A Day in the Life of a Library

There are many misconceptions about librarians and the work that goes on in libraries. People often only see us issuing or shelving books and aren’t aware of much beyond this. For this my final column of the year I thought I’d try to describe a typical day (a Wednesday) in the library to give a better idea of what does go on behind the scenes.

Several staff members start work early (well it seems early to me) and set about the task of readying the library. This includes logging on computers and opening the necessary programmes, setting up the tills, generating timecodes for the ecentre, and picking up the books that have come through the returns slot overnight. When I eventually swan in at about 8:30 much of the work has been done but on Wednesdays it is my job to generate the notices that advise borrowers if they have overdue or reserved books. We also produce reports that outline the previous day’s activities which are reconciled with the previous day’s takings and the next day’s float prepared. 

On Wednesdays the library does not open until 10:00am allowing staff to do things that are difficult when members of the public are in the building such as putting up or taking down displays and rearranging shelving. We also generally have a staff meeting on Wednesdays where we discuss operational matters, policies and procedures. We do have a brief staff meeting most mornings but the Wednesday meetings allow us to discuss matters in more depth.

There is often a small crowd waiting when we do open, many of whom head straight for the eCentre. We also start seeing a build-up of young children and their caregivers who have come for the Story-Go-Round Preschool programme. Generally two members of staff run the sessions but occasionally others are roped in to lend a hand. Of course these things don’t just happen spontaneously – as with many library activities there is a great deal of forward planning for the preschool programme including selecting a theme, coming up with an appropriate craft activity, locating the necessary resources and selecting related stories and songs.

Technology now plays a huge part in a librarian’s day. Almost inevitably each day will bring some sort of technological issue, the simplest being resolved with reconnecting a cord at one of the e-centre computers, the worst requiring a total shut down and reboot of the server, fortunately not too frequent. Each Wednesday a contracted technician visits the library to deal with IT problems we haven’t been able to sort out, but for the most part we’re on our own which has resulted in a lot of on-the job learning.

All through the day there are the ongoing jobs of issuing, returning and shelving books. The Library has been experiencing steady growth in the number of issues over the last few months so all these activities have become increasingly busy. None of this however can go on without the ordering, receiving, repairing, cataloguing and processing of the books, magazines, DVDs and CDs which is done behind the scenes. All members of staff have responsibility for at least one of these functions and it goes on pretty much every day from opening to closing.

While many borrowers simply want their books issued when they come up to the desk, a great many want some information assistance. This can range from recommendations for new books or authors, to help with finding information on an infinite range of subjects. Increasingly we are asked for assistance with Information Technology issues such as setting up email accounts or downloading photos. These questions can be difficult but also very satisfying to resolve and while librarians do need to love books and information, it is dealing with people that makes the job so rewarding.

On Wednesday the library closes at 5:30 and from about 5:15 we begin the process of closing up. In many ways this is the reverse of the morning procedures - shutting down computers, making sure all the books have been returned, and ensuring that the place is generally tidy. Once the last of our customers have left the building we can lock the doors and do the final close down. Some members of staff might stay on a bit later to get jobs done while the rest of us make our way home and get ready to do it all over again the next day.

It is difficult to describe a normal day in the library as it is very rare that one day will be the same as another. I will probably also have missed some of the many jobs done by my colleagues (which they will no doubt remind me of in no uncertain terms). There are always new challenges to be faced, from rejigging the roster because a staff member is away to managing the introduction of a new service for our borrowers. If much of this work is unseen by the public that probably suggests we are doing a good job in providing a seamless service. You will perhaps understand however why we are inclined to roll our eyes when people suggest that all we need to do is stamp books and say shush occasionally. 

Jon Adams 

Community Outreach Librarian

Masterton District Library

The eBook has landed

Masterton Library has signed on with ePukaPuka, a collaboration between 13 library districts in the lower North Island to bring downloadable eBooks and audio books to their borrowers. eBooks or electronic books are books that have been converted to digital files that can be viewed on a computer or eReader, a portable electronic device used primarily for reading books or other written material. ePukapuka is bringing this technology into our libraries for no additional cost to borrowers.

All you need to access eBooks through ePukaPuka is an internet connection via a PC, Mac or select mobile phones, and a valid library card (with password/PIN). From the ePukaPuka web site you will be able to download the free software required to transfer the eBook to your chosen device. ePukaPuka makes use of a platform developed by Overdrive, an American-based distributor of eBooks, Audio Books and video with access to more than 1,000 different publishers. A link to ePukaPuka will be located on the library’s website.

Once you have downloaded the requisite software borrowing an eBook or audio title is a simple matter of browsing the collection, checking it out, and downloading. You can then either read it on your PC or Mac, or transfer it to your iPod, eBook reader or other compatible device. There are no late fees for titles you download as they will expire at the end of the loan period and are automatically returned to the library.

When browsing ePukapuka you can create a wish list of items you are interested in and from this you can download up to five items at any one time. If the item you are interested in is currently on issue it is possible to place a hold/reserve on it through ePukapuka. Titles cannot be renewed but you can check them out again if no other borrower has requested them. It should be noted that presently the Amazon Kindle device is not compatible with Overdrive through ePukapuka.

If you would like to learn more about eBooks and eReaders, library consultant Sally Pewhairangi will be visiting Masterton Library on Wednesday the 14th of December from 1:00 to 2:30 and again on Friday the 16th of December from 10:00 to 11:30. She will also be available at Greytown Library on the 14th from 10:00 to 11:30. Sally has been commissioned by the Association of Public Library Managers to do a roadshow promoting eBooks and eBook readers to library staff and the public. She will be available to answer questions and will also have a variety of different devices available for the public to explore.

eBooks are a wonderful way of complementing our print collection and are particularly popular with people on the move such as commuters or travellers. For them the convenience of being able to store several books on a small portable device is a great innovation that many are already adopting. In the US it is estimated that 20% of the books being bought are eBooks and while New Zealand has been relatively slow to embrace the new technology, it is growing. The library will of course continue to maintain an excellent print collection, eBooks are just another dimension in our continuing efforts to meet the needs of our borrowers.

Summer Reading Programme

The Summer Reading Programme is back, and this year we’re encouraging kids to ‘Be A Legend- Read!’ with a theme drawn from the myths and legends of Ancient Greece. Funded by the Eastern and Central Community Trust, the Summer Reading Programme is offered by libraries throughout the Eastern and Central region.  The Summer Reading Programme aims to encourage a love of reading and books amongst children and thousands have benefited from the programme over the past 15 years.

Children (pre-school and primary aged) enrolled in the Summer Reading Programme talk to library staff about the books they have been reading (or had read to them) and in exchange receive incentive prizes. Those kids who complete the programme (by reporting in to the library on four or more occasions over the six weeks it runs for) are also eligible to attend finale celebrations with more prizes, certificates, food and entertainment.
Also available are the SRPlus and read+ programme which operate on a slightly different basis. SRPlus is designed for intermediate aged kids and read+ has been developed for secondary students. Participants in both these programmes receive a booklet in which they write book reviews. These are then shown to library staff and for every three reviews they complete they can choose a book to keep. There are some fantastic books available and this year teens enrolled in the read+ programme have the added incentive of entering a prize draw to win an iPod.
In the Wairarapa the Be A Legend-Read! Summer Reading Programme, SRPlus and read+ programmes are being offered by the Pahiatua, Eketahuna, Masterton, Carterton, Greytown, Featherston and Martinborough libraries. Masterton Library also has 50 places available for speakers and readers of Māori to do the Summer Reading Programme in Te Reo.

