Pacific Online

Media release
For immediate release
28 July 2000

PACIFIC ONLINE

The Pacific Islands need never be remote again thanks to the National Library’s new web directory. Te Puna Web Directory links you with the latest information on New Zealand and the Pacific Islands at the click of a button.

The Directory will be officially launched today by the Minister of Pacific Island Affairs, Mark Gosche, at the National Library of New Zealand.

Chief Executive of the National Library, Christopher Blake, said: “Perhaps you want to keep up to date with Pacific Islands language newspapers, or find a Samoan telephone directory, the information is there at your fingertips, no matter where you are.”

“The launch of Te Puna Web Directory recognises that Pacific Island nations are New Zealand’s nearest neighbours, and that we have close links with them,” he said.

The Directory is the National Library’s online index of selected New Zealand and Pacific Islands websites. The Pacific Islands component is a particular bonus as current information is often difficult to locate.

“Unlike business and tourist oriented web directories, the Library’s Directory provides links to educational, research and cultural sites,” Mr Blake said.

Enhancement of Te Puna Web Directory will be an ongoing process. “There are about 600 Pacific Islands sites on the Directory and we’re constantly adding new ones as they come to our attention,” said Mr Blake.

Displays showcasing Pacific Islands material held in the Library’s collections are planned alongside the launch. Members of the public will be able to come into the Library and use Te Puna Web Directory, read Pacific Islands newspapers, and view heritage items on display in A Dip in the Ocean - Pacific collections at the Alexander Turnbull Library. Many of the Library’s regional service centres will also mount displays showcasing Pacific Islands curriculum resources.

Te Puna Web Directory is available free at: http://tepuna.natlib.govt.nz/web_directory

The following Pacific Islands have websites listed on Te Puna Web Directory:

American Samoa Marshall Islands Pitcairn Island
Cook Islands Micronesia, Federated States of Samoa
Easter Island Nauru Solomon Islands
Fiji New Caledonia Tokelau
French Polynesia Niue Tonga
The Galapagos Norfolk Island Tuvalu
Guam Northern Mariana Islands Vanuatu
Hawaii Palau Wallis and Futuna
Kiribati Papua New Guinea

Te Puna Web Directory fact sheets are available in Samoan, Tongan, Mäori, Cook Island Mäori, and English, and will be distributed to schools by National Library School Services.

ENDS

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