Te Ara Whānui o te Ao

Can't see this email? Click here to view this message in browser window.

Kia ora! Welcome to the December newsletter from Palmerston North City Library!

'Shelf Awareness' radio show

We are very excited to announce that we're starting up a new radio show called Shelf Awareness! Tune in to Shelf Awareness to hear all kinds of library-related things, from book recommendations to people talking about what they do in their jobs.

Thanks to Manawatū People's Radio you'll be able to listen in either on the radio or via their website, where they keep an archive of shows. (Have a browse around, you are bound to find something else you're interested in!)

Digging in the Crates - Vinyl LPs

Anton Carter, Group Manager - Community Services, shares a portion of his deep knowledge of vinyl in this blog post.

The vinyl collection is constantly being added to. Pop in to the Central Library or Awapuni Library and you might just discover a new gem or an old favourite!

Vinyl is free to issue. You can take up to 5 LPs at a time, for one week.

e-audiobooks for the Holidays

Children's content buyer Kay gives you the low-down on using e-audiobooks in this blog post.

With a reminder that, if your child is signed up for the library’s Summer Reading Programme, listening to stories counts!

Home Service

This year we celebrate 50 years of Home Service deliveries. The Home Services Coordinator works with a wonderful pool of volunteers to get materials out to people who can't easily access the library themselves.

In the photo above you can see people testing out some new-fangled audio cassettes. These enabled people to have stories read to them by a machine! The wow and flutter was an extra, free part of the service.

Home Service is a much-loved part of the Library's offerings, and while you read the blog article linked to below, say a little thank you to all the volunteers who've fuelled the process over the last half-century!

Random Linkage

Random cool/interesting stuff from around the net.

Pīwauwau rock wren rocked the Bird of the Year award 2022. Kororā and kea were nipping at its tiny little feet, but it held firm to win the title.

Are you a 'don't read the blurb' person? It seems a shame to skip a well-crafted blurb, but here's one person's argument.

Long-running video shop Aro Video might finally be about to close its doors. They're looking for funding for another way to keep all their titles in one place. Given that the demand is no longer there for DVD stores, and usage in library collections has waned, it might make sense to create a kind of archive instead.

Helena Bonham-Carter has been made President of The London Library, a membership-funded library that's almost as old as Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Finally, reading out loud to dogs improves literacy in children.

A word ladder is where you have to get from one word to another but can only change one letter at a time.

Last time the challenge was to get from 'Last' to 'Page'. The best answer took 4 steps: Last - past - part - pare - page. Well done to everyone who got that!


This time, your task is to get from 'Leaf' to 'Gold' in the fewest steps. Submit your answer below and the best solution will be published in our next issue.

Connect with us

Is there something you’d like to see in these newsletters? A question about the library? A suggestion? Let us know and we’ll see if we can help. You can email us at pncl@pncc.govt.nz, or use the phone number below.

Click here to unsubscribe

Palmerston North City Library
Palmerston North, Manawatu 4410
Phone: (06)3514100