- Are you totally comfortable in the public library environment and know your way around?
- Would you rather go anywhere but a public library to do your whakapapa research? Why?
- Have you, in the course of doing your whakapapa research, had a really great or really terrible experience at the library? Why was it great or terrible?
- Are there specific resources that you'd like your public library to have that it's not currently providing?
- Do you think that staff at public libraries have enough experience and training in the area of whakapapa research?
- Do you use library catalogues to help you find things in the library?
- What do you think public libraries should be doing to make life easier for people researching whakapapa?
- Anything else you're dying to get off your chest about public libraries and whakapapa research?
If any of these questions strike a chord with you, then please post a comment below or email me.
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4 comments:
Kia Ora Moata,
My name is Donna Semmens, a 38 year old mother of three. I started researching Whanau Whakapapa in October 2006. I'm not too sure if what i have to say is relevant to what you needed to know but here's a go anyway.
Now, I visited Whakatane Public Library once, during the first intense couple of months of my research.
My question to them was 'Did they hold Gazette Archives and the reply was No. The staff member was definately helpful in looking further on where I could get hold of those particular archives but i felt she was quite overwhelmed when asking other questions pertaining to Whakapapa Research. And constantly refered me to the Museums.
But what I did want to tell you was the extraordinary help I received from certain libraries via the internet.
I have received photos and korero pertaining to a Whanau tipuna by the name of Patara Te Tuhi which our Whanau have never known about. I have also received photos of him and his brother Honana Maioha from the Library in Australia and the St Louisiana Library(we had to crack up at that one!) in America.
All these libraries were very fast to reply and I am very grateful that they sent me, free of charge, photocopies of these photos, with the added option of applying for proper prints at a cost.
I will say that it is the financial cost that can slow one's search considerably. i have found the biggest cost is the Births Deaths and marriages. I find it ridiculous that they charge so much extra if you dont have the proper date of birth or death.
But other than that, I am moving back to Rotorua and I am willing to keep in touch with you with how I'm going with the Library there or anything else of interest to your project.
Ka Kite. Donna
Donna,
Really interesting to hear about your experiences and how surprising that you were able to find information so far afield! It just goes to show that when being a whakapapa detective you just can't rule out any avenue, you have to follow up on every clue you can because they can lead to you unexpected treasures.
In terms of your experience with librarians I can only say from my own experience that it is much easier to sound well informed, and therefore more helpful, in an email as you get more time to think about the problem and "come up with the goods". Who knows perhaps that explains some of it, but I do think that librarians who are not overly familiar with Maori enquiries can get unnecessarily flustered sometimes when they don't need to.
Kiaora The Maioha's Patara & Honana Te Tuhi Maioha came from Hokianga story goes one of those two brothers fought in the Taranaki wars they had another brother who stayed behind in the Hokianga His name was Piri Maioha he married Mere Huinga Amoungst other children they begat Hoani Maioha who married Makere Margaret Farley. Makere's sister Huhana Farley Married married 2x one husband being John Sheperd Stowell together they had Samuel Asa Stowell & Henry Matthew Stowell aka Hare Hongi who was a Maori Orator of Geneology and history of the Northern Region. These are the descendants of Paratene Maioha. Patara, Honana, Piri amoungst others.
Ma te wa
Kia Ora again i think i may have got it wrong Piri was Paratene Maioha's brother sorry from the north and the rest as it goes is history Paratene being Patara & Honana's father.
Ma te wa Eve
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