Heritage et AL

Last month, our Heritage Collections exhibition, Other Worlds , launched on Level 2 of Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero | Central City Library. A huge amount of work went into planning, preparing, and displaying all the material on show, down to the smallest detail. The curators, Andrew Henry and Renee Orr, did a fantastic job, as did everyone else involved in bringing it together.  This blog post is inspired by a unique connection made in the process of planning Other Worlds, wherein I was tasked with researching the copyright status of some book covers that were selected to be reproduced as posters for the exhibition. Twelve covers were chosen, and one of those covers was this one below. You may recognise it as the main promotional image for our exhibition. It’s the first image visitors see upon walking into the exhibition, serving as a sort of beacon – the bright pinks and oranges catch the eye almost immediately.  Image : Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact , vol. XCVI, no. 4. New Yo...

  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...

To celebrate Comic Book Month this September at Auckland Libraries, Sir George Grey Special Collections is displaying a range of classic mid-to-late 20th century comics in the Reading Room cabinet (on display until the end of the month). Graphic literature (to use the technical flash term) has a long history, part of which includes the serialised superhero, action, science fiction and war comics of the last century. These were most often printed cheaply on newsprint and were considered ephemeral and throw away like the 'daily rag' newspaper. Nowadays comics from the 'Golden Age of American comics' - considered to be the 1930s to 1950s, are sought after by comics collectors, and fetch high prices. Ref: Display case of comics in the Sir George Grey Special Collections Another graphic literary tradition is the political comic, many examples of which can be found in the Sir George Special Collections. In 2012, 'Joking Aside' , an exhibition o...