From the Desk of the City of Literature

One of the most exciting aspects of my new role working on the City of Literature initiative is admiring all the wonderful work already well underway across the whole arts community and notably in Dunedin Public Libraries. 

Many areas in the City Library have embraced our new designation in practical and creative ways. Library users are greeted on the ground floor by a vibrant display of irresistible local titles proudly dressed in purple labels. The nook is welcoming and the seats in front of Colleen Marshall’s elegant display are usually happily occupied.

I’d also like to celebrate the work of Linda Geddes and Andrea Simonsen and their astute team members who identify new City of Literature titles as they arrive. Insightful specialist cataloguers, Alan Baker and Olga Hemmingsen, are undertaking on-going retrospective work to capture existing titles on the shelves. An astonishing number of books have already received the City of Literature logo and additional catalogue line to delineate what Andrea calls the new ‘Cit Lit’ genre. 

If you enter the words ‘Dunedin City of Literature’ the online catalogue will bring up nearly 700 titles (and growing) from a wide range of genres, with the usual filters available to refine your search ‑ a thrilling total, with countless more to come!