At Masterton registration night is on Thursday the 24^th of November from 3:00 to 7:30pm. The Tararua libraries including Eketahuna and Pahiatua will be taking registrations from the 28^th of November. The Wairarapa Library Service (Carterton, Greytown, Featherston and Martinborough) will be taking registrations from around the middle of November. If you would like more information on registering or the programme in general, please contact your local library.

Thanks to the co-operation of local councils, the hard work of librarians, and the financial support of the Eastern and Central Community Trust, the Summer Reading Programme has been incredibly successful tool for the encouragement of reading. Children enrolled on the programme can maintain and even improve their reading skills over the summer break - a period when many loose the gains they have made at school. For those not yet at school it is a chance to become more familiar with books and reading; the SRPlus and read+ programmes are great vehicles to keep older children and teens reading; and for all it is a chance to get to know their librarians. And on top of all these benefits, it’s a whole lot of fun. So let’s help grow more legendary readers with the 2011/12 Summer Reading Programmes.

Masterton gets SMART

The SMART network of libraries is now active and proving to be a great success, with Masterton readers at the forefront. Nearly 2,000 library users from 23 libraries around the lower North Island have signed up for a SMART card since the service went live last month, and more than 400 of these are from Masterton. The SMART card provides access to more than half a million books, DVDs, CDs and magazines and SMART borrowers have already placed 5,646 requests for library items.



SMART (Sharing and Managing A Region Together) is a collaboration between the libraries of Masterton, Hutt City, Porirua, Kapiti, Whitireia Community Polytechnic and WelTec and is unique in New Zealand in that it incorporates both public and tertiary libraries. The SMART network is also allowing for unprecedented levels of collaboration between the libraries, but still enabling each to retain its own identity, and reflect the character of their different communities. It has been a learning experience for all of us at the library and a lot of work has gone into getting it to work, but it’s very rewarding to see it being adopted with so much enthusiasm.


Borrowers who sign up to SMART are able to use their cards at any of the member libraries, or request the items they want and have them delivered to their closest library. They can do this either in the library or online via the Internet. Borrowed items can be dropped off at any of the member libraries who will make sure it gets back to its ‘home’ location. A dedicated courier service runs between the libraries each day and if an item is available (on the shelf), the aim is to have it ready for pick-up within three days of the request being made.


There is no fee for Masterton residents to sign up to SMART and although there may be rental charges for certain items, it costs nothing to reserve them or have them delivered to their local library. There has been a considerable effort to consolidate the loan policies and charges of the individual libraries and the full outline of each library’s individual practices can be accessed through the SMART website. The SMART option has also been extended to our out-of-district borrowers who for either $35 for six months or $65 for a year can gain full access to all the resources of the SMART collaboration.


The collection that has been created by the SMART network is huge and allows us to provide a greatly enhanced service to our borrowers. While we have always aimed to offer as comprehensive a service as possible, limitations of budget and space inevitably placed some restrictions on what we could provide. Although we could augment this to some degree through inter-library loans, the ready access SMART provides to a greatly expanded collection is a significant improvement. The ability for borrowers to be able to use their SMART cards in other libraries, whether they be shopping in the Hutt or holidaying on the Kapiti Coast, just adds to the appeal.


Last month we had a special launch of SMART at the library with guests including council CEO Wes ten Hove, mayor Garry Daniell and councillor Lyn Patterson. We were also able to switch our first borrower over to a SMART membership and begin the process of requesting books from the other SMART libraries. It was the start of what is already proving to be one of the most exciting developments in the library’s history and we have high hope for the continuing success and benefits of the SMART network.

Below is the cake we had made to mark the occassion.

Food in the Library

Food has generally been considered something of a no-no in libraries, along with disruptive noise and weapons of mass destruction. And while we are very keen to keep food off books (there are numerous stories out there in library world of rashers of bacon being used as bookmarks), the truth is there has always been a great deal of food available in the library, but it is contained within the books. We have hundreds of titles dedicated to food and food preparation available in the library, enough to satisfy the most voracious of appetites.

Being one of the basics of life, food understandably has an important place in human history. In A Taste of History author and documentary maker Bryan Bruce uncovers the stories behind our favourite foods including tomatoes, potatoes and chocolate. We also have several books looking at the history of food here in New Zealand and the evolution of our national cuisine. These include A Distant Feast: the Origin of New Zealand’s Cuisine by Tony Simpson and First Catch Your Weka: a Story of New Zealand Cooking by David Veart. Both books also feature recipes for those wanting to recreate food from our past.
When it comes to recipes our books can generally be divided up into those that look at a particular type of food or dish such as vegetarian or seafood; books that consider a particular type of cooking such as baking or barbecuing or the food of different countries and regions; or general cookbooks that tackle a range of food types and cooking styles. The latter are often produced by well-known chefs and cooks who, with the popularity of television cooking shows, have become household names.
Included amongst these celebrity chefs are names such as Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, Gordon Ramsay and Rick Stein, and we hold several cook books by each of these writers. Often these cook books are tied in with a TV series such as Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals, Rick Stein’s Food Heroes or Nigella Express. The interest around Gordon Ramsay is so great that in addition to many cook books, he has also released two biographies, Humble Pie and Playing with Fire.
We also have a good selection of books written by New Zealand foodies who, while perhaps not as widely known as their international contemporaries, are very popular here in New Zealand. Included amongst these are names such as Jo Seagar, Simon Gault, Al Brown, Peta Mathias, Ruth Pretty and perhaps the best known name in New Zealand food, Dame Alison Holst, who published her first cookbook in 1966. In recent year’s Annabel Langbein has been a prolific and popular writer of cookbooks. Her book The Free Range Cook was New Zealand’s best-selling title in 2010 and the accompanying television series (which we also have available on DVD) has been screened around the world including Australia, France, Israel, the United Kingdom and Japan.
Cooking is increasingly popular with children (as witnessed by the Australian television series Junior Masterchef) and we have many books available to help children learn to cook. Included amongst these are titles such as Stew a Cockatoo: My Aussie Cookbook by Ruthie May, Who’s Cooking Tonight written by teenager Claire Gourley, and Roald Dahl’s Completly Revolting Recipes which features such delights as Plushnuggets, Hot Frogs, and Glumptious Globgobblers. With all these resources available finding books to inspire and instruct kids to have a go in the kitchen shouldn’t be a problem - though getting them to clean up afterwards may be a different matter.
There are also a number of fiction authors who use food and cooking in their plots and some who even go so far as to include recipes in their books. Laura Childs ‘Tea Shop Mysteries’ are, perhaps unsurprisingly, mysteries solved by the owner of a small tea shop. The books include a selection of recipes and suggestions for tea parties. Similarly in the Hannah Swensen Mysteries, Joanne Fluke writes mysteries that also include recipes that relate to the story. The Plum Pudding Murder for example features the recipes for the main characters (and presumably the authors) favourite Christmas time meals.
As if all these books weren’t enough, we also have many magazines that cater to our love of good food. Not only are there a number of general titles such as The Australian Women’s Weekly, Your Home and Garden, Next and NZ House & Garden that have regular food sections, we also have a selection of titles specifically dedicated to food such as Dish, Cuisine, and New Zealand Healthy Food. This wealth of information may not make the daily chore of deciding what to make for dinner any easier, but if you’re looking for inspiration or something special the library has it all.
All this food can have a consequence however, and many different diets have been designed to help us loose unwanted kilos. Included amongst these, and held here at the library, are The F2 Diet by Audrey Eyton, the enticingly named Eat Yourself Slim by Rosemary Conley, The South Beach Diet by Arthur Agatson, and Dr Phil McGraw’s Ultimate Weight Solution. We also have many books on nutrition that give advice on the benefits of different foods and the best foods to help in different health situations. Included amongst these is the arrestingly titled 101 Foods that Could Save Your Life by David W. Grotto.
From absolute beginners just starting out in the kitchen, to more experienced cooks wanting to expand their repertoires, and anyone wanting to cook and eat healthier foods, we have the books in the library to inform and inspire. Issuing these often lavishly illustrated books can be an uncomfortable experience for library staff, particularly just before lunch time, but we are very pleased to see them being used. We only ask that you keep the food in, rather than on the books.

