Massey University Library Collections
Te Putanga ki te Ao Mātauranga (Massey University Library) acknowledges the right of Māori to their cultural heritage. We will develop best practice policy and procedures to safeguard the ongoing collection, preservation, and digitisation of, and access to, material in a culturally sensitive and inclusive way. Access to our print collection is available to everyone. Access to our digital collections is limited to Massey staff and students although a small proportion of databases are available to the public, and Tāmiro, our digital repository, is accessible to the world.
Collection Policies
- Library resources are provided to support the University’s current and anticipated teaching, learning, and research needs
- Digital formats, where available, are preferred for all resources
- Selection decisions are made by Library staff in accordance with the respective subject Collection Development Policies
- Lower use material may be removed from the open shelves and stored elsewhere
- The Library may dispose of, or cancel access to, material which is no longer relevant to teaching or research, or of value to the University
- Designated special collections of significance are developed and preserved
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Collection Development Policy (261 KB)
On this page:
Open Collections
Auckland Library:
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General Collection
The collection supports the teaching and research at the Auckland campus, and is primarily focused on business, social sciences, health sciences and the sciences. The collection comprises books, print journals, newspapers, reference items, and audiovisual material.
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Feature Films, Level 1
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Junior Resources Collection, Level 1
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Māori Land Court Minute Books, Level 3
The collection focuses mainly on the Māori Land Court districts close to Northland and Waikato.
More information about the Māori Land Court Minute Book Collection
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Ngā Kupu Ora Collection, Level 3
Books, print journals, and audiovisual material containing significant Māori content are held in the Ngā Kupu Ora collection. Items are identified by a mango-pare spine label.
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Pasifika Collection, Levels 1 & 3
A research collection of Pasifika material is under development. Items are identified by a frangipani spine label. The collection holds books, print journals, and audiovisual material.
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Short Loan Collection, Level 2
The Short Loan Collection contains text books and other high demand material which is available for either 2-hour or 3- day loan. This is a self-service collection with a self-check machine for borrowing and returns.
Manawatū Library:
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General Collection
This is a large collection with wide subject coverage of all disciplines taught from the Manawatū campus. Manawatū Library has the main humanities, social science and business collections and the collection is also strong in the sciences, in particular veterinary science, agriculture and horticulture. There are significant back runs of journals.
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Junior Collection, Level 2
The Junior collection of children's fiction, non-fiction, picture books and other junior material supports the Institute of Education.
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Māori Land Court Minute Books, Level 2
The collection focuses on the Maori Land Court districts in the lower North Island and East Coast.
More information about the Māori Land Court Minute Book Collection
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New Zealand Collection, Level 2
The New Zealand collection brings together materials with significant New Zealand content, from all subject areas. It includes books and journals in one sequence.
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Ngā Kupu Ora Collection, Level 2
The collection includes all items containing significant Māori content.
More information about the Ngā Kupu Ora Collection
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Short Loan Collection, Level 1
The Short Loan Collection contains text books and other high demand material which is available for 2-hour loan.
Wellington Library:
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General Collection
This is a generalist collection, with particular strengths in art and design, music (especially jazz), nursing and communications. It comprises over 135,000 books, plus print journals, newspapers, reference items, and audio-visual material to support the programmes offered at the Wellington Campus.
University Archives Collections
Bill Toomath Model Car Design Collection
The Bill Toomath Model Car Design Collection is one of the collections gifted to the University Archives for teaching and research purposes.
S.W. (Bill) Toomath was a Wellington architect and head of the School of Design at the Wellington Polytechnic from 1979 to 1989. His interest in car design led him to amass a collection that includes models of concept cars, vintage cars, racing cars, late model European luxury cars, as well as books and information related to cars and car design.
Selected items are available digitally on Tāmiro
Commemorative Publications
Massey University has published several books to commemorate aspects of its history. These books are a great source of information about the University’s predecessors, its people and milestones in its history.
View and download these books on Tāmiro
Massey University Collection
The Massey University collection includes the official archives of the University and material on its history and life on all its campuses. It also includes material about Massey's people and their research and teaching activities.
