International Jazz Day was started in 2011 by UNESCO, recognising the role jazz, (and by extension all music) has in bringing people together. We have plenty of music scores, books, and yes even some CDs in our library for you to explore as we glide into Aotearoa New Zealand Music month. Check out some of our titles:
The book is not dead. As a librarian who likes to sniff old books, I defy anyone who says such a thing. Maybe the formats have changed but the power of words still hold magic. When I was young, I went through a wardrobe door to Narnia, when I was older, I suffered through calculus textbooks and later peer reviewed periodicals. Nowadays I am back to escaping middle aged issues by returning to wonderous worlds created by minds more creative than my own.
Each year on the 23rd of April celebrations take place to recognise the power of books and promote reading. This day was selected as it is a date on which several prominent authors died – including William Shakespeare who believed “a beggar’s book outworths a noble’s blood”. You tell them Will! This day also incorporates copyright – a topic I find far less inspiring, but it is necessary to understand if you are a student or if you want to protect the genius of others. If knowledge is power, then every book you hold is an explosive device. Let’s take a moment on the 23rd to reflect on the power of the book and all it can contain – hopes, dreams, fears and if you are unfortunate calculus formulas!
Samuel Revans had published the first issue of the New Zealand Gazette in London in August 1839, just before the New Zealand Company’s emigrant ships departed. The second edition was published in New Zealand by him a month after he arrived in Port Nicholson (Wellington).
‘Samuel Revans prints first newspaper ‘, URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/samuel-revans-prints-first-newspaper, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 20-Oct-2020
You can view the newspaper on Papers Past, which delivers digitised full-text New Zealand and Pacific newspapers, magazines and journals, books, and other formats, from the 19th and 20th centuries. This includes ‘Niupepa 1842-1933’, a collection of newspapers published in Māori or for a Māori readership.
If you want to read more recent newspapers or magazines online access PressReader through the Ara library website databases list.
All ARA Libraries will be closed on Tuesday the 25th April for the 2023 ANZAC Day commemoration. We will reopen on Wednesday 26th April at 7 am.
Originally a day to remember the losses from the Gallipoli Campaign during the Great War (1914-1919) ANZAC Day has gradually taken on a wider focus around those who have and continue to serve in our armed forces.
At this time there are over 50 000 veterans who have served in such campaigns as the Korean and Vietnam War, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan. There are also many more who have served in peacekeeping missions around the world and those who may have served for many years but not deployed overseas.
FYI: here is a diagram showing the correct place to wear medals if you are thinking of wearing yours or a relatives this ANZAC Day. Note that a relative’s medal set should be worn on the right hand side of your body…people often get this wrong.
From all of us here at Ara Library and we wish you a pleasant and peacefully ANZAC Day holiday.
Created by UNESCO in 2019 to promote the development, diffusion and enjoyment of art, how art can unite and connect us, and its power to inspire and heal.
“Art nurtures creativity, innovation and cultural diversity for all peoples across the globe and plays an important role in sharing knowledge and encouraging curiosity and dialogue… In this way, furthering the development of art also furthers our means to achieve a free and peaceful world.” (World Art Day | UNESCO)
Here at Ara, we are fortunate to have many people creating and sharing art in various forms, plus an art collection of nearly 700 works spread across our campuses. We probably walk past these daily without realising, but they add to our experience on campus and make it a more beautiful place to work and study. Below are a few of the hidden gems in the library.
Ara Library Blog 