Toi tū te kupu, hold fast to your language
Toi tū te mana, hold fast to your mana
Toi tū te whenua, hold fast to your land
Tinirau whakatauki
Located on the hill near the central public library and the newly opened Te Whare o Rehua Sargent Gallery, Te Rerenga mai o te Kāuru Alexander Library is a Te Taurawhiri lending and research collection.
It was set up mainly through donations from the Alexander family and opened in 1933. But it’s changed a lot since then. Grounded in Whanganui kaupapa, this library uses its Te Kauru Framework to guide everything they do, creating a warm and inclusive space iwi now flock to.
HE RERENGA MAHARA FROM THE MOUNTAIN TO THE SEA
Despite being sited in an imposing 1930s colonial building, kotahitanga can be felt as soon as you enter the library and are welcomed by Te Toka Tū o Pukenamu. It’s a welcoming and safe space. Tikanga Māori is applied to all Alexander Library processes and dovetails nicely with normal library processes.
The opportunity to recreate the space in 2015, when it was closed for earthquake strengthening and restoration, allowed the removal of walls to create a large and open space. A climate control system and archival shelving were also installed.
We had to refurbish the whole building, and with that came a whole new concept,” says Sandy Nepia. There were divided rooms, doors and divided spaces. This space is about kotahitanga. We removed the walls and created an open space with the Māori books and resources in the area to the right, establishing a ‘house for Māori’, added new shelving and openingned the kitchen to everyone. It’s like working from home.”
“When we put everything in, it all had to go in whakapapa order – as benefactors, the Alexanders needed to be in first, and their portraits hang near the entrance,” says Sandy. Kaumatua advised on the process. The mouri stone, ‘Te toka tū o Pukenamu’ ‘Guardian of Pukenamu, was the last thing to be placed at the entrance after being gifted by iwi having uplifted it from the Mangawhero river.
Artworks and taonga reference the importance of the moana (sea), awa (river), and maunga (mountain) and where the building is in relation to these.
Te Turawhiri collection is a Whanganui concept arranged in specific ways. There is a large Māori collection divided by subject reference. Geographical areas with Ukaipo Māori histories are sorted by iwi location, starting from the top of the North down to the South. Ngati Apa, Ngarauru and Whanganui have a large central shelf in the middle to show their mana. The difficult topics, such as books on kawanatanga/government and wars, are placed next to the librarian’s desk, so the librarian is there to help with these subjects.
The collection is a New Zealand-only collection with a focus on Whanganui. There is a biographical collection of Whanganui people – not digitised but retains a collection of Whanganui people up to 2002 – mainly collected from the newspapers. Everything in the collections are considered taonga, books as well.
ENGAGEMENT AND KOTAHITANGA
There were several women working on the blanket project while I was there. Blankets are a form of protest being used over the motu. This year, they are working on blankets to represent Whanganuitanga this year. They will be used at this year’s Pākaitore celebration.
The Regional Heritage Trust and Whanganui Geneology Society have their own spaces and meet there regularly. Iwi groups use the space to share whakapapa knowledge and Whanganuitanga. “Iwi support is key and amazing. Their input adds so much richness to the library service and we try to reciprocate that support when we are able,” says Jasmin.
THE IMPACT OF TE KĀURU FRAMEWORK
“Most importantly, from my point of view as a Māori librarian, having a kaupapa Māori framework brings meaningful cohesion to my work. It informs our policies, guides our interactions with each other and stops me wondering -am I doing the right thing?” says Jasmin.
The framework she’s referring to is Te Kāuru One pager 2020, which was implemented in 2014 following consultation with iwi and library groups. Te Kāuru became the library’s ethics guide and measure and is based on the principles of kawa, mana, tikanga, mauri, tapu and tikanga.
An immediate outcome of introducing Te Kāuru was receiving the Ngā Rauru Iwi Archive into the library’s care, with a relationship document that ensured that the taonga in the archive were cared for by their own people.
This has had a wonderful spin-off for the research library as iwi groups in the library shared their knowledge and raised discussions spontaneously with library users.
“In the ten years since implementation we have seen considerable changes in the library. One of the most significant changes has been the increase in library use by Māori and iwi groups. That is a far cry from the days when I would see Māori hesitate at the door, tiptoe and whisper, and if I weren’t fast enough, they would turn and leave. Now more than half of those using the library space are Māori,” comments Jasmin.
The collections, too, have changed. Te Kāuru Collection arrangement was implemented in 2016 to facilitate better access for Māori researchers. While it is a simple concept, it has received great feedback from users, particularly from high school students, who find it much easier to use.
Care is taken of all the taonga held at the library, both book collections and archives, which are treated with warmth and respect. If something doesn’t feel right, then it is ok to move the taonga until they are comfortable. Its ok to do karakia if you are feeling the need. If a powhiri is indicated, then that’s fine too.
The staff of all cultures work comfortably with the framework because it is broad in its concept and inclusive. For some, it enables them to express similar concepts from their own culture that they had previously suppressed.
