You can find many music items from our collections by searching the online catalogues.
- Look for published items like books and sound recordings in the National Library Catalogue.
- Find choral sets and orchestral parts using Cadence.
- Find unpublished items like manuscripts and original scores using TAPUHI.
General Music Collection
This collection contains printed scores and music recordings, published music magazines and books. Items are mainly from overseas and reflect the traditions and experiences that have influenced and inspired New Zealanders.
Most styles of music are covered, including popular music, Māori and Pacific Islands traditional and contemporary song, blues, classical, dance, film, and jazz. Music is available in a range of formats from CDs and DVDs to 78rpm records.
You can borrow items by interloan through your local library, or use them in the music room on the ground floor of the National Library.
More about the General Music Collection
Choral and orchestral hire collection
New Zealand’s largest collection of choral and orchestral works is in the General Music Collection. It includes the holdings of the former Radio New Zealand Music Library.
How to hire sheet music – Cadence website
New Zealand Music, Sound and Audio-visual collection
This collection of published items contains commercially available music recordings, published music scores and sheet music. It is similar to the General Music Collection except that the items mainly relate to New Zealand and the Pacific.
You can use items from this collection in the Library.
More about the New Zealand Music, Sound and Audio-visual Collection
Archive of New Zealand Music
This collection includes manuscripts, unpublished scores and music recordings, correspondence and other material relating to New Zealand musicians, composers, performers and organisations. All types of music are represented. You can use items from this collection in the Library. Search for items using TAPUHI.
More about the Archive of New Zealand Music
Music in other institutions
The following New Zealand libraries, archives and museums also hold music collections.
Archive of Māori and Pacific Music – University of Auckland website
Hocken Library music collection – University of Otago website
Radio New Zealand Archive – Sound Archives Ngā Taonga Kōrero website
You can also search for music resources on the SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music website
