Te Kohinga Māori, the Māori reference collection on Level 2 of Te Puna Library, is a taonga for our students and staff. The collection is filled with mātauranga Māori books, including most of the titles from a specially-curated list named Te Takarangi.
The list of 150 titles in Te Takarangi was curated five years ago by Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, the University of Auckland’s Centre of Research Excellence; and Royal Society Te Apārangi as part of the Society’s 150th anniversary celebrations. Read more about Te Takarangi.
The list includes the first book published about the Māori language in 1815, to current Māori scholars, researchers and writers making their mark. It prioritises non-fiction publications and mainly monographs, however includes some periodicals, as well as language textbooks, dictionaries, and edited collections.
It profiles some of the earliest interactions between Māori and early Europeans and the first te reo Māori publications in the early 1800s, through to the first Māori tertiary scholars, university graduates and political and cultural leaders.
At the time the list was compiled, Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga chair Tā Tīpene O’Regan said,
“This is a powerful opportunity to celebrate together with Te Apārangi the long history of Māori scholarship that exists in Aotearoa. The cumulative weight of the research these books embody is outstanding, representing an incredible collection of voices of Māori inspiration for this nation, talking to us from the past and charting a pathway forward into the future.”
Unitec subject librarian Donna Salmon says, “When I recently checked the list of Te Takarangi books against our Unitec collection, I was delighted to see that we have most of these titles in our library.
“It’s a significant collection that we’re honoured to share with our staff and students, and through it they can connect more with Māori researchers and Māori communities.”
So proud of our library! Fantastic to know that we have these wonderful Māori taonga in our collection.