Waiamakariri Libraries created an amazing Māori Language Collection called Ako Collection to help you explore and learn more about Te Reo Māori.
A range of apps that make using the library easier.
Grab your library card, remember your PIN number and jump right in!
Award Winners
Waimakariri Heritage website - a place to conserve and curate community memories and taonga.
To assist teachers, Waimakariri Libraries have a feast of resources available to help teachers feed students who are hungry for knowledge.
Celebrate National Poetry Day with Waimakariri Libraries this year from the comfort of your own home, with a treasure trove of poetry for you to enjoy from our e-Library.
Check out this incredible selection of New Zealand Poetry available as e-Books on Borrow Box:
How to Live by Helen Rickerby, Winner of the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2020, Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry.
Funkhaus by Hinemoana Baker, Shortlisted for the Ockham Book Awards New Zealand 2021, Mary and Peter Biggs Award for Poetry.
Far-Flung by Rhian Gallagher, Longlisted Ockham Book Awards New Zealand 2021.
Or listen to poems by some of the most legendary poets of all-time as e-Audio Books on Borrow Box:
Book of Longing by Leonard Cohen, read by Leonard Cohen. Book of Longing demonstrates the range and depth of Cohen's work, revealing an extraordinary gift of language that speaks with rare clarity, passion and timelessness.
The Great Poets: Walt Whitman, read by Garrick Hagon. Seer, prophet, visionary, preacher, Walt Whitman expressed a uniquely democratic vision that engulfs not only the American continent but the entire universe.
Les Murray: Selected Poems, read by Les Murray. This selection comprises what Les Murray considers his most successfully realised poems, drawn from all his collections up to and including Biplane Houses but not including his two verse novels.
For young adults, there is an excellent selection of poetry available using the Libby App from Overdrive:
You can read and listen to Swing, and Solo, as eBooks, and eAudio. These powerful and rhythmic verse novels are New York Times bestsellers, by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand.
The Libby App from Overdrive also has an excellent poetry selection for children:
His Shoes Were Far Too Tight, Poems by Edward Lear: This charming book proves that, sometimes, there's nothing children need more than a healthy dose of nonsense!
The Roald Dahl Treasury is a delightful collection by and about the World's Number One Storyteller, featuring stories, poems, memoirs and letters galore all wonderfully illustrated by Quentin Blake.
Button Up! Wrinkled Rhymes: the outfits in this book are brought to vivid life by Alice Schertle's wry poetry and Petra Mathers's exuberant cast of young animal characters.
Get inspired by these poetry recommendations and enter our Poetry Competition:
Dig deep, put pen to paper, and share your best poetry with us! Entry is free and open to all ages.
Submit your poem between 3–23 August at any Waimakariri Library. Alternatively, you can email it to: learningconnections@wmk.govt.nz
Winners will be announced on National Poetry Day, 28 August, and will have their work on display in the libraries and receive a book voucher.
For more information about our National Poetry Day activities and events in WORD Christchurch 2026, go to our news item Celebrate National Poetry Day with Waimakariri Libraries.
