Whangarei District Libraries

01/09/2026

📖🎧 Catch up on 'The Shelf': your official library podcast! 🎧📖

'The Shelf' is about all things ✨Library✨! Highlights from the most recent episode include: acknowledging Dolly Parton's contributions to literacy, reacting to the 2025 documentary 'The Librarians', talking about the value of school libraries, and a segment on 'Rare and Endangered Poets of Northland.

Tune in for all this and more! Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a show.

Thanks to our friends at ONEONESIX and Beagle Radio for supporting the show.

In this episode your hosts LJ and Andy...• Acknowledge the passin...

21/08/2026

📚 Uh oh, the characters have escaped from the books! 📚

We’re wrapping up Aotearoa’s first Children’s Book Week by dressing in character costumes. You can’t say that we’re not committed to spreading library joy! 😊

16/08/2026

📖🐈‍⬛ The Scattercat Rap 📖🐈‍⬛

Yo, the inaugural NZ Children’s Book Week is here! This is a cool initiative by Read NZ Te Pou Muramura which aims to celebrate the joy of reading for tamariki.

One way to make reading fun is make it a rap. Turns out Dame Lynley Dodd is an OG at spitting bars, and that’s a flex.

Drop a comment below and tell us how your family is getting into the spirit of Children’s Book Week!

13/08/2026

📖🎧 Listen to 'The Shelf' podcast: Children's Book Week Special 🎧📖

In the newest episode of our library podcast we celebrate Children's Book week, which starts on Saturday!

This show is full of fun Book Week fun, including:
⭐ Librarians listing their favourite books from childhood
⭐ An interview with 'The Quiet Pirate' author Stephanie Thatcher
⭐ A discussion on why 'reading for fun' is important for children
⭐ Honouring Dame Lynley Dodd with a Scattercat Rap!

We were also thrilled to - interview with local author Alice Fairley about her new book, 'Yellow Flower'. Check it out!

Thanks to the team at ONEONESIX and Beagle Radio for supporting our show.

In this episode your hosts Karlie and Eddie... • Celebrate 'Child...

07/08/2026

🌿 Family History Month is here!
Explore your family story with free access to Ancestry, Find My Past, and FamilySearch at the library.
Whether you're just beginning or breaking through a research brick wall, our friendly genealogy volunteers are available Monday to Saturday from 10.00am to 12.00pm to help.
Drop in to the Central Library and uncover your family's unique story.

30/07/2026

🎧 The Shelf: The Whangarei District Libraries podcast 🎧

The latest episode of The Shelf features book recommendations, part two of a very special Mana Wahine talk by Elyse Lewis, and a chat about all things 'The Odyssey' - which includes a segment where we read funny one-star reviews of the epic story!

The Shelf is supported by the fantastic teams at Beagle Radio and ONEONESIX.

The Shelf: a Whangarei District Libraries radio show. Episode 66I...

21/07/2026

📘💬 Heritage Talk: True Tales of the Tutukaka Coast 💬📘

Margo Irvine will share anecdotes from True Tales of the Tutukaka Coast. This book is a community-driven social history featuring local yarns, historic photos, and stories. It captures the region's unique social fabric, covering everything from beach race days at Matapouri to diving at the Poor Knights Islands.

📆 Thursday, 30 July 2026, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
📍 Manaia Room, Te Iwitahi (civic centre)
🆓 Free entry, no prior registration required

Margo Irvine, one of the team who gathered stories for the book, will share anecdotes from the book, True Tales of the Tutukaka Coast.

20/07/2026

A surprise treasure from our library collection...

🐬🌊🪸'Adrift' by Tracey Williams 🪸🌊🐬

In 1997, sixty-two containers fell off a cargo ship. Including one container filled with nearly 5 million Lego pieces! Many of which were, ironically, sea themed. This is the story of how, to this day, these Lego pieces are washing ashore. Beachcomber Tracey Williams discusses these plastic finds as a colourful catalogue of our times, while interogating the changing nature of beachcombing over the years.

Sound interesting? Place a hold on this book:
https://wdc.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/whangarei/search/results?qu=adrift+the+curious+tale+of+lego+lost+at+sea&te=

17/07/2026

🎧📚 Listen online : The Shelf 📚🎧

Catch up on the latest episode of The Shelf, the official Whangarei District Libraries podcast. In this episode we share book recs, recite an original poem honouring poet Sam Hunt for his 80th birthday, pay tribute to legendary kiwi actor Sam Neill, play part of Sergeant Elyse Lewis' talk at the library, listen to a flash fiction story by local writer Deb Jowitt, and more!

Thanks to Beagle Radio and ONEONESIX for supporting the show.

In this episode your hosts Melani and Eddie... • chat about what ...