New Plymouth, Puke Ariki Museum/Library
Trip Start
Aug 29, 2004
1
4
6
Trip End
Sep 07, 2004
New Plymouth, New Zealand
Saturday, September 4, 2004
new cultural jewel, Puke Ariki, "Taranaki's new heritage and information centre [that] harnesses the state
of the art museum and library technologies to convey the spirit of [the] Taranaki [region]." The complex
also contains an art gallery, visitor information service, gift shop and restaurant. There are museum artifacts
included in the library (I couldn't tell if they were linked to the books around them; this could be a missed
opportunity and "infopods" in the museum with links to library resources. The children's area was
especially well done. They used projectors to place shapes such as planets, Maori images, and animals on
the floor-right at child level. The shelving and fittings were again grey and industrial-looking, but nicer,
classier, and seemingly of better quality. The complex is open 364 days per year. They have recruited
commercial and governmental sponsors for various areas, with prominent displays by them. It was all very
beautiful, but not quite the seamless cultural heritage center that I hope it will become with time. While in
New Plymouth I visited the Taranaki District Health Library and its OPL, Frances Pentelow. It is a
small library in an aging health institution, but effective.
