Category: Stand up for books

Part 1 of The unbearable costs to Aotearoa’s culture and heritage of leaving the National Library and Archives in the Department of Internal Affairs This morning, on Waitangi Day 2022, the Waitangi National Trust Board Chairman, Pita Tipene, said to the RNZ interviewer: “It is strange, also, that certainly in my memory I have never … Continue reading A tohu of the times?

On November 29 the National Library (NL) announced in a media release that it was “reconsidering its plans for the Overseas Published Collections in light of concerns raised by interested parties, including issues associated with copyright.” It said it would not export any of the Overseas Published Collections until it had considered its next steps. … Continue reading National Library ‘reconsiders’ Internet Archive deal – what next?

Book Guardians Aotearoa (BGA) was delighted to hear on November 29 that the National Library (NL) is pressing pause on its deeply controversial deal with the Internet Archive to take over 400,000 books out of New Zealand – never to return. You can read the NL’s explanation of this action in its media release, most … Continue reading A second chance for New Zealand’s books?

“The lobbyists on the other side”, said Internet Archive (IA) owner Brewster Kahle in 2020, “are paid a lot of money by some people to go and spread misinformation.” So not only a pirate, then, but also a purveyor of porkies. This porkie was easily rebutted by Edward Hasbrouk, co-chair of the Book Division of … Continue reading How Internet pirates do it

Yo ho ho, and a bottle of rum! The easy life of an internet pirate. Brewster Kahle, the owner of the Internet Archive (IA) and its ‘Open Library’ will tell you he is not a pirate. The New Zealand government (in the form of the Department of Internal Affairs, the National Library, the Ministry of … Continue reading The easy life of an internet pirate

A board game based on the history of the National Library's attempts to eliminate the International Collection. Compiled by Bill Direen with help from K. de Lore and M.A. Bourke.

Join us in this petition to Parliament to urgently stop the National Library book vandalism The link to this petition is here Please also write to your local MP, the Minister of Internal Affairs j.tinetti@ministers.govt.nz and the Prime Minister j.ardern@ministers.govt.nz as well as the National Librarian: rachel.esson@dia.govt.nz Join the Facebook groups: Book Guardians Aotearoa and … Continue reading Sign the petition!

Last week the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) issued a media release (Are your books being donated to Internet Archive?) saying: “The ASA is dismayed to learn that the National Library of New Zealand’s (NLNZ) donation of over 400,000 books to Internet Archive includes a number of Australian books, many of which are still in … Continue reading International calls to stop New Zealand breaching copyright law

In August this year Book Guardians Aotearoa wrote to the Attorney General, David Parker, with these points: requesting that he cancel the Library's contract with the Internet Archivethere is a considerable risk that the books cannot legally be scanned and put online, thus denying access to the books by New Zealanders. The Tohatoha lawyer upon … Continue reading Letter to the Attorney General, and his response

John Key’s contribution to making New Zealand a smug hermit kingdom In a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black, former prime minister John Key recently accused current prime minister Jacinda Ardern’s government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic as tantamount to turning NZ into a ‘smug hermit kingdom’. Also that this is the … Continue reading Taking the North Korea Option