New Zealand and Pacific Published Collections collecting plan
Find out about collecting and priorities for the New Zealand and Pacific Published Collections.
Purpose
The purpose of this collecting plan is to describe the extent of collecting to be undertaken and any subject priorities for the Alexander Turnbull Library and National Library’s published New Zealand and Pacific collections for the period 2021 to 2023. The Plan includes physical and electronic (both online and off-line) publications. This collecting plan was developed in accordance with the collecting principles outlined in the National Library of New Zealand’s Collection Policy.
National Library of New Zealand’s Collection Policy
This plan describes collecting for both the Alexander Turnbull Library (ATL) and National Library’s New Zealand and Pacific publications; both collect through purchase, donation, and legal deposit.
The purpose of the Alexander Turnbull Library’s New Zealand and Pacific collections is to preserve and provide access to current and historical printed and digital publications, to support research in New Zealand and Pacific studies, and to provide information essential for participation in the cultural and economic life of New Zealand.
The National Library’s New Zealand and Pacific collection is available for use both onsite at the Library’s Wellington premises and through New Zealand and overseas libraries via inter-library loan.
Scope of the collections
The collections covered by this plan comprise publications in the New Zealand and Pacific collections of the National Library and the Alexander Turnbull Library (together termed ‘the Library’).
Legal deposit collecting
The Library builds its New Zealand published collections chiefly through legal deposit and is New Zealand’s only legal deposit library. The purpose of the Library’s legal deposit mandate is to enable the Library to build a significant collection that is representative of New Zealand’s published documentary heritage.
Formats collected include:
Written and illustrated publications (books, newspapers, serials, music scores and maps, both printed and electronic)
Audio-visual recordings (both online and offline)
Websites
The Library receives two copies of all physical format publications unless fewer than 100 copies are published or the price of a copy exceeds $1000 or, in the case of a periodical publication, the annual subscription exceeds $3000. If any of these situations applies the Library only receives 1 copy.
The Library selectively collects electronic publications from websites and may also request such publications directly from publishers. The electronic publications collected include those from commercial publishers based in New Zealand, publishing by businesses and non-Governmental organizations, self-publishing by New Zealand-based individuals, and New Zealand central and local Government publications. The Library stores copies of each electronic publication in its National Digital Heritage Archive.
The Library collects websites and undertakes regular harvests of the New Zealand domain. These datasets are currently available to search on request.
More information about New Zealand legal deposit.
Non-legal deposit collecting
The Alexander Turnbull Library also collects those publications relating to New Zealand and the Pacific, or which are by New Zealanders or Pacific Island peoples, which are outside the scope of New Zealand legal deposit. Works collected include written or illustrated publications (books, newspapers, serials and music scores, both printed and electronic), audio-visual recordings (both online and offline) and some websites.
The ATL defines a printed publication as a work where more than 5 copies have been produced for public sale or distribution.
Exclusions
The following are not collected:
Variants of similar publications, e.g. booklets about health issues and procedures issued by District Health Boards
Catalogues and trade advertising
In-house material such as training manuals, teaching or course notes, memos, internal newsletters, and minutes of meetings
Local variants of national association publications, unless there is significant variation between them
Offprints such as excerpts from publications, separately printed
Printed media releases
Reprinted or reissued publications with no alternations to text or illustrations
Dissertations or theses
Collations of already existing published material
Versions other than initial and final drafts of annual plans and reports unless these attracted media attention and comment
We do not generally collect formed collections or personal libraries
In the case of non-legal deposit material, the Alexander Turnbull Library is selective rather than comprehensive in its collecting of self-published material, including family histories
Also excluded from this plan are New Zealand and Pacific collecting areas with their own collecting plans.
Cartographic
Ephemera
Music
Rare Books and Fine Printing
Schools Collecting Plan
Collection strengths
Works about New Zealand and Pacific history, politics, culture and the arts
Māori and Pacific-language material
Literature by New Zealand authors
The exploration and discovery of the Pacific and Antarctica
Australiana before 1920
Comprehensive New Zealand print publications collected under legal deposit from 1970s
New Zealand websites from 1999
New Zealand digital publications from 2006
Collecting principles
The National Library of New Zealand Collection Policy provides a suite of principles that guide all collecting across the published and unpublished collections by the National Library and Alexander Turnbull Library.
