Mātauranga Māori Collection Management Plan

The Mātauranga Māori Collection in the General Library was created in 2002 by drawing on relevant material from the New Zealand and Pacific Collection. More material was added when Te Huka-ā-tai closed at the end of 2009.

The Mātauranga Māori collection comprises monographs, serials, bound facsimile manuscripts, and government reports pertaining to all aspects of Māori life. It is located in close proximity to other relevant collections and services in the General Library, including the Microtexts Room, Special Collections and the New Zealand and Pacific Collection.

The collection is multidisciplinary and provides a focus for researchers of Māori and iwi taketake topics, in a wide range of subject areas. The main topics are Māori life, literature, linguistics, education, history, material culture and music, cultural theory, health and wellbeing. Childrens’ literature is collected for learners of te reo. There is a complete set of Te Ao Hou and the contemporary Māori newspapers Te Iwi o Aotearoa, Kahungunu, and Te Māori News.

There is a significant collection of Māori material in the Audiovisual collection, including relevant programmes broadcast on Māori Television and Television New Zealand up to the end of 2009. From 2010, most audiovisual material is available online via the Library catalogue. A major related collection is the Archive of Māori and Pacific Sound, an ethnographic sound collection relating to New Zealand and the Pacific. The Sylvia Ashton-Warner Library also has significant collections of Māori resources relating to education.

Most items are borrowable with the significant exceptions of the bound facsimile manuscripts (George Grey, Edward Shortland, and John White papers), and copies of Māori Land Court Minute Books (Orakei, Auckland, Tai Tokerau, Papatupu Block Committee and some Waikato).

Collecting level: Research

The collection is primarily monographic in nature. There are extensive collections of electronic materials which supplement print materials and provide access to otherwise unobtainable or unavailable important research resources. Subscriptions are maintained to relevant journal titles in the field and new subscriptions taken up on recommendation. Increasingly journals in electronic format replace print, although subscriptions to print are maintained where that is the only available format.

Te reo rangatira is collected comprehensively although English is the predominant language of the collection.

It is recognised that duplication of material occurs in specialist libraries and this is justified by heavy demand and by overlapping subject responsibilities. Technical or highly specialised material which has relevant Māori content is normally retained in the specialist libraries’ collections related to those subjects.

Retention and preservation guidelines

Because this is a research level collection, special efforts are made to replace significant missing items.

The following material should be retained:

• One copy of each edition relevant to any aspects of Māori life, literature, linguistics, education, history, material culture and music
• One copy of each edition relevant to the Māori language, traditional culture and to iwi and hapū specific material

Superseded editions of secondary material are deselected. Duplicate copies of primary works that meet one or more of the following are deselected:

• Poor condition
• Low use

Reviewed July 2016