Jon Adams
Community Outreach Librarian
Masterton District Library

Defeating the Curse of the Blank Screen

From time to time many of us are faced with the prospect of producing a piece of writing. It could be a report, a letter, a speech, or as in my current situation, a piece for a regular newspaper column. Sometimes this can be a fairly torturous exercise when the idea of what to write can seem depressingly remote. This prompted me to have a look at what the library has available for anyone needing help with a writing assignment, and hopefully come up with my next column at the same time.


There are of course many different types of writing, for many different purposes, and the library has numerous books available to help, ranging from the general to the specific. Obviously we have many examples of creative writing in the library, including all our fiction and poetry titles, and numerous collections of stories or writings. If there are more aspiring writers out there we have a number of books to assist with the process.


Included amongst these are The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Creative Writing by Laurie E. Rozakis; The Everything Guide to Writing Your First Novel by Hallie Ephron; and How Fiction Works: Proven Secrets to Writing Successful Stories that Hook Readers and Sell by Oakley Hall. There are guides to writing in specific areas such as short stories, graphic novels, even song-writing. We also hold many titles aimed at helping children and young adults with their writing including the Write that… series by Shaun McCarthy which covers film scripts, poems, reports, and stories.


If you are looking for inspiration from the lives of famous writers we have a number of biographies of famous authors. Included amongst these are New Zealanders such as Ngaio Marsh (Her Life In Crime), Joy Cowley (Navigation) and Fiona Kidman (At the End of Darwin Road), and international writers such as Agatha Christie: the Woman and Her Mysteries by Gillian Gill, Hide-and-Seek With Angels: a Life of J.M. Barrie by Lisa Chaney, and Kitchen Privleges: a Memoir by Mary Higgins Clark. In On Writing: a Memoir of the Craft, popular and prolific novelist Stephen King provides not only an autobiography but also invaluable advice on becoming a writer.


Much of the writing we have to do is non-fiction rather than fiction - although some CVs may blur this distinction. Sometimes this writing is for commercial reasons which books like The Language of Success: Business Writing that Informs, Persuades and Gets Results by Tom Sant and Power Sales Writing by Sue Hershkowitz-Coore can help with. History is another popular topic and titles such as Writing Your Family History: a New Zealand Guide by Joan Rosier-Jones, and Local History: a Short Guide to Researching, Writing and Publishing a Local History by Gavin McLean could be of assistance here. There is even a book Great Personal Letters for Busy People by Dianna Booher which, as the title suggests provides examples of letters that can be adapted and used for situations ranging from disputing an account statement to turning down an invitation.


A major concern many people have with writing is grammar, and wanting to ensure that things such as spelling and punctuation are correct in a piece of writing that is going to be read by others. Amongst the books that can offer guidance are Eats, Shoots & Leaves : the Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss and Your Joking: an Easy Guide to Correct Punctuation, Including How to Know the Difference Between Your and You’re by Mary Mountier. Particularly useful in the New Zealand environment is Māori for the Office: Te Reo Māori mo te Tari by the Māori Language Commission, while the Yahoo Style Guide by Chris Barr provides advice for writing, editing and creating content online. Correct referencing is also an important concern, particularly for anyone engaged in a course of study and The Complete Guide to Referencing and Avoiding Plagarism by Colin Neville illustrates the correct procedures to follow.


One of the most important documents we may have to write is a curriculum vitae and cover letter when looking for employment. We have a number of books offering advice in this area including The Resume Handbook: how to Write Outstanding Resumes & Cover Letters for Every Situation by Arthur D. Rosenberg; Situations Vacant: how to Prepare an Effective Curriculum Vitae by Shelley Burt; and 202 Great Cover Letters by Michael Betrus. We are also very fortunate to be able to host fortnightly sessions here at the library by Careers New Zealand consultant Lindsey Grott. Lindsey is available for 30 minute sessions to help job hunters prepare their written documentation. Come into the library or contact us to make a booking for Lindsey's next visit.

Jon Adams
Community Outreach Librarian
Masterton District Library

Rugby, rugby, rugby.

A few weeks ago I wrote a column on romance novels in the library. This article drew a number of interesting responses including one that was reported to me of “When’s he going to do one on rugby?” Given that we are now in the middle of the Rugby World Cup this is probably as good a time as ever to look at what the library has relating to our national game. Love it or hate it, there is no getting away from the fact that rugby has played an important part in our nation’s heritage and therefore has a strong presence in our collection.

Biographies are a very big part of sports writing and rugby is no exception. We have numerous biographies of rugby players here at the library ranging from legends of yesterday such as George Nepia, Colin Meads and Wilson Whineray; players from the recent past including Buck Shelford, Sean Fitzpatrick, Christian Cullen and Tana Umaga; and the current players charged with securing the Webb Ellis Cup for New Zealand including Dan Carter, Mils Muliaina and Richie McCaw. To prove we’re not completely one-eyed, we also have biographies of some of the leading overseas players including Jonny Wilkinson and George Gregan.

Our rugby biographies are not just limited to the players however. We also have books about All Blacks coaches Laurie Mains, John Hart, Grizz Wylie, and Graham Henry, as well as Titch, the biography of the legendary coach of the NZ Sevens team, Gordon Tietjens. In addition we have books about people who have made their careers through rugby not by playing but by managing (Phil Kingsley Jones), commentating (Keith Quinn), and photography (Peter Bush).

We have many general histories of rugby in New Zealand including the four volume The History of New Zealand Rugby Football which covers the period from 1870 to 1991, and of course the unrivalled Men In Black, now in its 7th edition. There are also however histories of specific teams and eras. The Original All Blacks 1905-06 by Christopher Tobin tells the story of the New Zealand’s first international tour and the huge impact it had it establishing the All Blacks legend and a national obsession. Khaki All Blacks by Mike Whatman tells the uplifting story of another unique New Zealand side, the ‘Kiwis’, made up of men from the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force who at the end of hostilities in Europe in 1945 went on a hugely successful tour of the UK, Ireland, France and Germany.

Wairarapa itself has a proud rugby heritage and we hold copies of the centenary publications of the Featherston, Carterton and Red Star rugby clubs. The Wairarapa Archive also stores the match day programmes for the 1986 match between Wairarapa Bush and Australia, and 1965 match against South Africa. And of course we do have biographies of two of the region’s famous rugby sons, Grant Batty and Sir Brian Lochore. Sir Brian has an unsurpassed reputation as an All Black captain and later coach, and to date is the only All Black coach to win the Rugby World Cup.

