Heritage et AL

Today, the Auckland Public Library is a modern center of learning, community connection, and  houses an abundance of books. Many of us see the library as a vital public necessity, something  justifiably funded through rates and other government revenue. Few would ever question our  right to access books for free. However, this wasn’t always the case. Similarly, the Auckland  Public Library occupies a purpose-built space that is both functional and conducive to learning  and connection. Again, this also wasn’t always the case. A central part of the story of the  Auckland Public Library lies in the growing recognition of the library as a place of importance,  and the changing role of the library throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Over a  series of four articles, I will explore key stages of development for our treasured Library. This  article starts at the beginning, and it will explore the Auckland Public Library’s early days, ...

Auckland Libraries acknowledges the late John Eady Snr ONZM who passed away on 10 October 2017 John led the iconic Lewis Eady music business - established by his grandfather Lewis, 137 years ago - with an unwavering passion for supporting the music community in both Auckland and throughout New Zealand. He donated and loaned pianos, supported countless charitable events and emerging musicians, as well as donating the beautiful Kawai Grand Piano and large numbers of books and musical scores to the Lewis Eady Music collection at the Auckland Public Library. It is interesting to discover how a part of a library's collection originates. In the case of Auckland Libraries' music collection, it started when a visionary librarian connected with an Auckland city councillor. In 1926, Mr L. Alfred Eady, an Auckland city councillor, attended a library conference in Dunedin. There he heard Mr John Barr, Auckland’s chief librarian, speak about the need for public libraries to have mus...

In late January 1929, Erich Maria Remarque’s anti-war novel Im Westen, Nichts Neues ( In the west, nothing new ) was published by Propyläen Verlag. In England the book was quickly translated by the Australian librarian Arthur Wesley Wheen and republished under the title All Quiet on the Western Front . Ref:  Two original 1929 editions that finally made it into the Library, t he one on the left is from the Quaker Collection .

Over the next few months we’ll be running a series of posts featuring the digitised items in the Ephemera collections of Sir George Grey Special Collections, specifically focussing on the Old Colonists’ Museum (OCM) Ephemera Collection. The Old Colonists’ Museum was opened by Mayor J.H. Gunson on the 22 March, 1916 and was located in the same building as the Auckland Public Library and the Auckland Art Gallery. Ref: James D. Richardson,  Looking east from Lorne Street showing Auckland Public Library, c1903, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections,  4- 2416 . It occupied two large rooms on the top floor of the building and contained, “a collection of pictures, maps, prints, documents (printed and manuscript), and objects illustrating the history and development of New Zealand, especially the Auckland Province and City.” This quote is from OCM founder and director John Barr ’s 1922 history of the three institutions, of which he was in charge until his retirement i...

As posted earlier on Heritage et AL (see the post on 14th April ), John Barr (Chief Librarian at Auckland Public Library 1913-1952) and his wife Jessie came to live in Auckland in the early 20th century. Like many immigrants they remained attached to their home country, Scotland, while also becoming increasingly engaged with the history, life and culture of their new home in Auckland. They were very active members of the Auckland St Andrews Society. As secretary of the St Andrews Society in 1919, John Barr took care of many of the arrangements for the installation of J.M. Mennie’s gift to Auckland of a Robert Burns statue (ref: Auckland Star , 03 May 1919, p.11 ). The statue was installed and unveiled in Auckland Domain in 1921 (ref: New Zealand Herald , 5 November 1921, p. 8 ). Ref: Frederick George Radcliffe, statue of Burns, Auckland Domain, c. 1921, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 35-R142 Jessie performed in the St Andrews Society production of “Bu...

My grandfather John Barr (1887-1971) was the chief librarian at Auckland Public Library from 1913-1952 . Ref: Photographer unknown, John Barr, City Librarian, no location or date, Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 360-10 Often called “Jack”, he was born in Glasgow, the son of a tin smith. His mother, Rebecca (née Witherington), was a mill worker before she got married. She appears to have valued education, though may not have been very literate herself. Jack started working for the Mitchell Library in Glasgow when he was 13 or 14. Jack is pictured below in this 1906 photo with fellow Mitchell Library cadet Abe Cunningham, in front of a statue donated to Glasgow by John Stewart Kennedy. Abe Cunningham later worked at the Auckland Public Library as a cataloguer. Ref: Photographer unknown, John Barr with Abe Cunningham Glasgow,  1906, from The Munro-John Barr Album (private family album) My grandmother, Jessie Isabella Mary MacPherson (1889-1979)...