New Zealand and Australian libraries are set to benefit from closer links between the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa and the National Library of Australia, with the successful completion of a major project.

The launch of Trans Tasman Interlending on 1 March is the result of a long-term collaboration between the national libraries of New Zealand and Australia. Trans Tasman Interlending gives people on both sides of the Tasman access to the resources of nearly 900 libraries in New Zealand and Australia.

This has been achieved by the two national libraries working together to create an interloan link between New Zealand’s Te Puna Interloan service and Australia’s Libraries Australia Document Delivery service. This means that libraries on both sides of the Tasman are able to seamlessly request from and supply material to one another.

Trans Tasman Interlending significantly improves the efficiency of document delivery services to libraries in Australia and New Zealand, and also improves resource sharing between libraries in both countries. Benefits include:

  • Access to the resources of almost 900 libraries in Australia and New Zealand

  • A single search interface to the National Bibliographic Databases in both nations

  • A single interface for request management

  • A centralised billing and reconciliation system

  • Experienced support staff

Penny Carnaby, National Librarian and Chief Executive, National Library of New Zealand, says, "We are delighted to have worked with our close colleagues, the National Library of Australia, to bring the citizens of each country the extraordinary resources of the libraries of both nations. This is a real world example of international collaboration costing so little, but benefiting so many.”"

Judith Tizard, the Minister responsible for the National Library, congratulated the Library, saying, "I applaud this initiative. It gives New Zealanders fast and easy access to a wider range of information – and therefore contributes to our goal of a knowledge-based market economy."

For more information about this project, contact:

Courtney Johnston

Communication Adviser

National Library of New Zealand

Tel: 04 474 3013

Email: Courtney.Johnston@natlib.govt.nz