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.
Reference books to support your study
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| Adult learners week. Learn for Today and Tomorrow / E ako mo
tenei ra me apopo. |
The Reference Department ensures the books
you need are always available. If you need guidance in your study,
writing or defining a term there will be a book you can refer or a
Reference Librarian to help you.
The following is just a small selection of books you can read or refer
to in the Reference Collections at these library branches:
Glen Eden,
Massey,
New Lynn,
Ranui,
Te Atatu Peninsula,
Titirangi,
Waitakere Central
Library.
Cite it right : the SourceAid guide to citation, research, and avoiding
plagiarism. By Tom Fox, Julia Johns, Sarah Keller
The new Penguin dictionary of abbreviations : from A to ZZ. By Rosalind
Fergusson
The Oxford dictionary of synonyms and antonyms
Research your subject.
Visit the Reference Department at your local library branch to locate
information or just browse some of the authoritative works on many
subjects.
For more advanced material like the books listed below, you can call in
to the Reference Department on Level 2 of the
Waitakere Central
Library.
The Royal
Horticultural Society encyclopaedia of garden design. Editor-in-chief
Chris Young
The Thames & Hudson dictionary of fashion and fashion designers. By
Georgina O'Hara Callan
The Penguin
dictionary of media studies. By Nicholas Abercrombie, Brian Longhurst
Encyclopedia of computer science and technology. By Harry Henderson
Henderson's dictionary of biology. Edited by Eleanor Lawrence
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| Click an image to access these books in the catalog |
Reference Department.
The main reference collection is held at the
Waitakere Central Library.
The Reference Department is on level 2 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.
The main Reference Department has:
- Archive of the New Zealand Listener
- Arts
- Atlases
- Births, deaths and marriages registers
- Dictionaries and thesauri
- Education
- Encyclopaedias
- Genealogy CD-ROMs
- Genealogy information newspapers
- Government Official publications
- Health
- Henderson - Central Library holds also the Car manual collection
- Iwi / Hapu histories
- Maori Land Court Minute Books
- Maori newspapers and magazines
- Microfiche/microfilm readers /printers
- New Zealand and Pacific reference collections
- NZ Acts and Statutes
- NZ and Australian Standards (selected)
- NZ Government publications
- Raupatu Document Bank
- Te Tiriti O Waitangi Study support books you can borrow.
Search our catalogue for
resources on Study skills.
Learn how to cite your references for Bibliographic citation.
Borrow a book on
how to Write an essay.
Improve your English language skills.
Websites
http://www.xtend.co.nz/ A
directory of community courses, tutors and course providers for all ages
and every interest.
http://www.studygs.net/
Multilingual site offering practical advice on writing basics, how to
maximise learning, project skills preparing for tests and more.
http://www.educationatlas.com/study-skills.html
Developing effective study skills, improving reading comprehension,
discovering your own personal study style, learning to manage your time
more efficiently and learning the best way to prepare for exams are just
a few of the topics covered in "The Study Skills Guide for Students".
eResources.
Funding: As well as being an amazing source of information on just about
everything, you can also apply for scholarships and other kinds of
funding for your study.
BreakOut - Individuals can search for scholarships and funding for
study and professional development.
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!
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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
Waitakere Genealogy Service
Waitakere Central Library offers a specialist Genealogy Service, a Genealogy
Collection and a general genealogy reference.
The collection (books, CD-ROMs, microfiches, etc…) is available as per our
opening hours.
We have partnered with the
West Auckland New Zealand Society of Genealogy to provide an in-depth
Genealogy Service. As they are volunteer based, their services are offered on a
casual basis, if and when available. We strongly advise you to call us to make
an appointment, otherwise, usual hours of service are:
Monday to Thursday between 9.30am till 1pm.
This service is available on Level 2 in the Reference room at Waitakere Central
Library.
Visit
www.waitakere.govt.nz/CnlSer/libs/genealogy.asp for more information
For general genealogy reference queries, our reference staff can help you during
all opening hours.
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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