Research
The main reference collection is held at the
Waitakere Central Library - Henderson in the
Reference Department and there are Reference Librarians to help you with your search. All items are for reference only and may not be borrowed.
Each local library has a smaller reference collection, and both the
New Lynn and
Massey libraries have Reference Librarians
to assist you with your search.
Archive of Research Stories
Government Sector Directories
If you want to know what's what in the government sector the following two books
will help.
Reference books
eResources
Web sites
Reference books
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| The Beehive, Wellington |
New Zealand Government Sector Directory
This book gives you up-to-date information about the Government and government
departments & organizations.
It contains information on the existing Government and its members. Cabinet
members and other Ministers are listed along with their areas of responsibility,
and contact information. All Members of Parliament names are given and so are
their contact details.
The directory is also very useful because it provides information about the many
government departments and agencies and what they do. Their functions and
objectives are given. So this is a good place to look for a summary about
agencies like the Human Rights Commission, Fish & Game New Zealand, the Museum
of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa or the National Institute of Water &
Atmospheric Research Ltd (NIWA).
Executives or managers of Ministries, departments or agencies are listed and
contact details presented.
The New Zealand Government Directory
This directory has a similar coverage but includes some different items such as-
- Profiles of individual Members of Parliament, often with photographs.
- New Zealand political party information - brief history, structure, contact
details
- Select Committees (2008) and their members.
- The Judiciary
- New Zealand's representatives overseas
- Parliamentary Press Gallery
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| New Zealand Flag |
The directory also has a valuable chapter on New Zealand's system of government.
This covers the structure of government, The Treaty of Waitangi / Te Tiriti o
Waitangi,
The electoral system, salaries, electorates, the House of Representatives, the
Budget and the making of laws. This is a good concise summary that could be
useful for students or anybody wanting an overview of New Zealand's political
system.
Both of the directories have a contents page and an index.
As reference items they are for use in the library only.
eResources
Looking for more?
Try our
eResources like
Australian/NZ Reference Centre, Index New Zealand, Knowledge Basket - New
Zealand Index, General OneFile and many more.
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| Parliamentary Library, Wellington |
Websites
New Zealand Government
New Zealand Parliament
Marvellous Monet!
 |
Monet
by himself
Edited by Richard Kendall |
French Impressionist painter Claude
Monet (1840-1926) was brought to our
attention recently following the
highly successful exhibition 'Monet
and the Impressionists' at the
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa
Tongarewa.
If you didn't get a chance to see
the exhibition, don't feel you missed out entirely! Waitakere Libraries has
plenty of
books on Monet for you to browse so you can enjoy and appreciate his
work.
We also have a variety of books on other impressionist artists including:
You may also like to use our
e-Resources where you can explore Oxford Art Online.
You will be able to
view images of paintings by Monet and other artists and find out about their
painting styles.
eResources
Go to our
eResources page and check out the Oxford English Dictionary (under the
heading Arts, music & literature). Look up a word then click the 'Etymology' tab
to find out about its history.
Websites
- Etymology Online
Dictionary s a simple to use online etymology dictionary.
- Wordorigins.org
is an etymology website created by writer Dave Wilton. It includes a list of
about 400 words and phrases, plus it has a blog, discussion forum & links to
other resources.
- World
Wide Words is the website of author and word-enthusiast Michael Quinion.
It includes information on the origins of English words and phrases.
Reference Department opening hours
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| The book of Manga |
Level 2
3 Ratanui Street
Waitakere Central library
Henderson
| Monday to Thursday |
8.30 am - 8 pm |
| Friday |
8.30 am - 5 pm |
| Saturday & Sunday |
10 am - 4 pm |
Reference resources
The Reference Department has:
For
any reference inquiries please email the
Reference Librarians
Why don't your eyelashes grow?
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| Why Don't you eyelashes grow? |
Ever wondered -
Why do people have earwax?
Why do mosquito bites itch?
Why do you get stitch in your side when you run or walk
fast?
How does food give you energy?
Beth Ann Ditkoff’s book
Why don’t your eyelashes grow? : curious questions
children ask about the human body will help you find answers
to questions like these.
Dr Beth Ann Ditkoff’s book is very readable. She gives us
easy to understand answers to the mysteries of the human
body. Ditkoff was a surgeon at a New York hospital and her
two young daughters provided the questions for the book. Why
don’t your eyelashes grow? will suit children especially,
and people who are just curious about such things. The book
has a simple layout and the table of contents provides a way
to search for particular questions. Included is an Urban
Myths sections too so you can find out what happens if you
swallow gum & whether or not twins have the same
fingerprints.
Computer- based information & useful web links
Staff have access to a selection of CD-Roms and to national and international
databases, to answer information enquiries.
Websites recommended for children and young adult students
Search Engines
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| WickED search engine site |
Te Kete Ipurangi (
www.tki.org.nz) Funded by Ministry of Education. Designed to
help New Zealand teachers but also useful for parents and children:
- staggered search engine (choose filter from a set list, refine by adding
another filter then a key word)
- lists useful links with each hit accompanied by detailed blurb and icons
telling you if info is NZ based, commissioned by the Ministry, in PDF format
etc.
