Sources and resources
This section describes the major local collections of Pacific Island
language material and the most useful bibliographic sources relating to
New Zealand's publishing history, together with a brief summary of the
development of library services in the islands.
Major collections
While most libraries report their current holdings of books and serials
to the New Zealand Bibliographic Network (NZBN) database, and its
predecessors, this is not always the case with Pacific Island language
publications. It is important for researchers to approach libraries
individually with enquiries about such material as some holdings are
only available as in-house listings, and many other catalogue entries
are too brief to be informative. There is no comprehensive listing of
national holdings of official publications.
The major local
collections of Pacific Island language material produced in New Zealand
and its island territories are:
Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand: large
historical collection including religious works, ethnology, and
language, also more recent educational readers, serials and newspapers
Auckland Public Library: strong in religious publications
Auckland Institute and Museum Library: Oceanic languages
collection, strongest in Samoan and Cook Islands publications
University of Auckland Library, New Zealand and Pacific
Collection: significant holdings of Pacific official publications and
current materials. It compiles the South Pacific
Official Publications database
University of Canterbury, Macmillan Brown Library: strongest in
holdings of post-1970 official publications
Some public libraries have developed services specifically for
Pacific Islanders—Manukau Library and Information Services has
separate reference-only Polynesian collections in its branch libraries
at Otara and Mangere, as does Porirua Public Library.
Bibliographies and indexes
No single bibliography covers New Zealand's print culture in Pacific
Island languages, and relevant items must be sought from general
listings for New Zealand or the four island territories. Many
bibliographies are not annotated, so items must be examined in order to
identify the language. There is a need for annotated bibliographies with
comprehensive subject access and which also note the language used.
General bibliographic
reference tools such as Bagnall's New Zealand National
Bibliography to 1960 and its successor the annual current
National Bibliography are useful starting points for Pacific Island
language material, together with (for periodical articles) the Index to New Zealand Periodicals and associated
electronic databases.
Significant specialist
bibliographies and indexes include:
W.G. Coppell, 'A bibliography of the Cook Islands' (1971). More
comprehensive than James, but the only identified copy in New Zealand is
at Victoria University of Wellington
——, 'Bibliographies of the Kermadec Islands,
Niue, Swains Island and the Tokelau Islands' (1975): Appendix A: 61
items in Niuean.
Hawaii Pacific Journal Index (database): indexes
over fifty journals, including the Polynesian Society Journal from 1892 onwards. Available on the Internet at: http://www2.hawaii.edu/lib/
Lowell D. Holmes (ed.), Samoan Islands
Bibliography (1984): American and Western Samoan works,
including unpublished items; subject access but no annotations or index
H. Bond James, A Bibliography of Publications in
Cook Islands Maori (1953): incomplete listing; 134 annotated
entries. More readily available than Coppell
Polynesian Society, Journal (1892-): three
main indexes: Centennial Index 1892-1991 : author
and subject index; previous indexes, to vols.1-75 (1892-1966) and
vols.76-90 (1967-81) include additional title information
H. Roth, South Pacific Government Serials
(1973) notes items not in English, or bilingual. Updated by South Pacific Official Publications database at
University of Auckland Library
Samoa: A National Bibliography (1996) approx
2,500 published and unpublished items, including serial articles; no
subject index or annotations. Based on holdings of a number of Western
Samoan libraries and organisations, it omits many items held elsewhere
C.R.H. Taylor, A Pacific Bibliography , 2nd
ed. 1965: chiefly ethnographic and historical works; indigenous language
items mainly grammars and dictionaries
Tokelau National Bibliography (1992): 228 items;
books and unpublished typescripts published in/about Tokelau, by
Tokelauan authors, or in Tokelauan, no date restriction; indexed. Also
available on NZBN database with items published since 1992.
Library services and education
The 1950s and 1960s saw the beginning of public library services for
residents in the island territories. By 1955 the Cook Islands had a
small public library built by volunteers, supplied with a regular
exchange of books by the New Zealand Country Library Service. In Apia,
Western Samoa, a public lending and reference service was established in
1957 in temporary accommodation. The New Zealand government assisted
with funding for a new building constructed in 1959. A library opened in
Niue in 1923, with donated materials. In the 1950s the Country Library
Service provided the circulating library in Niue with books, then in
1962 assisted with setting up a small public library. Tokelau has small
libraries in its schools, but no public library.
The National Library
of New Zealand is a member of several Pacific Island library and
archives networks. It offers bibliographic support to the University of
the South Pacific Library and the Cook Islands and has provided
professional assistance in a conservation workshop and with collection
organisation. Major bibliographical publications relating to Pacific
Island countries include the Tokelau National
Bibliography (1992) and Sally Edridge's Solomon Islands Bibliography (1985).
Although only one
person (a Cook Islander in 1965) is known to have studied in New Zealand
under the then Government Training Scheme, the National Library has
hosted some Pacific Islanders in training placements over the last
decade.
