchurch City Council has made provision for you to make your comments on the Central City Plan.

Whichever situation you find yourself in,  the staff at our libraries are always happy to assist you find the resources you need.

Robyn Drabble, New Brighton

Day of Rage

30 years ago today … Saturday, 12 September 1981 was the day of the third and final test between the Springboks and the All Blacks at Eden Park in Auckland.

It was also the anniversary of the murder in South Africa in 1977 of Steve Biko, an anti-apartheid activist who died after being interrogated by police under South Africa’s anti-terrorism laws.

More information on the Springbok Tour:

• View all the 1981 Springbok Tour posters in our collection.
• Search BiblioCommons for books on the 1981 Springbok Tour.
• Websites with information on the 1981 Springbok Tour.

The Nursing and Allied Health collection can help anyone involved in any health field including nursing, occupational therapy, midwifery and physiotherapy. This resource provides answers to health professional’s questions about the specialised care, treatment and management of patients. Examples include:

• Dealing with accident and trauma victims;
• Rehabilitation;
• Relieving pain;
• Serving the elderly;
• Delivering babies;
• Keeping health records.

Nursing and Allied Health collection and many other useful electronic health resources can be found in the Source. Access this from home with your library card number and PIN, or at our open community libraries.

The New Zealand Diversity Forum is a unique national convention, now in its seventh year, at which people involved in race relations, human rights and cultural diversity come together to share ideas and good practice.

The theme this year was ‘People in harmony’ which was also the theme for Race Relations Day. You can view some of these presentations on slideshare.

Two new books were launched this year:

• Tangata Tiriti from the Treaty Education Group is a new resource specially written for migrants as an introduction to our very first immigration document. It’s a fun workbook designed for educators or personal use.
• New to New Zealand: ethnic communities in Aotearoa: a handbook is an updated introduction to the myriad of minority communities in New Zealand.

A  highlight for the event was seeing Deaf Aotearoa receive an award for their work in producing  a National Anthem DVD featuring all three of our official languages.

Here are some suggestions on how to keep up-to-date with what’s happening in the diversity arena in Aotearoa:

• Join the mailing list of the Human Rights Commission to receive their newsletters. You can choose from 9 different titles – some relate specifically to the Diversity Action Programme and race relations, while the others deal with disability, transgender and Treaty issues
• Follow @nzdiversity on Twitter
• Like the Diversity Action Programme on Facebook
• Subscribe to the RSS feed of news from the Human Rights Commission

Find out more about the  library’s diversity resources:

• Explore our World language collections
• Find out about support we offer new settlers
  
• Read books about other cultures

The 2011 Rugby World Cup is here. Some of you will no doubt run screaming from these words and take refuge in the libraries’ DVD collection or our CD collection. Anything to avoid listening to or watching rugby until it all ends on October 23, 2011.

If on the other hand you are a bit of a rugby head, or feel you could get swept up in the excitement of hordes of visiting fans passionately chanting support of such far flung places as Georgia, Romania and Namibia then you are joining a special band.
When not watching rugby you can be reading about the game. There is more to rugby books than rows of ghost written biographies of cauliflower eared heroes. This sample will give you the flavour of what is on offer.

Prepare for your NCEA Drama assessments by making the most of these resources, and you will earn yourself a standing ovation for your performance.

• Borrow an NCEA Drama study guide from one of our community libraries now open;
• We also have a bunch of other books on acting techniques;
• Find various drama resources both for school and just for fun on The Pulse;
• Fine Arts and Music Collection has tonnes of drama-related articles from a variety of different journals;
• Browse the Cambridge Guide to Theatre at Credo Reference – you’ll need your library card and PIN;
• Learn about all aspects of theatre worldwide and throughout the ages at Oxford Reference Online – you’ll need your library card and PIN for this one, too;
• Check out the other awesome theatre and film resources we’ve found on our website;
• Make sure you understand what you need to do to achieve in NCEA;
• Get your broadway fix at the Internet Broadway Database;
• Team up with other New Zealanders who share your vision, passion and commitment to theatre;
• Playmarket can offer you script writing information, advice and resources;
• Discover where all the drama is happening in New Zealand by using the Te Puna Web Directory;
• Join the Young and Hungry and gain hands-on theatre experience, whether it’s acting, playwriting, stage management, costumes, set design, lighting,  or sound design.

Want some more really useful resources for another NCEA subject? Go to The Pulse, the library’s website for teens.

Probably not a great deal, but you should.  Not because of the opportunity to sample my ever-so-sparkling prose (yeah, right!), but because far too many people in Aotearoa have difficulty in reading and understanding what they read at all.  In fact,  according to the results of  the Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) Survey, over 40% of the adult population in New Zealand have low literacy skills.

It is hard to fully comprehend the difficulties that this large minority of people faces in dealing with the demands of everyday life.  So here’s my challenge to you on this International Literacy Day, 8 September:  stop and think about how often you rely on the written word … And how reading involves a lot more than just deciphering letters (ever felt lost trying to fill in an official form? I know I have, and I have a Master’s degree). Literacy Aotearoa has some suggestions.

So how can we help those who struggle with reading, writing and basic maths? Well, if you have taken my challenge, you are already helping: having an awareness of the issue is a great start.

If you would like to improve your literacy skills, or want to help someone else do so, try the following links.

• Find adult literacy providers in CINCH.  ARAS (Adult Reading Assistance Scheme) offers free tutoring on a one-on-one or small group basis, and is always looking for new volunteers to train as tutors. If tutoring is not your thing, you can support the scheme by becoming a Friend of ARAS.  Hagley Adult Literacy Centre offers a more structured class-based approach, as well as Community Programmes in in Aranui, Shirley, Papanui, Rowley, the Central City and St Albans;
• Explore the education resources in our Internet Gateway – the Literacy Aotearoa website is particularly useful;
• Browse the English language skills collections. These are available at most of our libraries and include a range of resources to help develop literacy skills, as well as simplified readers - books which have been written or re-written especially so that they can be enjoyed by people with different levels of reading ability.  You can find these in the catalogue by searching for the following series: Macmillan Readers, Penguin Readers, Cambridge English Readers, and Quick Reads;
• Use the library! We have collections to cater to all interests and needs.

A cemetery walk could sound like a strange thing to do but with Richard Greenaway in the lead, you are sure to come away with a head full of fascinating insights into the history of our city.

On  Wednesday 14 September, as one of the Christchurch City Council sponsored weekly “Walk’N’Talk” sessions, Richard will lead a guided tour of Linwood cemetery.

The walk leaves from Linwood Union Church, corner of Linwood Avenue and Tilford Street at 10:00am. If you don’t want to walk so far, meet at cemetery gates at the Buckley’s Road end of Butterfield  Street at 10:30am.
If you want to know more about this walk contact (03) 941 8999

Please wear practical clothing suitable for the weather and comfortable walking shoes. Bring a drink bottle. Parents with strollers are welcome.
Walks are cancelled in heavy or persistent rain – listen to NewsTalk ZB.

If you want to do a little advance swot about Linwood cemetery (and other Christchurch cemeteries) check our invaluable Cemeteries of Christchurch  pages.