Give ’em a taste of library
Give ’em a taste of library is the name of the occasional radio programme produced and presented by Christchurch City Libraries and broadcast on Plains FM.
150th Anniversary programme: Remembering Jack and Edna
As part of our 150th anniversary celebrations, we have made a documentary profiling the pioneering work of Ernest Bell and Edna Pearce, two librarians who as Uncle Jack and Aunt Edna, created a children’s radio show in Christchurch in the 1920s.
The twenty-five minute programme contains details of how the programme came about, the format and content of the show, as well as its popularity. It also documents their major innovation - special birthday calls for children. There’s also a taste of library radio programmes from the 1980s and some clips of the official speeches announcing free internet at Christchurch City Libraries - our 150th gift to the citizens of Christchurch. The programme aired four times on Wednesdays at 12.30pm, from August 12 to September 2.
The programme was produced and presented by Richard Liddicoat and Marion Ogier of Online Services, part of the Digital Library team at Christchurch City Libraries.
Sound Archives Ngā Taonga Kōrero also supplied audio for this programme.
Music Month programmes
Two programmes were created for broadcast on community radio station Plains FM during May, using the name Give ’em a taste of library. The programmes are available online.
The programmes, broadcast at 12:30pm on 6 and 20 May, with repeats at 12:30pm on 13 and 27 May, explored the diverse and comprehensive range of musical resources available to anyone who has a library card and PIN, with a specific focus on New Zealand music. Information on becoming a member, costs of borrowing music and a guide to how the music collection is organised in each library was also included.
The first programme is a search for a Kiwi song with a fish and chip title: Harley Williams’s 3 fish, 2 hotdogs, 1 meat pattie, 1 spring roll and 2 scoops, from the album Kamikaze Fondue. In the second we discover the online music library Naxos, and speak to local musicians Fiona Pears, Paul Kean and Caroline Joy.
Both programmes feature musical quizzes and details of how to find out about live, local music performances in libraries as well as competitions for iPod products. The second programme also introduces Cate Broughton, co-ordinator of Christchurch City Libraries 150th Anniversary projects.
Staff involvement
The radio programmes were written and presented by online author Richard Liddicoat, with support from library staff Chris Brown, Aurelia Arona, Malcolm Foster, Joyce Fraser, Ken Ocock, Bernice Gregan, and Christchurch City Council marketing adviser Caroline Lucas. Programmes were recorded and produced in April and May 2009 at Christchurch City Libraries and the Plains FM studios. Online versions of the programmes can be found on the Plains FM website.
More on the floor at your library…
Detailed as the programmes are, they still only scratch the surface of what’s available in libraries – biographies, histories, ethno-musicology, children’s music, learning to play or sing – if you want to make music a part of your life, libraries are the place to start.
Playlists
The programmes feature a range of music and genres from the Christchurch City Libraries music collection:
| Artist | Song title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| Rangi Parker | Any day is Sunday | Kiwi Classics Volume 3* |
| Headband | I get high on music | Kiwi Classics Volume 6 |
| The Yandall Sisters | Broken hearted melody | Kiwi Classics Volume 3 |
| The Mamaku Project | Mal de Terre | Mal de Terre |
| Greg Malcolm | Happy or Upset | What is it Keith? |
| Harley Williams | 3 fish, 2 hotdogs, 1 meat pattie, 1 spring roll and 2 scoops | Kamikaze Fondue |
| Patea Maori Club | Ngoi ngoi | New Zealand – Our Land our music Vol. 2 |
| * This song is also used as link music throughout both programmes. | ||
| Artist | Song title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| Black Bolt and the Silver Ferns | Give ‘Em a Taste of Kiwi | New Zealand – Our Land Our Music Vol. 2 |
| Monte Video and the Cassettes | Shoop, Shoop, Diddy Wop, Cumma Cumma, Wang Dang | 25 Years of Kiwi Rock |
| The Bats | Excerpts from Hubert, Courage, Too Much and Supernova | The Bats at the National Grid and Thousands of tiny luminous spheres |
| Fiona Pears | Willow Tree | Fire & Light |
| Douglas Lilburn | Aotearoa | Excerpt streamed from the Naxos music library |
| Caroline Joy | New Zealand Dream | Is it You |
