Some of our libraries have books and magazines in different languages.
We also have some books in different languages for children. These are found in the Children’s area of the library.
World languages in our collection
We have titles available in the following languages:
- Afrikaans, Afrikaans (children's titles)
- Bengali (children's titles)
- Arabic, Arabic (children's titles)
- Chinese, Chinese (children's titles)
- Dutch, Dutch (children's titles)
- Finnish (children's titles)
- French, French (children's titles)
- German, German (children's titles)
- Greek (children's titles)
- Hindi, Hindi (children's titles)
- Japanese, Japanese (children's titles)
- Korean, Korean (children's titles)
- Latin (children's titles)
- Persian, Persian (children's titles)
- Polish, Polish (children's titles)
- Russian, Russian (children's titles)
- Slovenian (children's titles)
- Somali (children's titles)
- Spanish, Spanish (children's titles)
- Tagalog, Tagalog (children's titles)
- Thai, Thai (children's titles)
Bilingual dictionaries
- Afrikaans
- Arabic
- Chinese
- Cook Island Māori (Rarotongan)
- Fijian
- French
- German
- Hindi
- Japanese
- Korean
- Niuean
- Persian
- Russian
- Samoan
- Somali
- Spanish
- Tagalog
- Thai
- Tokelauan
- Tongan
- Vietnamese
Te reo Māori and Pasifika languages
All our libraries have titles in te reo Māori in their Ngā Pounamu Māori collections.
Some libraries have Pasifika collections. Most of these books are for children. These include books in:
- Niuean, Niuean (children's titles)
- Rarotongan, Rarotongan (children's titles)
- Samoan, Samoan (children's titles)
- Tokelauan, Tokelauan (children's titles)
- Tongan, Tongan (children's titles)
Collection policy
We do not actively collect books in every language. For more information please see our World Languages Collection Policy.
Resources for newcomers
Are you new to Christchurch? Kia ora and welcome! We have many resources and services for you. Please look on our newcomers pages for more information.
World languages collections by library
World languages collections include adult fiction and non-fiction. Some children’s material is also available in these languages at each of these libraries. Please note that the children’s resources in world languages are usually shelved in the children’s areas.
- Aranui Library
- Niuean, Rarotongan, Samoan, Tokelauan and Tongan. A large proportion of this material is for children.
- Fendalton Library
- Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
- Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre
- Chinese, French, Japanese, Korean, and Russian.
- Hornby Library
- Chinese
- Linwood Library
- Chinese, Hindi, Korean, and Russian. Some of this material is for children.
- Papanui Library
- Chinese, Japanese and Korean plus children's books in Chinese.
- South Library
- Chinese, Dutch, German, Japanese, and Korean
- Shirley Library
- Chinese, and Japanese
- Tūranga
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Afrikaans, Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Polish, Russian, Samoan, Spanish, and Thai are found in the world languages collection on Auahatanga | Creativity, Level 4. There is also a small selection of magazines in the following languages - Afrikaans, Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese and Russian. Children’s books are found on Hapori | Community, Level 1.
Books in Niuean, Samoan, Tokelauan and Tongan languages are found in the Pasifika collection on Tuakiri | Identity, Level 2 . Most of these books are for children.
Language eResources
These are available online at any time.
Clear Pronunciation will help you learn to speak English clearly. The course has two stages: Clear Pronunciation 1 teaches you the sounds of the English language. Clear Pronunciation 2 helps you improve your speech. All you need is your library card number and password / PIN.
Dragonsource includes hundreds of popular Chinese-language eMagazines that you can read online. All you need is your library card number and password / PIN.
English for Health Professionals
This online course helps overseas trained medical professionals to meet the language proficiency levels required for registration in New Zealand. All you need is your library card number and password / PIN.
Mango has access to over sixty languages for those wanting to learn a language. It also has instructions on how to learn English.
All you need is your library card number and password / PIN.
OverDrive includes a number of eBooks in Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Tagalog. These are free to download. All you need is your library card and password / PIN.
PressReader gives you access to more than 2,000 newspapers and over 500 magazines from around the world, in over 60 languages.
This will help you prepare for the IELTS exam to an academic level. All you need is your library card number and password / PIN
This will help you prepare for the IELTS exam to a general level. All you need is your library card number and password / PIN
This covers all subjects from agriculture to zoology to help you learn English as a second language. All you need is your library card number and password / PIN.