National Library of New Zealand’s Collection Policy
The relevant principles from the collection development policy are provided below, with an explanation of how they will be realised for the New Zealand and Pacific collections.
Principle 1
Developing breadth and depth in the Library's research collections requires decisions to be informed by, and responsive to, current and emerging research trends as well as the anticipated needs of future generations of New Zealand.
Action
The Library encourages a dialogue with any member of the research community regarding the collection of publications including websites which support an existing or identified future research need.
Principle 2
Active engagement with iwi, hapū and whānau helps build collections of documentary heritage and taonga created by Māori and relating to Māori, for the benefit of all New Zealanders.
Actions
The Library will continue to comprehensively collect print and electronic publications created by Māori, about Māori and in te reo Māori.
The ongoing active selection and collecting of websites created by Māori, about Māori and in te reo Māori remains a priority.
Principle 3
The Library has an important leadership role in collaborating and coordinating collection related activities across institutional and national boundaries to enable New Zealanders to connect to information important to their lives and to support strong documentary heritage and taonga collections for all New Zealanders.
Actions
The Library will continue to seek to fill gaps in its New Zealand and Pacific collections and will work with institutions which are reviewing their collections in these areas.
The Alexander Turnbull Library will work with other New Zealand collecting institutions to ensure there is a coordinated approach to the acquisition of and access to older heritage material.
The Library has the legal framework and capability to collect and preserve New Zealand websites. We are open to discussions with other collecting institutions in New Zealand about collecting websites that may support the documentation of a person, community, organisation or subject they are collecting.
Some international institutions are better placed to collect, preserve, and provide access to certain types of web content than the National Library of New Zealand. In these situations we will look to explore options for providing access to New Zealand content in other collections.
The National Library of New Zealand uses the services of the Internet Archive to support collection of the New Zealand domain harvests.
Principle 4
Where publications in scope for legal deposit are produced in both print and digital format, the Library will move to give preference to collecting born-digital format. Exceptions may be made in cases where the print version has some special value or where restrictions to the digital version limit New Zealanders’ ability to access these works.
Action
The Library will consult with stakeholders on a proposal to review the requirements regarding the collecting of both print and electronic government publications in scope for legal deposit.
Principle 5
Resources digitised by New Zealand Libraries and other institutions and made available to the public on the Internet may be collected by the Library.
Action
The Library will work with institutions on a case-by-case basis when such resources are proposed or considered for collecting by the Library.
Principle 6
The Library takes into account the cost of acquiring, storing, managing and making accessible collection items when building its collections.
Action
Exceptions will continue to be made to the collecting of physical format publications (for example, see above under Exclusions), and digital collecting will continue to be selective.
Collecting priorities
Physical format publications — with the exceptions given above in the ‘Exclusions’ section, the Library will generally continue to collect comprehensively physical format New Zealand and Pacific publications.
Electronic publications — the sheer volume and technical diversity of online content in scope for legal deposit makes it impossible for the Library to be comprehensive in its collecting of such material, but it does aim to build a significant collection which is representative of New Zealand’s published documentary heritage.
Websites — the Library will prioritise websites to collect around certain subjects or themes. Some of the subjects are chosen because they align with and support existing collection priorities, and others are selected to deliberately document communities on the web and events that are not often documented in New Zealand collections.
Priorities for websites may change from time to time during the 2021-2023 period. The current priorities include, but are not limited to, the list provided below.
The Alexander Turnbull Library New Zealand and Pacific Collection collecting priorities
Proactive priorities
Legal Deposit — One copy of all physical format publications, and a representative collection of digital format publications, which are in scope for New Zealand legal deposit. Formats included are written publications (books, newspapers, serials, scores and maps, both printed and electronic) and audio-visual recordings, both online and offline. Online digitised versions of physical format material in scope for legal deposit may be selectively collected.
