Heritage et AL

Follow the journey of a rare manuscript, from the curators’ selection to a book conservator's assessment, and finally, to find its place in our Miraculous Medieval Manuscripts exhibition. Learn about what’s required for the care and handling of a medieval manuscript and enjoy a peek into the process of bringing an exhibition to life with Auckland Council Libraries Heritage Collections. Visit the Miraculous Medieval Manuscripts exhibition on Level 2, Central City Library until 11 November 2023 Browse the collection on Kura Heritage Collections Online . Credits Auckland Council Libraries Ngaio Vince-Dewerse – Book Conservator  Renee Orr & Jane Wild – Rare Book Specialists and Exhibition Curators Sue Berman – Project Lead   Popular Ltd Director and Videographer – Benj Brooking Post-Production Director – Juliana Machado   Additional thanks Auckland Council Libraries Heritage Collections and Engagement teams; Digital Assets Team,  Conservation and Preservation Team, Library and Lea

Dorothy Quentin - the novelist you have never heard of who set her romances in New Zealand and on the high seas. We now have a guide to Auckland Libraries' formed collection of Rowan Gibbs’ Dorothy Quentin novels. The “bibliographical romance” described by Rowan Gibbs in his 1998 work (published by Cultural and Political Booklets of Te Aro, Aotearoa, sets out the considerable publication history of Madeleine Batten whose primary pen name was Dorothy Quentin. This guide is now available in the Reading Room in Special Collections, at Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero | Central City Library, to assist readers navigating the Quentin oeuvre. The redoubtable Rowan Gibbs has made a career collecting New Zealand fiction. This amounts to over 200,000 titles collected since 1977. Image:  Cover of 'The Singing Hills' by Dorothy Quentin. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections.  New Zealand libraries and book collections are richer for Rowan Gibb’s assiduous collection, particularly in fiction, ac

It’s amazing the difference a few decades can make! These aerial photographs of Manukau City from the Auckland Council Archives show the previously open rural landscape to the more built-up area we know today. All showing the same exact location, it is fascinating to realise the growth of Manukau over 25 years, nearly 30 years ago. Image: Photo taken by our Digital Archives Imaging Specialist Paul Chapman showing scale of these aerial photographs and other examples from the accession.  The first image taken in 1972 and still in black and white lacks most of the recognisable landmarks, whereas the other two, taken in 1981 and 1994 are more recognisable with the inclusion of the Manukau Westfield mall and eventually Rainbows End. All of these images were printed on photographic paper pasted in chipboard and the scale here is 2 chains =1” meaning 40 meters = 1 inch approximately. Image: Black-and-white aerial photograph of Manukau City Centre, 14 April 1972, AUC 2023 025 Item 7, Auckland