Children's and Teens' Services (0-18 yrs)

Waitakere Library and Information Services have a specialist Children's and Teen's Services Team - the Kidz Team. They can assist with advice on reading materials, provide homework help, and organise story times, holiday activities, special events, and preschool and school visits.

Click on the pictures below for the Preschoolers', Children's and Teens' pages


Littlies in the Library	Children's Services	Teens' services

Children's Services (0-12)

School holiday storytimes	Services to schools
Special story times and events	Homework help
Library Cards	Any Questions service
Things for kids	Summer Reading Programme
Contact Information	Reading Advocacy Page

School Holiday story times

School Holiday storytimes Every school holidays Waitakere Library and Information Services are pleased to offer special themed story times in all our branches. Each story time is especially suitable for children aged 4-9 years, however all ages are welcome. The school holiday story times are interactive: featuring stories, songs and activities. Sometimes a costumed character may make an appearance.

Special Story times and events

Library Letterbox Lineup event at Waitakere Libraries Each year the Kidz Team host and attend special story times and events throughout Waitakere. These include special Halloween and Christmas story times; Te Raa Mokopuna Day in Massey; Storyfest; the Library Letterbox Lineup in the West City mall and many more.

Library Cards

Waitakere Library and Information Services have a number of library cards chosen especially for children and teens. These include dragons and dogs, as well as characters from stories such as Mr Muggs the library cat and Scott Pilgram. To find out how to join the library and choose your own library card click here.

Things for Kids

Waitakere Library and Information Services have a huge selection of items that can be borrowed from the library. These include:

A wide range of fiction and non-fiction titles
Graphic novels
Books in over 40 languages
Board books
"Easy readers" for beginner readers
Magazines
Puzzles
Study guides
Audio books (tape and cd)
Kitsets (book and tape/cd)
CD-Roms
PC, Xbox, Wii and PlayStation games ($5 for 7 days)
DVDs and videos ($2 for 7 days)
Music CDs ($1 for 7 days)

To begin browsing our collection simply visit your local library or explore our catalogue. You can also check out our featured material and latest arrivals.

Services to Schools

Upon request, the Children's and Teens' Services Librarians are available to provide a number of services to schools. These include library tours and class visits, library promotion and membership drives, book talks and story readings, topic-based school visits and library skills programmes and lessons.

For more information, please contact the Children's and Teens' Services Team on 09 839 2260.

Homework help

During term time after school, there is a Children's and Teens's Services Librarian present in each Waitakere Library branch to provide free homework help and advice on reading materials. They can also introduce and demonstrate Waitakere Library and Information Services eResources.

There is also a selection of suitable research websites recommended for children and young adults available at the Reference and Research page.

Any Questions Service

Any Questions Logo AnyQuestions.co.nz is a free online service which helps students find useful, accurate online information for their homework.

It is not a ‘quick answers service' - instead online librarians are trained to help students work out the sort of information they need, then begin searching with them.
Librarians from all over New Zealand are available each week day between 1:00 pm and 6:00 pm to help students search online. To use AnyQuestions.co.nz you have to be attending a New Zealand primary, intermediate, or secondary school or be home schooled.

AnyQuestions.co.nz also offers ManyAnswers.co.nz which contains the answers to many of the most popular questions asked on AnyQuestions.co.nz.

Summer Reading Programme

Every summer Waitakere Library and Information Services offer the Summer Reading Programme, a free incentive based reading programme. It encourages children to maintain and improve their reading habits over the summer holidays. It runs through December and January in all Waitakere Library branches and ends with a prize giving. Applications are open from late October to mid November. Children aged between five and 12 years of age are eligible to apply.

For more information about the Summer Reading Programme visit our Summer Reading Programme page.

Reading Advocacy

The Children's and Teens' Services Librarians have put together a wide selection of reading lists for all ages. These range from Books for Boys and Books for Girls to Excellent Reads for NCEA English. You can find them all on our Reading Advocacy page.

Contact information

If you would like to get in touch with your local Children's and Teens' Services Librarian please phone 09 839 2260 or email kidz@waitakere.govt.nz. .