World Languages Collections

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:

Bilingual dictionaries

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:

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.

Akaroa Library
French
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
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.
Upper Riccarton Library
Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tagalog  plus children’s books in Dutch.

Language eResources

These are available online at any time.

Clear Pronunciation

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

Dragonsource includes hundreds of popular Chinese-language eMagazines that you can read online. All you need is your library card number and password / PIN.

Mango Languages

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

OverDrive includes a number of eBooks in Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Tagalog. These are free to download. OverDrive also has magazines from around the world in many languages including  French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Afrikaans, Italian, Russian and many more. All you need is your library card and password / PIN.

PressReader

PressReader gives you access to more than 2,000 newspapers and over 500 magazines from around the world, in over 60 languages.

Road to IELTS

This will help you prepare for the IELTS exam for both academic and general levels. All you need is your library card number and password / PIN

World Book Discover

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.

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