New partnership provides more access to NZ's history

The National Library of New Zealand’s search and data service DigitalNZ has a new partnership with Radio New Zealand that provides more accessibility to over 150 000 interviews and news items.

DigitalNZ’s head Andy Neale says the partnership with their 150th content provider in their sixth year is a huge milestone.

“It means people can link Radio New Zealand broadcasts with related material from TV, social media, and our libraries and archives,” he says. “It means New Zealand’s rich history can be shared and used in ways we can’t even imagine right now.”

“This partnership with DigitalNZ is exciting because more people will be able to discover Radio NZ audio, and use this to build and share collections that are relevant to them,” adds Richard Hulse, Radio New Zealand Head of New Media.

One sector that benefits from DigitalNZ’s content is education, where schools, universities and cultural institutions use the vast dataset of over 27 million items to interact and experience New Zealand’s history in completely new ways, says Neale.

“For example, the new content from Radio New Zealand mixed with our link to the new Network for Learning portal for schools means school children will have an additional channel to Radio New Zealand material.”

DigitalNZ is an international leader, with New Zealand one of the first countries in the world to establish a nationwide search infrastructure for its digital material. It also has the added benefit of improving access to New Zealand material that would be unlikely to surface on the first result page of a Google search.

“We were established because it was recognised that the digital revolution had changed the way people research, learn and access information,” says Neale. “Our website is a place where all New Zealanders can access meaningful material, connect with their past, find knowledge and be inspired.”