New Zealand. National Library Service

The National Library Service was one of the foundations of the modern National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa. According to the National Library’s history, the National Library of New Zealand was created in 1965, when the General Assembly Library, the Alexander Turnbull Library, and the National Library Service were brought together under the National Library Act 1965.

Earlier library history in New Zealand shows that the National Library Service itself grew out of efforts to widen access to books and information. Te Ara notes that in 1945 the Country Library Service and the School Library Service were amalgamated to create the National Library Service, reflecting a wider push to support readers, schools, and communities throughout the country.

Today, its legacy lives on through the National Library’s ongoing work: collecting and protecting New Zealand’s documentary heritage, supporting research and learning, and helping people access the nation’s knowledge. Because this is an institution rather than an individual author, a portrait image is not applicable.