The significant place of Māori in New Zealand rugby has also received specific attention in several books held here at Masterton Library. An older book kept in our reference collection is Arthur H. Carman’s Māori Rugby: 1884-1979. Against the Odds: Matt Te Pou and Māori Rugby traces the history of the NZ Māori team in the professional era under the care of one of its most successful coaches. Beneath the Māori Moon by Malcolm Mulholland is a comprehensive illustrated history covering 100 years of Māori rugby including notable players and some of the politics behind the team.

Of course rugby has not always been able to keep free of controversy, principally over the issue of sporting contact with South Africa while the apartheid regime was still in place, and culminating with the1981 Springbok tour of New Zealand. Storm out of Africa by Richard Shears and Counting the Cost: the 1981 Springbok Tour in Wellington edited by David McKay both look at the unprecedented social upheaval caused by the tour. The Red Squad Story by Ross Meurant relates events from the perspective of the leader of the police unit charged with allowing the tour to go ahead in the face of passionate opposition.

Given that it is our national game, it is interesting that very little NZ fiction relates to rugby. Howard Joseph’s Game Without End is the story about the influence of rugby on the lives of two very different families over several generations and their quest to have members become All Blacks.The Legend of Beau Baxter by Ivan Dunn is a humorous take on the 1924 tour by the Invincibles featuring the larger than life Beau Baxter. Perhaps the fictional book on NZ rugby to receive the best critical reception is Lloyd Jones’ The Book of Fame which imaginatively relates the story of the 1905 Originals.

Rugby remains an important part of the NZ psyche and the tours and matches of 1905, 1956, 1981, 1987 and 1996 give these dates a special significance for many New Zealanders. 2011 will probably become another date to remember, hopefully for good reasons, and the library has plenty of material to support rugby’s many fans. But for those of you who are totally uninterested in rugby and the World Cup, don’t forget that the library is also a very useful alternative, either for a bit of reading or a DVD or two for those times when there doesn’t seem to be anything else on TV.

Jon Adams
Community Outreach Librarian
Masterton District Library

Go Scotland!

As part of Masterton’s Rugby World Cup celebrations the CBD has been divided up into twenty blocks, each supporting one of the teams competing for rugby’s greatest prize, the Webb Ellis Cup. Here at Masterton Library we are very pleased to be within the group supporting Scotland. I decided then that this would be the ideal time to look at what the library has that might be relevant to anyone interested in this great nation.



Just received by the library are the latest Lonely Planet books on Scotland and Edinburgh, giving readers the most up to date information on visiting Scotland and its famous capital. The Aerofilms Book of Scotland from the Air by James Campbell is an older book but provides some wonderful views of the Scottish landscape including the stunning Highlands. Anyone contemplating a trip to Scotland should not be put off by the title of Bill Watkin’s highly entertaining Scotland in not for the Squeamish in which the author relates his adventures around Scotland with a collection of true and tall tales.


Scotland has experienced an often turbulent past, particularly in relation to the English, and we have a number of books on Scottish history. These range from the general such as Tom Steel’s Scotland’s Story and Scotland: a History edited by Jenny Wormald, to more specific titles such as The Battle of Bannockburn 1314 by Aryeh Nusbacher and Damn’ Rebel Bitches by Margaret Craig which tells the story of the many women caught up in the Jacobite Rising of 1745-46. Nigel Blundell’s Ancient Scotland is a lavishly illustrated book depicting the landscapes, castles, monuments and artefacts that tell Scotland’s history.


Partly in response to this turbulent history Scots have emigrated to a number of different countries including of course New Zealand. As a result many New Zealanders have Scottish ancestors as anyone looking through a phone book can attest, with the numerous McDonalds, McKenzies, McPhersons etc. We have a number of books available for people wanting to investigate their Scottish ancestry including the Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia and Tracing your Scottish Ancestry by Kathleen B. Cory. Local woman Elizabeth Waddington is one of many New Zealanders who have traced their Scottish ancestry and The Bairds of Winton, which she helped compile, tells the story of James and Elizabeth Baird who came to New Zealand from Scotland in 1870.


Intrinsically linked with the clans, and indeed Scotland, is tartan and The Complete Book of Tartan by Iain Zaczek and Charles Phillips is a comprehensive directory of 400 different tartans and their place in Scottish history. Perhaps the other most iconic association with Scotland is the bagpipes and although we don’t have any books on how to play the pipes, we do have two CDs Amazing Grace: Pipes & Drums of Scotland and The Pipes of Scotland which feature traditional Scottish music.


There are of course also many famous and popular Scottish authors of fiction. Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sir Walter Scott are well known names from Scottish literary history but there are also many well-known contemporary Scottish authors. Iain Banks, Quintin Jardine, Val McDermid, Manda Scott, Alexander McCall Smith and Ian Rankin are just some of the Scottish authors whose books can be found on our shelves. There are also many popular Scottish children’s authors including Debi Gliori, Theresa Breslin, and Julia Donaldson, and you don’t get much more well known than J.K. Rowling, who although born in England, has lived in Scotland since 1993 and wrote the first Harry Potter story in an Edinburgh cafe.


For a relatively small nation (even today the population is not much over five million) Scotland has made a very large impact on global history. Scots have been responsible for some of history’s most important inventions and famous Scottish inventors include James Watt (the steam engine), Alexander Graham Bell (the telephone), John Logie Baird (the television) and Alexander Fleming (penicillin). In I never knew that about Scotland Christopher Winn describes some of the less well known aspects of Scottish history such as in 1825, John Moir of Aberdeen producing the world’s first tinned salmon; the bicycle being invented in Keir Mill, Dumfriesshire in 1839 by Kirkpatrick Macmillan; and Prestwick, Ayrshire being the only place in Britain where Elvis Presley set foot, stopping there for refuelling on the way home from Germany after being discharged from the army.


Perhaps in part because of the wide global spread of its people and in part because of the tremendous achievements of many famous Scots, Scotland has a cultural influence far beyond her own borders. Sean Connery reflects on this in his book Being a Scott which looks at the unique Scottish character as well as his own personal history growing up in Edinburgh. As this brief review has shown there is much to be learnt about Scotland and the Scots from books held here in the Masterton Library and I hope this article may have sparked a bit of interest. And to the Scottish team and their supporters – welcome to New Zealand and good luck in the Cup – until you meet the All Blacks that is!

Jon Adams
Community Outreach Librarian
Masterton District Library

SORCER

The recent revamp of the library’s OPAC (Online Public Access Catalogue) has also seen the introduction of Sorcer, a new search tool providing library patrons with more personalized access to the library collection. Sorcer has been developed by Civica, the software provider who supply our library management system, and it greatly enhances the capability of the catalogue, making it more user-friendly and utilising Web 2.0 technology and concepts. Sorcer can be accessed through the library’s catalogue, either at the library or online via our website.



Sorcer has the tag line ‘order out of chaos’, and while we might suggest that our catalogue is far from chaos, SORCER does allow for more comprehensive searching of the catalogue to be carried out with greater ease, and all from a single interface. Anyone can browse and use Sorcer but to get the most out of it you need to log in. If you already have your own online account at the library you have all you need to get going with Sorcer. Otherwise it’s a simple matter of registering a password which we can do at the issue desk.


Sorcer allows for a more personalised catalogue search by taking note of previous borrowing history and making suggestions for further reading based on this. Sorcer will also suggest reading, viewing and listening material based on the usage of other library patrons with similar interests to you. The more you use Sorcer, the more accurate it will become in being able to offer suggestions for books, CDs and DVDs you might enjoy. You can also customize your Sorcer view by going in to the ‘My Account’ section and ticking or un-ticking the different available options.


