Migrant Services

Migrant Advisor

Korean Community Celebration at Waitakere Central Library

Employment Support for Migrants at Waitakere Central Library

Waitakere New Settlers' Guide

Settlement Support services available in your area

Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) and CAB Language Link

Waitakere Ethnic Board - Bringing Cultures Together

Migration Trends

Latest news from the Office of Ethnic Affairs

Research Reports and Useful Information

Languages of the World

Talofa Lava, Fakalofa Lahi atu, Malo e lelei, Kia Orana, Ni Sa Bula, Halo olaketa, Namaste, Ni Hao, Insa, Dobro Dosli, Welkom

Multicultural and Migrant Services are provided to enable those who are newly arrived in New Zealand, or are non-English speaking members of the community to gain access to the library and to library services and facilities. In addition, migrant services exist to provide information, or access to information to assist new migrants to effectively settle in Auckland.

Auckland Libraries provide our multi-ethnic population with books, resources, programmes and information related to their specific needs and interests.

We can provide special assistance to those for whom English is not a first language. Many of our staff are multilingual and come from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. Printed information is also available in a number of languages.

Migrant Advisor	Korean Celebration at Waitakere Central Library
Employment Support for Migrants at Waitakere Central Library	Waitakere New Settlers' Guide
Waitakere Ethnic Board	Citizens Advice Bureau
Settlement Support	Migration Trends
Research Reports	News from the Office of Ethnic Affairs
	Languages of the World

As part of the Multicultural Service Development team, Auckland Libraries employ a Migrant Advisor. The Advisor works closely with other library staff and community-based organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau to ensure that the information requirements of new settlers are adequately provided for.

The Migrant Advisor is an accessible point of contact for migrants and refugees and is available to meet with groups and individuals to answer queries, respond to issues of concern and to provide appropriate referrals for specific information requests.

Promoting awareness of the library services is an essential component of the Advisor's role. In some cases, new settlers may be hesitant to visit their libraries and may not be aware of the some of the exciting initiatives that have been introduced, such as Learning Centres. There are numerous reasons for this and introductory tours and presentations can be arranged by the Migrant Advisor or the Multicultural Services Advisor.

Auckland Libraries are committed to providing equitable services to all city residents and the Migrant Advisor seeks to strengthen the Libraries' mutual relationships with the city's diverse communities. Through these relationships the Advisor can work collaboratively to provide relevant information services that reflect the dynamic interests of current and future library users.

From 1 November 2010 residents of Auckland can use their library card at any of the Auckland Council region's 55 libraries. More details about the services available can be found on the Auckland Libraries website at www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz

The Migrant Advisor welcomes your enquiries and suggestions. For further information contact:

Brendon Hickey
Migrant Advisor
Auckland Libraries
Phone: 09 836 8000 x 42 7817
Email: brendon.hickey@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
Web: www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz
Level 3, Waitakere Central Library, 3 Ratanui Street, Henderson
Private Bag 93109, Henderson,
Auckland 0650

Javien and Claudia Harris of Glendene show off their names written in Korean characters

Waitakere Central Library was adorned with the decorative artwork of Korean master calligrapher, Dr Anthony Han last month, as hundreds of library customers joined representatives of the local Korean community for a celebration of Hangeul.

Crowds gathered over three days to admire the delicate brushstrokes being applied to special paper and people were able to learn more about the Korean alphabet, language and culture from the displays and demonstrations.

Many customers of all ages were excited to be able to take home beautiful depictions of their names and personal messages and John Yang, of the West Auckland Korean Association thanked library staff for the opportunity to publicise Hangeul Day, which is celebrated annually on October 9.

Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, can be easily learnt and expresses a wide range of sounds. There are 60 letters in total and the alphabet is used in several Asian and African countries as well as Korea.

Mr Yang also presented Waitakere Central Library with a Korean-language book written by Dr Han on the history of the Korean community in New Zealand.

Auckland Libraries have many books, magazines and brochures describing the library’s services in Korean. Ask your librarian for more information.

Photo: Javien and Claudia Harris of Glendene show off their names written in Korean characters.

The Migrant Action Trust provides free, face-to-face advice and support for job seekers at Waitakere Central Library every month. You can share your experiences and meet other job seekers or you may prefer a confidential one-on-one consultation. Registration with the Migrant Action Trust is necessary and more information can be found by clicking here:

Migrant Action Trust Employment Support at Auckland Libraries (Size 360K)

Note: You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer in order to view and print this document. For help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful Tips.

