Get ready for your next trip with Mango Languages! Learn French, German, Italian, Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese and many more languages on Mango Languages for free with your library card! (Select ‘Use Mango As A Guest’ for immediate start) Access Mango Languages Mango Languages Video Tutorial Mango Languages App (iOS) Mango Languages App (Android) From transport, tourism, greetings and culture; to food, festivals, medication and shopping — there’s lots of topical help available. Useful phrases can be digested word-to-word; pronunciation by real people is clear and authentic; scenarios are cut ..read more

April 23rd holds a special significance as it commemorates both Spanish Language Day and World Book Day, as designated by UNESCO. This dual celebration offers an opportunity to honour not only the beaty of the Spanish Language but also the joy of reading and writing. It is a day to reflect on the impact of literature, as we also pay tribute to literary giants like Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare. Book fair in the Las Ramblas streets, Barcelona, Spain. In some places, like Catalonia, April 23rd is also known as La Diada de Sant Jordi or Saint George’s Day. People there celebrate by ..read more

ComicFest 2024 is just around the corner, which means it’s time to plan what workshops you’re going to! These events are free and have limited capacity, so make sure to book ahead of time to avoid missing out. You can browse the full ComicFest schedule here. Panel: Drawing Nature – The Great Outdoors With Giselle Clarkson, Lily Duval, and Sarah Laing. Hosted by Neil Johnstone. Reserve your spot here. The natural world of Aotearoa New Zealand has always been, and continues to be, one of our greatest inspirations. In this unmissable event hear three of our finest graphic artists ..read more

Image via Giphy “Drink up!” urged the Chief. “There’s no escaping fate. Drink while the champagne lasts!” ― Andrey Kurkov, Death and the Penguin Welcome to another of our regular round ups of recently acquired detective and thriller titles. In this month’s exciting and thrilling  mixed bag  of titles we have a  new crime thriller novel set in the atmospheric and wonderful city of Dunedin, called The Night She Fell by Eileen Merriman. We also have The Extinction of Irena Rey: a new book by Women’s Prize finalist Jennifer Croft.  In The Extinction of Irena Rey,&nbs ..read more

Despite its geographical isolation from the traditional centres of the operatic world, Aotearoa New Zealand has produced a remarkable number of exceptional opera singers in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and this tradition shows every sign of continuing. Of all these outstanding ‘southern voices’, the most immediately and internationally recognisable is Dame Kiri te Kanawa, who celebrated her eightieth birthday on Wednesday 6 March 2024. You can access tributes to, and interviews with Kiri te Kanawa via Radio New Zealand, including Playing Favourites with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa,&nb ..read more

Māori Literature Trust has embarked  on a Project of 100 Kaituhi Māori, and has recently highlighted two gifted Te Āti Awa writers. Read Maori Literature Trust’s author spotlight on Alice Te Punga Somerville here, and a bibliography of her writing here, via komako.org.nz. Below are the pukapuka by Alice that we have in our libraries: Once were Pacific : Māori connections to Oceania / Te Punga Somerville, Alice “Native identity is usually associated with a particular place. But what if that place is the ocean? Once Were Pacific explores this question as it considers how Māori and other P ..read more

While we look forward to ComicFest 2024, meet Isobel Joy Te Aho-White in this “5 minutes with” interview. Self-portrait illustration of Isobel Joy Te Aho-White. What first got you interested in comics?  I grew up reading the Asterix and Tintin series, both were staples in New Zealand libraries in the 90s. My twin sister and I would get stacks of them and swap them after we’d done reading.  What is your average day like?  I start work late and go to bed late. Usually, my day begins with emails or meetings before I ease myself into drawing, with a break to cook dinner, which is an ..read more

It was a delight to read that Huia Publishers have been announced as winners of the Bologna Prize for the Best Children’s  Publishers of the Year, Oceania, at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Italy. It does not seem like 30 years since the Huia Publishers appeared on the landscape of New Zealand publishing, and I well remember those early days of the deeply dedicated mahi of Robyn and Brian Bargh, and later, Brian Morris, as well as their (as always) deeply committed staff. Read about their big win over on The Spinoff, and find out more about Huia here. Kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanu ..read more

Our Katūīvei Pasifika Poetry Readings event is almost here, so we thought we’d introduce you to some of the talented poets who will be reading at the event! Join us on Friday at Te Puna Waiora Newtown Library, 6-7pm for a dynamic night of contemporary poetry readings to celebrate the launch of this exciting new book (published by Massey University Press) hosted by former Poet Laureate and editor David Eggleton. Karlo Mila MNZM is a Pasifika writer and poet of Tongan (the villages of Kolofo’ou and Ofu), as well as Samoan and Pākehā descent. Her first collection, Dream Fish Floating (Huia ..read more

Whether you’re wanting to build your body strength, understand autism, build resilience in the face of a changing climate or get a good night’s sleep, we’ve got plenty of new health books in the collection to walk you through your health journey.  Try some of these we’ve selected below: Forever strong : a new, science-based strategy for aging well / Lyon, Gabrielle “After years of watching patients cycle through her practice, Dr Gabrielle Lyon noticed a pattern. While her patients struggled with a wide range of conditions, they all suffered from the same core problem: they had too little ..read more