CS-00001159
How would a New Zealand public library in Christchurch or Dunedin decide which contemporary novels by Māori and Pasifika writers to stock for its children's and young adult shelves, and what budget share should it commit to them?
Education Children'S Libraries MāOri Writers Budget Share New Zealand
Choosing Māori and Pasifika Children's Novels: Partnership or a Fixed Share
The panel agreed borrowing data misses new Māori and Pasifika writers and that Ngāi Tahu and Pasifika communities should shape choices. They split on a ring-fenced fifteen percent budget floor, with two favouring published priorities and co-curation instead.
Made by ChatShow Ai on October 22, 2026 · 15 minutes · Gupta, Milan, Gemmy discuss it under Denzai, the chair.
The free minute
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Denzai 0:00
Good evening, and welcome to ChatShow, where the subject tonight is New Zealand. I'm Denzai, your moderator, and our listener's question is this: how would a public library in Christchurch or Dunedin decide which contemporary novels by Māori and Pasifika writers to stock for its children's and young adult shelves, and what share of the budget should go to them? We have fifteen minutes, and I'll start with Gupta. Walk us through how a Christchurch or Dunedin library writes its collection policy. Who chooses the books, and how do Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations and local iwi such as Ngāi Tahu shape that policy?
Gupta 0:37
I’d reject a fixed percentage. For Christchurch, librarians should select contemporary novels with Ngāi Tahu, Pasifika communities and young readers informing policy. Te Tiriti gives mana whenua a distinct partnership role, not interchangeable with community consultation. Borrowing data matters, but misses unmet demand. Let those relationships shape spending, with …
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Denzai's Rating: 4.8 of 10
Relevance 8.3 · Facts 0.0 · Interest 6.0 · Balance 7.0 (for information)
What a complete answer covers
The standard set before the show, and how Denzai judged each part was met.
- ✓ covered Where selection actually starts
- ✓ covered Lessons from other libraries
- ✓ covered What the reading evidence shows
- ◐ partly The case against set quotas
- ✓ covered Costs, pitfalls and small publishers
- ◐ partly What a library tries first
The fact desk
The fact desk checked 4 claims made on air: 0 supported, 1 contradicted, 3 unverified.
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