Heritage et AL

There was a time not long ago when nearly every substantial community in Auckland hosted its own weekly newspaper. Most of these emerged in the aftermath of World War II, when returning soldiers moved into new homes in the suburbs. They quickly began commercial ventures and became involved in local politics. By 1960, there were around 30 community newspapers in the area that would become Auckland catering to a population of about 500,000. A few suburbs even supported multiple papers that catered to specific interest groups. Auckland Council Libraries and its predecessors have done their best to collect as many of these newspapers as possible and through this effort, stories have emerged from the golden age of community newspapers. Photo: Portrait of Noel E Roseman from the front page of the Ribbon News-Pictorial, 14 May 1968. Noel Eric Roseman of Grey Lynn was an unremarkable man when he printed his first newspaper in 1949. During the war, he had served in the Royal New Zealand Air For...

  Image: Cover illustration by Mike Hinge from Analog science fiction, science fact, April 1976. Explore the imaginative worlds of science fiction in this vibrant exhibition featuring books, magazines, comics and posters from Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections. Science fiction allows readers and writers to imagine other worlds, whether they’re mind-bending, hopeful or downright terrifying.  Learn about the big ideas and publishing history of this expansive genre and immerse yourself in its incredible settings and eye-popping artwork. Trace themes and tropes from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to William Gibson’s Neuromancer, and discover the close connections between science fact and speculative fiction. Enjoy seeing early editions of your favourite works and be inspired to find your next read. The exhibition is open Monday - Saturday from February 19th - August 2nd, 2025, at Central City Library.  In this blog, you can listen to in-depth discussions with the curators w...

Auckland Council Libraries provides free access to a variety of online family history resources, including genealogy websites such as Ancestry, Findmypast, The Genealogist and MyHeritage. Recently, Ancestry launched the 1921 Census for England and Wales   (this includes the Isle of Mann and the Channel Islands). This census is a significant resource for us family history librarians and fellow researchers. The modern census was taken every 10 years from 1841 onwards, and grouped families together, provided names, addresses and other useful genealogical information. The later census records are particularly valuable as they progressively asked more questions that are relevant to family historians. These records are subject to the 100-year privacy laws and are only released one hundred years after the census was taken. Findmypast originally won the tender for the 1921 Census , first publishing it on their website in 2022, after they had completed conservation/preservation work on the...