World libraries: New Zealand digitizes its historical newspaper

The National Library of New Zealand and Auckland Libraries are teaming up to have historic copies of the Auckland Star newspaper digitised.

The Auckland Star, formerly known as the Evening Star, was published daily from 1870 to 1991. The Evening Star was first launched in March 1870 and re-launched as the Auckland Evening Star approximately 9 years later. In 1887 it was renamed the Auckland Star.

Auckland Libraries holds bound volumes of the original newspapers. These were microfilmed in the 1960s to improve ongoing access and to aid preservation but heavy use means both the original papers and microfilms are fragile and deteriorating.

The project will take several years to complete with the first papers available later this year. Digitised copies of the Auckland Star will be accessible through the National Library’s Papers Past website (http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast) which holds close to two million pages of digitised historic New Zealand papers.

The Auckland Star items will provide researchers with easy access to information of regional and national significance and covering significant events such as women’s suffrage, the great depression and both world wars.

“This heralds a partnership between Auckland Libraries and the National Library of New Zealand to digitise the papers from 1870 to 1945 inclusive,” says Allison Dobbie, Manager of Libraries and Information for Auckland Council. “This includes newspapers still in copyright, which Fairfax have generously allowed us to reproduce”, she adds.