See below for news and updates happening in the library.

Kia ora,

I am looking forward to a long summer of reading after another action-packed year in the library. This summer I will have no shortage of reading material as, thrillingly, I have been selected to be on the English/bilingual judging panel of the 2023 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.

Kenna, Ruth and I have added over 1200 physical books to our collection in 2022 with the help of Students in the Community and William Pike Challenge volunteers. We have enhanced our digital collection of eBooks and eAudiobooks available through our Wheelers ePlatform. Students and staff now have access to over 2300 eBooks and 1000 eAudiobooks, including a carefully curated Wellness collection. We have updated our library page at library.mtaspiring.school.nz with links to more resources and have a fresh page on the school’s new-look website.

We were delighted to celebrate the inaugural Aotearoa New Zealand School Library Week with activities and competitions. We created a plethora of library displays throughout the year. Amongst others, we celebrated Matariki, supported Schools Pride and Out on the Shelves, promoted Mental Health Awareness Week, raised awareness of censorship with a display of Banned Books, promoted prize winning New Zealand books, and supported the White Ribbon Campaign.

We have issued around 7000 physical books (up 2%), 800 eBooks (up 40%), and 230 Audiobooks (up 190%). Our most popular book overall, and most popular graphic novel series was Heartstopper by Alice Oseman. Heartstopper started as a web comic, and you can access it online on webtoons through a link at library.mtaspiring.school.nz.

Wings of Fire by Tui Sutherland was our most popular fiction series and our most popular manga series was Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto. Our most popular eBook, again, was One of us is lying by Karen M. McManus.

Our best borrower for 2022 issued over 100 eBooks!

You can access our MAC ePlatform digital collection 24/7 wherever you are. Sign in using your MAC login through the link on our library homepage, library.mtaspiring.school.nz, or download and install the Wheelers ePlatform app on to your device, select Mount Aspiring College Library, and then sign in using your MAC login. There are some awesome new additions to the digital collection in time for the holidays, including rugby sensation Ruby Tui’s autobiography Straight Up and You Don't Know What War Is by Yeva Skalietska, which is a 12 year old’s perspective on the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Happy summer reading!

Ngā mihi,

Maia