Public Libraries Make Positive Impact on Lives of NZ Immigrants

Originally from the Netherlands, I arrived in Aotearoa almost 25 years ago, eager to start a new life with my Kiwi husband.  I thought that, because I spoke some English, it would be easy but did not expect to miss reading newspapers, magazines and books in my own language.  My local library did not have anything in their collection and I would go to the Dutch embassy to read an out of date newspaper.

How much better the services are which libraries now provide for our increasingly diverse population!  Many public libraries offer access to fantastic newspaper databases and have extensive world languages collections as well as Adult Learning material - helping people improve their English.  Wellington City Libraries offers the Migrant Communities Library Guide www.wcl.govt.nz/languages and has an extensive outreach programme liaising and consulting with our communities about how we can improve our services.

We have recently reviewed our world languages collection, which is mainly based at the Central library.  After a recent survey and extensive consultation it became clear that the preference for the location of a new Arabic collection was the branch library of Kilbirnie.

In the collection, you will find Middle Eastern cooking, family health, history, biographies, fiction and more.  Arabic language magazines are very popular, especially with the Assyrian community - many of whom have Arabic as their second language.

A morning tea was held at the library, celebrating the launch of this new collection.  Feedback received was very positive and the customers were delighted that the collection did not take long to be established and that they were consulted for their preferences for the contents of this new collection.

This consultation has given our customers a sense of belonging, after all, the library is for us all; a community centre built by the community for the use of the whole community.

Ada Nally - Multicultural Community Customer Specialist
Wellington City Libraries