Palmerston North Heritage Month packed with talks, tours and open days

Professor Richard Shaw will talk about his new book The Unsettled on March 11 as part of Heritage Month.

Kia ora to all those who love libraries, and to those who just don’t know they love libraries yet. Read on for reasons to fall in love with your local library.

Heritage Month is the premier celebration of all things historical, and it incorporates Local History Week. It’s crammed with talks, workshops and guided experiences designed to deepen your knowledge of this wonderful place in which we live. There are rail car rides, cemetery walks, a talk on Scandinavian settlers by Val Burr, and the history of the Manawatū Standard told by Adrian Broad, among many other things.

Heritage Month runs from March 1-28. Booklets are available from all our libraries and at other places around the city, and you can learn more at citylibrary.pncc.govt.nz. Local history – it’s the key to the future, and you’re living it now.

The most accessible writing programme in the universe is on again. This year, Versions Tuarima is opening for submissions early. It ties in with the aforementioned Local History Week, which has a theme of whenua (land), so that’s your starting point for Versions as well. You can write a short story, a poem, a play, a song, whatever you like. As long as it doesn’t break any laws, the library will publish it. Each submission is given a light hoovering before publication, to catch any errant confustications. Then, later in the year, your little word-baby gets ushered into the world as part of a lovely anthology. If you’ve ever wanted to see your name in print, here’s your chance. Keep your eye on the City Library website for details, or email content@pncc.govt.nz.

Not everyone has a dog to read to at home, and let’s face it, cats just aren’t interested. Reading to a cat is like dipping your candyfloss in water and hoping it’ll come out chocolate-coated. (Disappointing.) Luckily, our friends at Canine Friends Pet Therapy make regular visits to our libraries so everybody gets the chance to read to a sympathetic, furry ear. Find out when the next batch of doggos is visiting by searching the City Library website for Reading Unleashed. This programme is really for kids, but adults are allowed to walk past and say “aww, puppies!”.

If you ever feel like escaping the heaving metropolis that is Palmerston North, consider a trip that’ll take a mere few minutes, and visit the Linton Camp Community Library. You might think it’s a top-secret eyes-only facility, but no! There’s an agreement that allows Palmerston North City Library members to borrow Linton items on presentation of a valid library card. One restriction: military collection items require current military identification to issue. So, if you really want to see those, you’ll have to enlist.

Like most of us, library books just want to be held. Holds are free at Palmerston North City Library, and it’s a great way to make sure you don’t miss a popular title. You can also place a hold on a book to bring it from another location. For example, from Central to Ashhurst Library. Ask a librarian, or simply use the Place Hold button when you’re browsing the library catalogue.

Just enter your card number and Pin, select the pickup library, click Place Hold(s) and you’re done! Whichever method you use, you’ll receive an email when the book is ready, and then you have 10 days to collect it. Show a library book some love today, and hold it.

That’s it for now. Until next time, happy reading!