Overseas publications — Where material does not come in scope for New Zealand legal deposit, we collect a selection of works published overseas which meet the following criteria:
the work has been created by a New Zealand or Pacific or Antarctic citizen or resident, and/or
has significant New Zealand, Pacific or Antarctic content in the subject areas of history, society, voyages and discovery, politics, culture and the arts.
Māori — There is comprehensive collecting of overseas publications created by Māori, about Māori or in te reo Māori.
Literature — There is comprehensive collecting of literature by New Zealand authors based overseas and literature set in New Zealand. There is comprehensive collecting of critical analysis of New Zealand authors and New Zealand literature.
Foreign editions are collected for selected New Zealand authors.
Antarctica — There is comprehensive collecting of published monographs relating to discovery and exploration (in particular expeditions involving New Zealand and New Zealanders), natural history and environmental issues and literature.
Pacific Islands — There is comprehensive collecting of published resources from and about American and Western Samoa, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Nauru, Niue, Pitcairn Island, Tokelau and Tonga. Priorities for selection relate to historical relationships and current links, and those Pacific Islands that have significant communities in New Zealand. Works relating to other island nations may be considered.
New Zealand’s diverse ethnic communities — Collecting which reflects New Zealand’s diverse ethnic communities.
Collection gaps
The Library will seek to acquire single copies of publications, in both physical and electronic formats, not currently held in the Turnbull’s New Zealand and Pacific Collection. We welcome donations of any material that is within the scope of the current collection policy.
Emerging priorities
Zines will be collected representatively, where practically possible.
Published datasets.
Scientific publications not in scope for legal deposit will be considered selectively.
Websites
Read our information on nomination of websites for collection
Priorities for websites
COVID-19 pandemic
Music, including musician sites and music festivals
Sports, including individual and organisational blogs and events
Climate change
Arts, graphic arts, literature, documentary photography
Politics, including local body and general elections, from the range of political perspectives
Government departments
Māori sites, including Iwi sites, Treaty of Waitangi settlement process, and websites that substantially use Te Reo
Pasifika, primarily websites created in New Zealand. We also collect Pasifika websites created outside New Zealand with the permission of the copyright holder.
Community groups, especially ethnic groups, gender issues, clubs and societies
Social concerns, including poverty, living wage, globalisation
Game developers and gaming community, but not the games themselves
We respond to current issues of national importance as they arise
Social media
The Library’s social media collection is very selective. Our focus is on content that has national significance.
The National Library New Zealand and Pacific Collection
Ongoing priorities for The National Library New Zealand and Pacific Collection
One copy of all physical format publications which are in scope for New Zealand legal deposit. Formats included are written publications (printed books, newspapers, serials, scores and maps) and offline audio-visual recordings.
Copies in addition to those supplied under legal deposit will be purchased as needed, for example for reference-only in the Library’s Reading Rooms.
Overseas publications — Where material does not come in scope for New Zealand legal deposit, we collect a selection of works published overseas which meet the following criteria:
The work has been created by a New Zealand or Pacific or Antarctic citizen or resident, and/or
Has significant New Zealand, Pacific or Antarctic content in the subject areas of history, society, voyages and discovery, politics, culture and the arts
-For the purposes of this collection, ‘Pacific’ refers to American and Western Samoa, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Nauru, Niue, Pitcairn Island, Tokelau and Tonga. Priorities for selection relate to historical relationships and current links, and those Pacific Islands that have significant communities in New Zealand. Works relating to other island nations may be considered.
Contact
Geraldine Warren, Curator New Zealand and Pacific Publications, Alexander urnbull Library
Email — geraldine.warren@dia.govt.nz
Selina Daniel, Collections Librarian, Alexander Turnbull LibraryEmail — selina.daniel@dia.govt.nz
Gillian Lee, Coordinator Web Archives, Alexander Turnbull Library
Email — gillian.lee@dia.govt.nz
Amy Joseph, Team Leader, Collection Development (Legal Deposit), National Library of New Zealand
Email — amy.joseph@dia.govt.nz
Download the New Zealand and Pacific Published Collections collecting plan
New Zealand and Pacific Published Collections collecting plan (pdf, 270KB)
Last updated 2022