From your own Sorcer account you can look at information about your borrowing including any loans (or overdues) on your card, current reservations, your alert profiles, any reviews you have added, and your borrowing history. Alert profiles enable Sorcer to present books you may be interested in such as Bestsellers, Recent Biographies, or books that have been reviewed by other library users. At this point you can also check on your personal details and make any necessary updates. Sorcer also allows you to link with online ‘friends’ with whom you can share recommendations for books, DVDs etc.


It is still necessary to use the ‘My Account’ function found on the library catalogue to renew any books on your card or to cancel a reservation. All it takes to activate your own account, either for Sorcer or the existing system is the addition of a password to your library account. This will take staff a matter of minutes to activate and then you’re ready to start utilising this new addition to the library’s catalogue.


All next week (August 29 to September 2) library staff will be making a special effort to let our borrowers know about SORCER and get them signed up to start taking advantage of its many features. We will be offering help and training to borrowers, and we also have a good selection of giveaways for those who are interested in giving it a go. SORCER is an exciting expansion of our service and we hope that many library users will make use of its amazing potential.

Finding Love in the Library

Although it is sometimes looked down upon, romance fiction remains an incredibly popular genre and represents a significant component of the publishing industry. With a Mills & Boon book being sold every three seconds in the UK, and with romance accounting for 37% of the total number of fiction titles sold in the US, romance fiction is certainly something anyone working with books and people needs to take seriously. It is no surprise then that Masterton Library holds a large number of romantically themed books and that these feature highly in our issuing statistics.


The romance novel can generally be defined as one which describes the development of a romantic relationship between two people, ending with a satisfying or at least promising conclusion. One of the earliest romance novels was Samuel Richardson’s Pamela or Virtue Rewarded, first published in 1740. There had of course been romance stories before this including the plays of Shakespeare, though notably Romeo and Juliet (which is often described as a great love story) fails as a romance because of the distinct lack of a happy ending.


In the 19th century Jane Austen expanded the genre with books such as Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, now regarded as literary classics. In the 1920s Georgette Heyer introduced the world to the Historical Romance, and the genre really took off in the 1930s when British publishing company Mills & Boon made the decision to concentrate on romance fiction. The company now publishes 50 new titles each month from a worldwide author base of 1,500, including several from New Zealand.


Today there is a great deal of variety within the romance genre including: Comtemporary romances (the largest subgenre) which are set in the time they are written; Historical romances which are those set before the Second World War and include the popular Regency romances; and Romantic suspense, in which the protagonists have a mystery to unravel while at the same time a relationship develops between them.


Paranormal romance is when the romance is complicated by otherworldly elements, vampires being a particularly popular theme at the moment; Science Fiction and Fantasy romances are set in other or future worlds, and then there is Time-Travel Romance in which relationships develop while having the added complication of the characters living in different time periods.


Inspirational Romance combines Christian themes with the development of a romantic relationship; Multicultural romances feature protagonists from different ethnic backgrounds; and for those looking for something a bit spicier, Erotic Romance blends romance with erotica (distinct from pornography in that it does still have a story to tell).


Romance writers are some of the most popular authors writing today. Along with the huge stable of authors writing for Mills and Boon, authors such as Diana Gabaldon, Linda Howard, Jude Deveraux, Julie Garwood, Nora Roberts, La Vyrle Spencer, and Amanada Quick enjoy a huge readership. Despite generally being aimed at woman, there are a significant number of men who enjoy reading romance fiction and also quite a few who have made careers writing it - including some who have written under a female pen name. The authors Monica Barrie, Victoria Gordon, and Gill Sanderson for example, are in fact all men.


Dating back to its first emergence, Romance fiction has suffered a certain amount of criticism, derision and even condemnation. Some of the early criticism can be attributed to blatant sexism and the perception that women had more impressionable minds and may have been unduly influenced by what they were reading. It was therefore felt that women’s reading should be restricted to household manuals and devotional texts.


Simply because it is genre largely written by and for women, romantic fiction is still often regarded as a lesser concern, in much the same way that women’s sport is. Ironically Romance fiction has also been the target of some feminist criticism which suggests that it is oppressive and encourages women to conform to sentimental and traditional roles. Romantic fiction also receives criticism for being formulaic and indeed the majority of Mills and Boon novels even have a prescribed number of pages.


What these criticisms don’t take into account is the ability of the readers (mostly but not exclusively female) to be very much aware that they are reading a certain style of book, and that is precisely what they want. Romance fiction provides an opportunity to read something with a reasonable expectation of a satisfying conclusion, much as most crime readers would expect the denouement of the mystery, and the identification and punishment of the killer. Romance fiction is escapist fiction in just the same way that fantasy, science fiction, even crime are. The criticism also doesn’t always take into account the huge scope the genre now embraces.


Given the popularity of romantic fiction it would be a failure on the library’s part not to make this genre widely available to our borrowers and in fact it represents an incredibly popular part of our collection. We certainly make no judgements about the reading of romantic fiction, in fact we are keen to see even more of it being read and have books to cater to every taste. So if you’ve been looking for love in all the wrong places, try the library.

Jon Adams

Community Outreach Librarian

Masterton District Library

The Ongoing Value of Libraries

Over the past few months there has been a lot of debate over proposed library cuts in the United Kingdom. In total over 10% of British libraries are under threat of closure, and some councils are proposing to use volunteers to staff libraries. The recession has put a renewed focus on all public spending and while there have been no such threats here, it is important that we try to look at this issue objectively. It is ratepayers’ money we are using to fund the library after all, and it is vital that the service we provide is something that our funders both want and use.



One of the regular arguments used to support the closure of libraries is the perceived decline in the reading of printed books, due in the most part to the rise of the Internet and the emergence of E-books. International statistics would seem in part to support this argument, although it is noticeable that the reading and publishing of children’s books does seem to buck this trend. It is however an important consideration and we only need to look at the recorded music industry to see the impact new technology can have.


One of the possible misconceptions about libraries, and indeed librarians, however is that they are stuck in the past. In fact we are constantly evolving to meet the needs of our borrowers. Librarians make a great deal of effort to keep up to date with professional knowledge and technological changes and how these might be adopted to help our borrowers.


The features of a modern library catalogue for example are a far cry from the abilities of the old card catalogue. We are shortly going to be releasing Masterton Library’s redeveloped OPAC and soon we will presenting SORCER which will greatly enhance how borrowers can interact with our catalogue. We are also making moves towards offering e-books to our borrowers. More on these in future articles.


For many people the Internet is now the first port of call when they are seeking information. Here at Masterton Library we have recognised the changing use of our collection and have responded accordingly to better fit the needs of our borrowers. This has involved a large increase in the amount of fiction we are providing, and special attention to the non-fiction to ensure that what we have is still going to be used. We also now have a role to play in providing the public with access to the Internet and assistance with this when it is needed.


We are very pleased to see that our efforts appear to be working and we have been enjoying a steady growth in the number of books we issue. We have also enjoyed a regular increase in the number of people who use the library and our e-centre is almost always in use. If in the future printed books do fall out of use for most reading activities, you can be assured that librarians will be at the forefront of providing access to whatever device has replaced them.