The Waitakere New Settlers' Guide 2009 is a free, 80 page booklet packed with essential information for migrants with additional features about the many local attractions and community facilities across our city.

It has been produced by Waitakere Library and Information Services in association with Settlement Support New Zealand.
Although the Guide was published prior to the creation of the new Auckland Council in November 2010 it contains a lot of relevant and helpful information for migrants, particularly for people living in the West Auckland area.

The Guide is a helpful resource for people who are new to Waitakere and it will also be useful for people who have been living here for a few years and who may want to find out more about what's available locally.

There are sections on important things to do first, employment, education, libraries, starting a business, learning English, Council services, transport, safety, household information and much more.

The Guide is comprehensive yet easy to read and is now available in print and online in Samoan, Chinese, Korean, Arabic and Japanese languages. The online Spanish edition and Hindi edition are also available.

"The publication of the New Settlers' Guide affirms our commitment to the successful settlement of migrants and refugees in Waitakere and enables new settlers to access the information they need," says Su Scott, Group Manager, Waitakere Library and Information Services.

Copies of the Waitakere New Settlers' Guide are available at your local library, Citizens Advice Bureau, the Council's Civic Centre, Community Houses and migrant service organisations.

An online version is available to be downloaded below.

Note: You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer in order to view and print these documents. For help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful Tips.

It's not always easy to find the information you need about employment, education, health services and many other aspects of living in New Zealand. The biggest challenge is knowing where to find this information. Settlement Support New Zealand provides easy access to information you'll need to know about when settling in Waitakere. This is a free service available to all newcomers.

Find out more

There are four Citizens Advice Bureaus in Waitakere at Henderson, New Lynn, Massey and Glen Eden.

Each CAB is right next door to a library and CABs are for everyone and the friendly people at the CAB can help you find the answers to questions on just about anything. See the Waitakere New Settlers' Guide on this web page for a map showing where your nearest CAB is located.

CAB Language Link is a free, confidential telephone interpreter service that provides information, advice and referrals in 26 languages. CAB Language Link (previously known as the Multilingual Information Service) is available Monday to Friday on (09) 624 2550 and trained interviewers can provide answers to all kinds of enquiries in the language you prefer.

Find out more

The Waitakere Ethnic Board (WEB) is a registered incorporated society that enables diverse groups to share common interests and provides a voice for ethnic communities in the West Auckland area. The WEB is broad-based and inclusive and a primary focus is about ethnic communities working together. In addition to identifying the needs of local ethnic communities and making representation to local and central government, the WEB hosts a wide range of events and activities that foster positive relationships between people of different cultures. To find out more, click here:

Waitakere Ethnic Board

Every month Statistics New Zealand publishes a summary of migration trends in New Zealand. The International travel and Migration report provides detailed information on the number of permanent and long-term migrants entering and leaving New Zealand.

Read the latest report

Ethnic Affairs logo The latest edition of Ethnic Whispers is full of exciting news and includes a feature about new initiatives for ethnic businesses in New Zealand as well as details about a survey on racial discrimination. You can also get information for ethnic communities on the upcoming general election, which will be produced in 19 languages. Click here to read the complete version of Ethnic Whispers:

Ethnic Whispers

Do you want to know more about current research on immigration being conducted in New Zealand? The Integration of Immigrants Programme is a five year research programme led by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from Massey University and the University of Waikato and funded by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology. View a selection of published research papers.

The Department of Labour has recently published a research report on the economic impact of immigration in New Zealand. The objective of this study is to better understand the impact of immigration on the New Zealand economy overall and on different parts of the economy. Modelling has been applied to test the impact of additional influences that immigrants might have on productivity and trade and results are compared with those from a similar study conducted in the 1980s and a more recent study undertaken for the Australian economy. Read the full report.

English Version
(Size 3053K)

Arabic Version
(Size 3341K)

Chinese Version
(Size 3111K)

Spanish Version
(Size 2723K)

Japanese Version
(Size 2949K)

Korean Version
(Size 2693K)

Samoan Version
(Size 2554K)

Hindi Version
(Size 5482K)

Have you ever wondered what languages are spoken in different parts of the world?

The Language Ethnologue is a fascinating resource that contains comprehensive information about thousands of languages, their characteristics, evolution and details about linguistic groups large of all sizes and geographic areas.