New Zealand 

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Formal Name:        National Library of New Zealand

Name of Librarian: M. Calder
Address:                 Molesworth St, POB 12349
Phone:     04-4743000     Fax:     4743063
E-mail:    atl@natlib.govt.nz

The National Library of New Zealand was established in 1966 by an Act of Parliament. The National Library Act 1965 brought together  the General Assembly Library, begun in 1858 to serve members of Parliament; the Alexander Turnbull Library, opened in 1920 and based on the collections bequeathed to the Crown by Alexander Horsburgh Turnbull in 1918; and the National Library Service, which began in 1945 with the amalgamation of the Country Library Service and the School Library Service.

Since its inception, the National Library has evolved in response to political and economic  developments and the changing library and information needs of New Zealanders. In 1985, the General Assembly Library separated from the National Library and is now known as the  Parliamentary Library. By 1987, Library staff, collections and other material had been moved from 14 sites around Wellington to the new National Library building in Molesworth Street, and in 1988, it became an autonomous government department, no longer administered by the Department of Education. In 1990, the National Film Library became part of the National Library.

The National Library of New Zealand is one of New Zealand's leading cultural and information centres. The unique role of the National Library is to collect and maintain literature and  information resources that relate to New Zealand and the Pacific, to make this information  readily available, and to preserve the documentary heritage of this country for future generations. The heritage resources in the Library are supported by a comprehensive collection of general reference and information material.

As a government department,  the National Library is responsible to, and is funded by the Government. The National Library  undertakes research and provides policy advice on library and information issues directly to its Minister. The Minister responsible for the National Library is the Hon. Wyatt Crech and the Associate Minister is the Hon. Roger McClay.
 
 

World guide to libraries. New York: Saur, 1998.
World encyclopedia of library and information services. 3rd ed. Chicago: American Library Association, c1993.