We are very aware that the public library is much more than a storehouse for books. In addition to our books , magazines, CDs and DVDs, it is a place where the public meet, where information is shared, a facility that all members of the community are welcome to use. As librarians we facilitate all these functions, ordering, processing and cataloguing library items, arranging visits, displays and programmes. We also use our experience and knowledge to offer suggestions and advice on a range of matters - from how to set up an email account, to what book to read next. We have always acted as intermediaries between the public and the information they require – and this doesn’t change if the information is accessed through a book or a website.


The planned library closures in the UK have created a great deal of controversy and resulted in petitions, protests and in the case of the Gloucestershire County Council, a High Court Injunction. Many people are obviously passionate supporters of the public library and its role in society and from a personal perspective this is wonderful to see. Our best defence however is to remain a relevant and useful service that is utilised by large parts of the community. If this continues to be the case our funders will continue to value the public library and all it offers, and our future is secure.

Jon Adams
Community Outreach Librarian
Masterton District Library

Winter Warmers & Maths Is Fun

There should be no complaints from children of being bored during the July school holidays this year. Along with the usual array of books, magazines and DVDs, Masterton Library will be involved in delivering two great programmes for children – Winter Warmers and Maths Is Fun. Registration for both programmes takes place at the library from the 20th of June.

Winter Warmers is an incentive based reading programme which actually begins two weeks before the school holidays on July the fourth, and runs for six weeks in total. Children enrolled in the programme receive a booklet in which they can write reviews, draw pictures, design covers etc. for the books they have been reading. Once they have done five pages they receive a prize and qualify to attend the grand finale. If they go on to fill in all ten pages of the booklet they will receive another prize and everyone who makes it to the finale will receive a book prize and a certificate. This year’s programme has a rugby theme and will take the children on a tour of New Zealand, stopping at ten venues that will host games during the Rugby World Cup.

There is no charge for participation in the Winter Warmers programme thanks to the funding support of the Eastern and Central Community Trust. It is available locally at all the libraries in the Wairarapa region including Martinborough, Featherston, Greytown, Carterton and Masterton, and also the libraries of the Tararua District at Pahiatua and Eketahuna. Spaces are limited however so make sure you get in quick.

Also taking place during the July school holidays, and also available for free thanks to the funding of the Eastern and Central Community Trust, is the Maths Is Fun programme. This will be held at Masterton Library from the 18th to 21st and consists of hour-long sessions each day for children in four different age groups (Years 1 & 2, 3 & 4, 5 & 6 and 7 & 8). Again places are limited so don’t forget to register early if you want to secure a place.

Maths Is Fun aims to develop confidence with maths, show how maths has practical everyday uses in all our lives, and how it really can be fun. Participants engage in a range of games and activities and also receive take-home packs to continue the fun at home. At the end of the programme there will be a finale evening which usually features a maths based challenge aimed at getting the whole family involved.

For more information on either of these programmes please contact the library on 06 370 6253. In the past both these programmes have proved to be very popular and the kids enrolled (and yes they can do both) have a great time. Don’t forget that registration for both begins on June the 20th and as places are limited it’s a good idea to secure your place(s) as soon as you can.

Off the Shelf

Each year at the Masterton Library we issue between 250 and 300,000 books, CDs, DVDs, and magazines, something we are very pleased about and keen to grow even higher. The upshot of this however is that we also have to shelve between 250, and 300,000 library items each year, averaging at about 1,000 a day. Shelving may seem like a fairly simple task but if it is not done properly it can create a lot of problems and a book that has been incorrectly shelved can be very difficult to find, not quite a needle in a haystack but close to it.



Arranging books in an ordered manner so they can easily be retrieved is one of the cornerstones of librarianship and correct shelving is essential for this. Here at Masterton Library we use the Dewey Decimal System for classifying all our non-fiction books. Dewey is not the only method devised for ordering library books, but it is probably the most common and is used all around the world.


The Dewey Decimal System was developed in 1876 by Melvil Dewey, an American educator and librarian. The Dewey system aims to organise all knowledge within ten main divisions, with thousands of potential subdivisions. The Dewey system has been revised many times and although it can include fiction, many libraries including Masterton, shelve their fiction titles separately according to the first three letters of the author’s surname.


Each non-fiction book is assigned a call number by a cataloguer according to its subject. The first three numbers of the call number indicate where the book fits within Dewey’s ten main divisions. This may then be followed by a decimal point and further numbers which indicate the subdivision, and then the first three letters of the author’s surname. Assigning a call number can be a very difficult process but once it is done we know where to put a book, and crucially, where to find it again.


Here at Masterton Library we assign different degrees of attention to the shelving of items depending on the use they receive, and how difficult it is to retrieve them. Our children’s board books for example are simply placed in a dedicated bin because it’s easy to flick through these to find what you want. This obviously wouldn’t work for the non-fiction – it would have to be a very big bin for a start.


Our DVDs are separated into film and television titles and musical performances. All fiction (adult, junior and young adult) is shelved alphabetically according to the author’s surname. We don’t separate the fiction into different genres as some libraries do, but we do put genre stickers on the spines of our books so borrowers can identify them easily. Non-fiction shelving is the most involved process making sure that the book is correctly located according to the sequence of numbers, and according to the alphabetical order of the authors.


Shelving therefore would seem to be a fairly straight forward procedure of following numbers and knowing the alphabet, and for the most part it is. There are occasional traps such as compound surnames, authors whose surname begins with a Mc or a Mac, or Icelandic authors whose surnames are written before their first names (books by crime novelist Yrsa Sigurdardottir for example are shelved at YRS in the fiction section). Mostly however it is an ability to concentrate and maintain attention to detail that is required for successful shelving.


We suspect that some of the miss-shelving that does occur is the result of members of the public browsing the collection and returning books to the shelf in the incorrect sequence. If you are unsure of where to replace a book we are more than happy for you to leave it for us to do. We regularly tidy up books that have been left around the library and actually keep a record of these as it is good to know the books that are being looked at, even if they are not being taken out. You could also bring unwanted books to the issue desk and we can sort them out for you.


All members of staff here at Masterton Library are assigned an area to shelve and this is rotated on a monthly basis. Shelving books is a great way to get to learn the collection and it is also useful to be out amongst the shelves to help patrons with any questions they may have. To many librarians shelving can seem a bit like housework in that there’s always more to be done. But while it can be quite onerous we know that it needs to be done and that well-ordered shelves make our job of finding information so much easier. 

Jon Adams
Community Outreach Librarian
Masterton District Library

Growing the Good Life

There has been a lot of interest lately in living a more self-sufficient lifestyle and in particular people growing their own fruit and vegetables. Possibly this is a response to the economic climate, it may stem from a desire to grow more organic produce, or possibly a desire to return to the slower and simpler rhythms of life that fruit and vegetable growing both requires and encourages. Whatever the reason there are many resources available here at the library to assist those wanting to lead ‘the good life’.



Our gardening section has many titles dedicated to growing fruit and vegetables. Starter Vegetable Gardens by Barbara Pleasant provides advice and a selection of plans for small organic gardens. Get Fresh by Dennis Greville gives advice on growing vegetables and herbs, and is written from a New Zealand perspective. Also written from a New Zealand perspective is Palmers Vegetable Gardening by T.W. ‘Prof’ Walker, a regular on the much-missed Maggie’s Garden Show.


Once you’ve grown your food you have to decide what to with it. In his book Jamie at Home, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver provides sumptuous recipes related to the seasons and the fresh produce that is available. He also gives some information on growing the fruit and vegetables he uses in his recipes. Similarly Grow It, Cook It by local chef Sally Cameron is a combination cooking and gardening book which gives basic advice on growing different fruits, vegetables and herbs, and then recipes for how they can be used.