- external sites are quality assured and relevant to NZ curriculum
TKI also has its own children's site called WickED (www.tki.org.nz/r/wick_ed)
(that's an underscore after the k in wicked)
- links to eternal sites aimed at children in school years 3 to 8 via the
'Information Station'.
- info on famous New Zealanders
- interactive activities e.g. for subjects like Maths and Te Reo Maori
- a gallery of student projects
Project sites
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| Any Questions project site |
Any Questions (www.anyquestions.co.nz)
- NZ web portal giving children access to expert librarians between 1p.m. and
6p.m. during term time
- primary and secondary age students catered for
- librarians police-vetted
Many Answers (www.manyanswers.co.nz)
- stores topics frequently answered on the Any Questions site
- provides external links that others have found helpful in the past
Living Heritage (www.livingheritage.org.nz)
- site is administered by CWA media company in cooperation with the National
Library and the 2020 Communications Trust
- once registered, Living Heritage provides schools with a template, technical
support and copyright guidelines
- schools can publish local and cultural heritage stories in English and Maori
online
- the National Library hosts the site and stores completed projects for
posterity
Revision sites
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| Studyit revision site |
Studyit website (www.studyit.org.nz) An award winning website.
- 30 teachers provide answers to NCEA related questions
- seven subject-based forums where students can submit questions and draft work
for review by expert teachers
- offers study and exam advice
- lists achievement standards and student-friendly explanations of each standard
- search engine to access former discussions
New Zealand Qualifications Authority (www.nzqa.govt.nz)
- section dedicated to 'learners'
- past external exams, assessments and unit standards for NCEA
- examples of work that that earned excellence, merit and achieved
BBC Schools (
www.bbc.co.uk/schools)
- designed for British students but some areas of the curriculum crossover with
NZ
- 'Bitesize' is useful for revision. Step-by-step instructions for students
struggling with common problems
Current affairs
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| Search out current affairs |
Stuff (www.stuff.co.nz) and
NZ Herald (www.nzherald.co.nz)
- comprehensive news service updated throughout the day
- archived
National Geographic Kids (kids.nationalgeographic.com)
- Information on animals and geography
- High quality images
- Interactive activities
Time for Kids (www.timeforkids.com) Two fold website:
- lesson plans and topics for teachers
- activities and articles for children
- homework helper - subject searches which give advice on how to structure an
article
- educational games
History
The Ministry of Culture and Heritage produce NZ History (www.nzhistory.net.nz)
and Te Ara Encyclopaedia of New Zealand (www.teara.govt.nz)
NZ History:
- 'hot topic' section on homepage
- NZ History Classroom - NCEA topics arranged in levels
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| Learning Media history site |
Te Ara:
- Eclectic range of topics
- NZ biographical info
Learning Media (www.learningmedia.co.nz)
- Specialises in educational resources
- Online games for range of years and subjects
- Online English-Maori/Maori-English dictionary at
www.learningmedia.co.nz/ngata
Science
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| Science Learn site |
The Ministry of Research, Science and Technology funds The Science Learning Hub
(www.sciencelearn.org.nz)
- Science projects with fact sheets, activities, and people to contact for
further info. Limited range of topics
Exploratorium (www.exploratorium.edu) is San Francisco's museum of science, art
and human perception.
- Not always relevant to NZ curriculum
- Online science and maths activities for a range of ages
Discovery Education (www.discoveryeducation.com) Same Company that makes
the Discovery Channel
- Aimed at teachers rather than children
- Worksheets and articles found under 'Home Resources' and Fun Tools'
- Downloadable lesson plans and instructional videos
- Child specific web site is
www.kids.discovery.com
Maths
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| NZ Maths site |
NZ Maths (www.nzmaths.co.nz) Run by Ministry of Education
- Unit-standard exemplars for NCEA and activities for younger children.
- Lesson planning help for teachers
- Links to external sites for student help
- Links separated into topics
Newspapers
The Reference Department has holdings of the Western Leader on microfilm. To
access the hard copies of the Western
Leader, please refer to the J.T. Diamond
Reading Room.
It also includes hardcopies of the last three months of the New Zealand Herald
and the microfilms from 1863. Various other regional newspapers are also stored
for up to two months.
Contact your
Waitakere Central Reference Librarian for
holdings. Newspapers are for reference only.
For
more information or local history enquiries, please
contact us.
Te Kohinga pukapuka taonga Maori: The Maori Collection
Te Kohinga pukapuka taonga Maori, the main Maori Collection, is located at
Waitakere Central Library - Henderson on the second floor in the Reference Department. This collection is
for library use only, however there are often copies available for borrowing
from your local library. These can be easily
identified by the Kowhaiwhai or a Māori symbol on
the spine of the book.
Resources from this collection include.
- Iwi / Hapu histories
- Maori Land Court Minute Books
- Raupatu Document Bank
- Government Official publications
- Maori newspapers and magazines
- Births, deaths and marriages registers
- Health
- Education
- Arts
- Te Tiriti O Waitangi
Māori services :
The Maori Services include:
- Story time in Te Reo Māori
- Whakapapa (Genealogy)
- Community outreach programmes at: Kohanga Reo, Kura Kaupapa and Marae
The
Kaiwhakahāere/Māori Librarian is available to help patrons access the above
resources (appointments are advisable).
For
more information or local history enquiries, please
contact us.
Eco Booklists
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