- Public records of Massey University and its antecedent institutions
- Public records of organisations affiliated with the University
- Historical documents and memorabilia of Massey University and its antecedent institutions
- Personal papers of staff and students
Selected items are available digitally on Tāmiro
Find out more about the collection
How to contact or visit the University Archives
New Zealand Institutions Collection
This collection comprises material from New Zealand businesses, individuals and community, and cultural and professional organisations. Many of these have links with the subject areas researched and taught at Massey University.
- Archives of businesses
- Personal papers of New Zealand individuals
- Archives of community, cultural, professional and other societies, clubs and organisations
The collection includes the Dairy Records Archive, an extensive collection of business records of dairy companies from across New Zealand. The archive often contains photographs and other material from the local communities of these companies.
Selected items are available digitally on Tāmiro
Find out more about the collection
Palmerston North College of Education Collection
This collection includes the official archives of the Palmerston North College of Education. The institution opened in 1956 and merged with Massey University in 1996. The collection also contains material about the College's students and staff, its history, and life on campus.
Selected items are available digitally on Tāmiro
Wellington Polytechnic Collection
This collection includes the official archives of the Wellington Polytechnic. The institution traces its origins to 1886 when the Wellington School of Design was opened. The Polytechnic merged with Massey University in 1999. The collection also contains material about the Polytechnic's students and staff, its history, and life on campus.
Special Collections
Bagnall Collection, Manawatū Library
The Bagnall Collection comprises the New Zealand and Pacific materials from the personal collection of Austin Graham Bagnall.
The late Graham Bagnall was a leading bibliographic scholar and a former Chief Librarian of the Alexander Turnbull Library. The Library purchased his collection in 1986 and continues to add items to it.
Items may only be used in the Library (some copying restrictions may apply). You can search for Bagnall Collection items in Discover, and can ask to view items at the Manawatū Library Service Point.
Auckland and Wellington: Please inquire at your campus library if you wish to view an item from the Bagnall Collection.
Selected items are available digitally on Tāmiro
J.W. Blackwood collection, Manawatū Library
J.W. (Bill) Blackwood (1929-2006) was Massey University Librarian from February 1983 until January 1991. His collection of around 60 books on the history and development of the printed book was gifted to the library in 2010 by his family, to be retained as a separate, named memorial collection. This closed-access collection is being added to as appropriate items come to hand.
Lauris Edmond Collection, Manawatū Library
This collection comprises the personal library of the New Zealand poet and author Lauris Edmond. Much of the content is 20th century New Zealand and Commonwealth literature. The collection, which has been kept intact, gives a valuable insight into the working library of a writer whose distinguished career included the Katherine Mansfield Memorial Fellowship, the Commonwealth Poetry Prize, and the award of the OBE.
Opfermann Collection, Manawatū Library
The Opfermann Collection focuses on German society and culture, 1914-1950. Strengths include architecture, art, chess, film-making, cinema, politics, foreign relations and warfare. The collection includes material on the 1936 Summer and Winter Olympics, family correspondence, and publicity photographs for German films of the 1920s and 1930s.
Selected items are available digitally on Tāmiro
Peren Collection, Manawatū Library
Sir Geoffrey Peren was the Principal of Massey Agricultural College when it was formed in 1927, and held the role for 30 years. This collection consists of his own working library - a mixture of older to (relatively) modern material. It focuses on various aspects of agriculture and animal breeding with a few natural sciences items.
Rare Books Collection, Manawatū Library
This collection includes scarce or unique books and manuscripts which fall outside the scope of the Bagnall Collection. The collection is strong in important material in agriculture, horticulture and animal and veterinary sciences. The Rare Books Collection also contains a number of books from the personal collection of the Shakespearean scholar and author G.B. Harrison.
Selected items are available digitally on Tāmiro
Veterinary Science Rare Book Collection, Manawatū Library
In 2019 this collection was formed out of the Veterinary Science Faculty’s collection of old veterinary books. Collected over a number of decades, many of the items are either old, fragile, or valuable, or a combination of all of these. Since then, appropriate items from the Library's Rare Books collection have been added, along with donations from retired veterinary staff, both from Massey University and from the wider New Zealand veterinary community.
W.M. Webster Porcelain Collection, Manawatū Library
This collection of mainly 18th century porcelain was bequeathed to Massey University in 1994 by W. (Wally) M. Webster, who was a lecturer in Veterinary Science here from 1935-1959. Viewing is by appointment only, weekdays 9am-4pm.