One of the disadvantages of producing your own fruit and vegetables is that often you have a whole lot of produce coming ready at the same time. You can of course give it away to friends and family or organisations such as the Food Bank, and there are an increasing number of schemes promoting the sharing and swapping of produce. Another option is to preserve your produce and we have a number of books on the different methods of doing this.


Fix, Freeze, Feast by Katie Neville gives advice on preparing and packaging homemade family meals, and storing them in the freezer for later defrosting. How to Store Your Own Garden Produce by Piers Warren gives advice and recipes on preserving a range of garden produce, something the author describes as the key to successful self-sufficiency. Preserved by Nick Sandler and Johnny Acton seems to cover every food preservation technique imaginable including drying, salting, smoking, pickling, infused oils, fermenting, bottling and canning.


For those that want to take their self sufficiency further than merely producing some of their own fruit and vegetables we also have books on keeping animals such as poultry, sheep , goats and cattle. These include Backyard Poultry – Naturally by Alanna Moore, Cows for the Smallholder by Valerie Porter, Running a Small Flock of Sheep by David G. Hinton, and Natural Goat & Alpaca Care by Pat Coleby. And to make use of your animals we have many books on knitting, several books on cheesemaking, and of course the aforementioned cooking books.


And for those who want to embrace the whole self-sufficient lifestyle we have a number of titles that cover the whole spectrum of self-sufficiency. Carolann Murray’s Mastering the Art of Self-Sufficiency in New Zealand gives advice on keeping cows, sheep, chooks and bees, maintaining an organic garden, producing alternative energy, and making cheese, bread, soap, and even wine and spirits. The Good Life: Your Guide to a Greener, Cheaper and More Fulfilling Life In New Zealand by Francesca Price gives advice on sustainable eating, shopping, housing, holidays, transport and travel, and greener parenting.


We also have a couple of magazine titles New Zealand Lifestyle Block and Grass Roots that cater to those choosing a self sufficient lifestyle. If this all seems a bit too much like hard work, or for those who just want a break, we do have Off the Radar by Te Radar which recounts the laughs, dramas, and occasional triumphs of his attempts to live off the land, and season 1 and 2 of the ever popular comedy series The Good Life available on DVD.

Jon Adams
Community Outreach Librarian
Masterton District Library

Rainbow Kids gone but not forgotten

Masterton Library’s much loved and hugely popular Rainbow Kids pre-school programme is no more. But parents, caregivers, and pre-schoolers please don’t fret. It’s simply been given a new name, Story-Go-Round, and kicked off with the first new session on the 4th of May.

Masterton Library has been operating a free, weekly pre-school programme for approximately 19 years and for the last eight years this has been known as Rainbow Kids. It was decided that a fresh new name would be invigorating for the programme and that the old name may be causing some confusion. After much discussion and deliberation amongst staff we arrived at the name Story-Go-Round, a combination of the sharing of stories and the play connotations of a merry-go-round.

Story-Go-Round will continue to provide a fun and educational experience for pre-schoolers every Wednesday during term time. The sessions start at 10:30am, generally with a 20-25 minute period of storytelling and songs, followed by a craft activity. The craft activities are designed to encourage basic skills like cutting, colouring and pasting and result in some wonderful creations. Our preschool programme is particularly popular with those aged 2-3 years, but all preschoolers and their caregivers are welcome. There is no charge to attend the sessions and all the craft materials are likewise provided for free.

The other change to the programme was the decision to no longer produce a printed pamphlet outlining the whole terms planned activities. This was proving to have a detrimental effect on the programme as sticking to it meant the children’s team could not easily respond to events in the community, while changing it could cause disappointment amongst some participants. The Christchurch Earthquake for example was high in everyone’s awareness and could have been used for a number of learning experiences such as the work done by emergency services or ways to stay safe in an earthquake.

While this term will have an overriding theme of people who help us, the children’s team now have the flexibility to respond to new events and ideas as they come up. Jane and Cindy will still be planning ahead to relate the programme to regular events going on in the community such as Golden Shares, Balloons over Wairarapa and Mother’s Day, but now they can also present any new subjects they think would be good to cover. This will make Story-Go-Round even more vibrant, relevant, and fun for those attending the sessions.

Our weekly pre-school session has been one of the great success stories here at the library and we are certain this will continue with Story-Go-Round. We have many regular faces amongst the participants and frequently have whole families of children coming along until each in turn reaches school age. We then see many coming to the library as older children and teenagers, and signing up for the Summer Reading and Read Plus reading programmes. We have even had one former member working here at the library as a student shelver.

Pre-school programmes are a great way of introducing children to books, reading and the library and this has huge benefits for their future learning. The sessions are also very valuable for making connections between families and library staff and there are many social benefits for both children and their caregivers in attending the weekly sessions. So Rainbow Kids may be gone, but rest assured that Story-Go-Round will be keeping up the good work for our youngest library users.

Pets at the Library

For thousands of years and across all cultures pets have occupied an important place in human society, from the deified cats of Ancient Egypt, to the humble goldfish swimming in a bowl. Research is also suggesting that pets have a beneficial effect on humans with pet owners enjoying a longer lifespan with lower stress levels and blood pressure. Pets form an important part of many of our lives so it is not surprising that books about pets, choosing them, caring for them, and books about particularly remarkable pets, feature strongly here at the library.



We have many non-fiction books about choosing and caring for pets ranging from general titles like The Encyclopaedia of Pets and Pet Care, to books about specific animals including dogs, cats, birds and fish, including the different breeds of each. Alternative Pets by Robin Stewart looks at keeping some less common pets including rats, axolotls, and lizards. So whether you’re after the everyday moggy, or something more exotic, there’s bound to be a book to help with your decision here at the library.


Books about our lives with animals are also hugely popular with our readers. The books of Yorkshire vet James Herriot including All Creatures Great and Small and It Shouldn’t Happen to a Vet are perennial favourites with their heart-warming stories of life in the Yorkshire dales, their inhabitants and the pets and livestock they keep. Famous naturalist Gerald Durrell has written many books about his love of animals and the story of his remarkable life and contribution to conservation is portrayed in the DVD My Family and Other Animals. More recently Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World’s Worst Dog by John Grogan tells of the lessons he and his family learnt from their thirteen years with a good natured, but apparently untrainable, Labrador.


We have many books about remarkable pets that have made an amazing contribution to the lives of the people around them. Making the Rounds With Oscar by David Dosa is the incredible story of a cat living in a U.S. nursing home who seemed to know when people were going to die and would stay and comfort them until they passed. Cleo: the Cat Who Mended a Family by New Zealand author Helen Brown tells of how a small black kitten helped mend the broken hearts of a family after the tragic death of their son. A particulate favourite amongst many librarians is Dewey: the Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron which tells of a small ginger kitten who was abandoned in the returns slot of the Spencer Public Library in Iowa, and came to have a profound impact on the library’s staff and patrons.


Homer’s Odyssey by Gwen Cooper is about an incredible kitten who grew into a loyal, loving, yet feisty cat, despite infection robbing him of sight at a few weeks of age, and the inspiration the author took from his zest for life. A Lion Called Christian (available as both a book and DVD) is the story of two Australians who bought a lion cub as a pet while living in London. When he grew too big to live in the city they made the decision to release him onto a reserve in Africa, going on to experienced an incredible reunion with him as an adult lion. And to show it’s not all about cats, Paddy the Wanderer by Dianne Haworth is the true story of an Airdale Terrier who became a national identity during the Depression, renowned for his independent spirit and love of travel including trams, sailing ships and even a Gypsy Moth.


