The National Library of New Zealand (Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa) is New Zealand's legal deposit library and a public service department, charged with the obligation to 'enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations' (National Library of New Zealand Act 2003). Under the Act, it is also expected to be:
'collecting, preserving, and protecting documents, particularly those relating to New Zealand, and making them accessible for all the people of New Zealand, in a manner consistent with their status as documentary heritage and taonga; and
'supplementing and furthering the work of other libraries in New Zealand; and
'working collaboratively with other institutions having similar purposes, including those forming part of the international library community.'
It is said to be unique in that unlike many other national libraries, it has links to primary and secondary schools through an extensive Schools Programme with 15 service centres and 3 Curriculum Information Service branches around New Zealand. The Legal Deposit Office is also New Zealand's agency for ISBN and ISSN.
The library is headquartered adjacent to the New Zealand Parliament and opposite the Court of Appeal in Molesworth Street, Wellington.
Alexander Turnbull Library
The Alexander Turnbull Library forms part of the National Library, and is located at its Wellington branch. Named after Alexander Horsburgh Turnbull, whose 1918 bequest forms the original portion of the collection, it 'holds New Zealand’s documentary research collections' (National Library of New Zealand Act 2003). It is charged under the Act to
'Preserve, protect, develop, and make accessible for all the people of New Zealand the collections of that library in perpetuity and in a manner consistent with their status as documentary heritage and taonga; and
'Develop the research collections and the services of the Alexander Turnbull Library, particularly in the fields of New Zealand and Pacific studies and rare books; and
'Develop and maintain a comprehensive collection of documents relating to New Zealand and the people of New Zealand.'
Now at the National Library's present Wellington branch, its former site at Turnbull House in Bowen Street is now run by the Department of Conservation.
External links
The library's site (http://www.natlib.govt.nz/)
The Alexander Turnbull Library site (http://www.natlib.govt.nz/en/using/2atl.html)
National Library of New Zealand (Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa) Act 2003
(HTML at legislation.govt.nz) (http://www.legislation.govt.nz/libraries/contents/om_isapi.dll?clientID=1946548715&infobase=pal_statutes.nfo&record=%7b695CD6F%7d&hitsperheading=on&softpage=DOC)
The latter are the repository of records of government departments while the TurnbullLibrary draws its collections from the New Zealand community in general.
The photograph collection in the TurnbullLibrary that illustrates this monumentally is the recently restored R. Moore collection of panorama negatives.
The library is in the process of making high quality copy negatives from the originals, and many have been printed for use as a reference tool for people using the library.
The AlexanderTurnbullLibrary is not an art gallery: but it does hold the largest and most important collection of historical New Zealand paintings, drawings and prints in the world.
However, the TurnbullLibrary is to occupy a substantial space in the National Library to be built in Molesworth Street; and when that happens there will be more exhibition areas and a gallery where, under carefully-controlled physical conditions, early watercolours and other works will be freely seen.
The AlexanderTurnbulllibrary is the intermediary between scholar and public.
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