Library Launches Afrikaans Collection

Christchurch’s growing Afrikaans community will have ready access to books in their own language, with next week’s launch of the Christchurch City Libraries’ Afrikaans collection.

The Afrikaans collection will join books in Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Persian, Russian, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Thai and Vietnamese - making the new section the thirteenth in the Libraries’ World languages collection.

Libraries and Information Manager Carolyn Robertson says the Afrikaans collection will open with around 250 items - a mixture of fiction, non fiction and children’s material.

“We were originally approached four years ago with a request to provide books in Afrikaans,” says Mrs Robertson. “At that time we felt we could not support a collection, but since then there has been an increase in the number of Afrikaans speakers, and strong support from the Afrikaans community to have a collection. We’ve been able to revisit the request and meet the demand.”

The views of local Afrikaans speakers were sought to help Christchurch City Libraries decide what the collection would offer. The majority of items were then sourced overseas.

The collection, housed in the World Languages section of the Central Library in Gloucester Street, will be launched on Wednesday 25 June.

Media are welcome to attend the launch of the collection at 2pm Wednesday 25 June in the World Languages area on the first floor of the Central Library in Gloucester Street.

For further information phone Linda Harrison, Communications Advisor. Ph 941 6417 or 027 444 0996.