In his book Kindred Spirits veterinarian Allen Schoen writes about his career and gives advice on caring for animals, but also gives many examples of the incredible bond that exists between humans and animals and the things we can learn from them. Why Animals Are Smarter Than Us gives a number of examples of animals displaying amazing examples of navigation, communication and some uncanny signs of precognition. In Ask Now the Beasts, Ruth Rudner looks at our relationship with wild and domestic animals and the lessons we can learn from them about how we live our lives.


Our books on choosing, keeping and training pets will help owners ensure that both animal and human get the best out of the relationship. While sadly there are too many cases of animal neglect and cruelty, for most people pets are a delight and treated with the care and respect they need and deserve. We are richer for sharing our homes with pets, and while we give them food and shelter, they give us so much more. Pets can become a trusted companion, a comfort, part of the family. Pets add greatly to our lives so it should be no surprise that books about them can be as inspiring, heart-warming, funny or moving as books on any subject.

Jon Adams
Comunity Outreach Librarian
Masterton District Library

Weddings at the Library

Weddings are usually joyous occasions, a chance for family and friends to get together to support and congratulate the happy couple who have chosen to make this commitment to one another. It’s fair to say however that they can also be responsible for creating quite a bit of stress in the lives of those most closely involved. Here at the library we have books and magazines to help with most aspects of planning a wedding which will help the day run smoothly, and hopefully avoid the creation of any Bridezillas. And men don’t think you’re getting off easy as the book The Groom’s Speech & Duties outlines, there’s plenty for you to do too.



To start with we have a selection of general wedding books such as Weddings: the essential Guide to Organising Your Perfect Day by Alison Price and The Everything Wedding Checklist Book: All You Need to Remember for a Day You’ll Never Forget by Holly Lefevre. We have a book for those looking to minimise the costs of the big day, 1,001 Ways to Save Money – and Still Have a Dazzling Wedding by Sharon Naylor, and even a book for those wanting to stage an environmentally friendly wedding, Eco-Chic Weddings by Emily Anderson.


New Etiquette for Today’s Bride published by Bridal Guide magazine offers advice on many modern matrimonial dilemmas including chapters on pre-wedding parties, destination weddings, second weddings, and the renewing of vows. We also subscribe to several wedding themed magazines including New Zealand Weddings, Bride to Be, and NZ Bride & Groom. These lavishly illustrated magazines are great for providing inspiration for all aspects of weddings, but can also be very expensive to purchase. Being able to borrow them from the library is one way of keeping costs down.


Decorations are usually an important part of the wedding, with a lot of effort going into creating the right look. We have many books to support this including Beaded Weddings: 75+ Fabulous Ideas for Jewellery, Invitations, Reception Decor, Gifts & More by Jean Campbell, and The New Book of Wedding Flowers: Simple & Stylish Arrangements for the Creative Bride by Joanne O’Sullivan. Of course the look of the dress is probably the biggest concern for most brides-to-be, and to help with this we have The Wedding Gown Book by Elizabeth Shimmer.


Speeches are a major part of the big day and given that many people find public speaking a fairly daunting prospect, advice can be very welcome. We have many titles to help in this area including The Big Book of Wedding Readings: a Huge Collection of Timeless Poetry and Prose for Church and Civil Ceremonies, Heart Songs: Readings for Weddings collected by Pinky Agnew, and Speeches: What to Say at Weddings and When to Say It. Finally no wedding would be complete without a cake and again we have books to help in the form of Cakes for Romantic Occasions by May Clee-Cadman, and Romantic Wedding Cakes by Kerry Vincent.


Unfortunately we can’t do much about the weather, but pretty much all the other aspects of your day should go smoothly with information and inspiration found from our books and magazines. You may not be able to match the pomp and ceremony of the upcoming Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, but you will still be able to achieve a memorable and happy day. And for those of you who can’t get enough of the romance and drama of weddings, they do of course provide the inspiration for many of our fiction books, and a few DVDs as well. The Italian Wedding by Nicky Pellegrino, Wedding Season by Katie Fforde, and Happy Ever After by Nora Roberts are just a few examples, though if the title of Sasha Wagstaff’s Changing Grooms is anything to go by, this should possibly be avoided by any prospective brides.

Jon Adams
Community Outreach Librarian
Masterton District Library

A Salute to Commuters

In this week’s column I’d like to pay tribute to those noble souls who contend with horribly early starts every week day, commuting to and from Wellington on the train. I did the commute for about four years so I know it’s not an easy thing to do, especially in the winter when you leave and get home in the dark. In some ways commuters enjoy the best of both worlds, but it is not without cost, and their efforts and contribution to the local economy shouldn’t be underestimated.



People have been commuting on the train to Wellington for decades and the numbers have definitely grown over the past few years with hundreds travelling on each of the three morning trains. The refurbished carriages that were introduced in 2007 have certainly improved the journey making it a much more comfortable experience. Occasional disruptions to the timetable can be very frustrating though, and even when everything is working to schedule, it still makes for a long working day.


The one advantage of the long working day is the chance to make use of the enforced downtime. Many use this time as a chance to do some work or catch up on sleep, but many others use it as an opportunity to read. And that’s where we come in.


The train makes for a great place to read with comfortable seats and few distractions. I never read more books than when I was commuting and many commuters get through several books a week. Books, and in particular fiction, are wonderful for taking us to different worlds and realities, providing an escape from the drudgery of the daily commute.


And of course it’s not just printed books you can borrow to provide entertainment as you travel to and from work. We have a large range of talking books (or audio books) and these are available on compact discs, MP3 discs and some as downloadable files. If you have a laptop or portable DVD player you could also watch one of our DVDs on the train. An episode of Fawlty Towers or The Good Life may be just the thing to lift your mood coming home in the middle of winter. Whichever you choose, there are great options available for making use of your travel time.


While the library’s usual opening hours may not be that convenient for the majority of commuters, we are open until 8pm on Thursday nights and from 9:30am to 1pm on Saturdays. Hopefully these extended hours will provide commuters with a workable time to visit the library and select some items to borrow. Thursday night is a particularly good time to come in as it’s generally quieter than during the day and ideal for the whole family to come in and browse.


Commuters are much like tourists in the role they play in our region, earning their incomes elsewhere and spending it here in the Wairarapa. They represent a significant part of the Wairarapa’s workforce and the region would certainly feel the effect if they were all to give it away. The travel can definitely be a grind but hopefully the entertainment options available from the library can help make it a much pleasanter experience.


So, on behalf of those fortunate enough to both work and live in the Wairarapa, I’d like to say thank you to all those who make the not inconsiderable effort to commute over (or perhaps that should be under) the hill each day to work. And as a token of our appreciation, we’d like to offer a free rental DVD, audio book, or book from our Hot Picks collection to all those who commute each day on the train. Simply show us a current Wellington to Masterton Tranz Metro ticket either on Saturday the 2nd of April or Thursday the 7th, and you can borrow one free item from our collection. It’s just our way of recognising the contribution you make, and demonstrating how our books, DVDs and CDs can make it a little less onerous.

Jon Adams
Community Outreach Librarian
Masterton District Library