Fight for a
Spare copy
Prince Harry’s new book Spare is flying off shelves in Wairarapa. Lower North Island libraries [excluding Wellington City] ordered more than 30 copies of the book for circulation. A Masterton Library staff member said yesterday the book was yet to arrive but there had already been “heaps and heaps of reserves”.
“The last time we had this much demand would’ve been the book by Michelle Obama.”
Meanwhile, Hedley’s Books owner David Hedley said sales were well above expectations. “It’s probably the most popular after Ruby Tui’s book. We’ll be sold out very quickly.”
He said people from all walks of life and all ages were purchasing Spare, although slightly more women than men were buying it. Mrs Blackwell’s Village Bookstore manager Phillip Matthews said there were a lot of pre-orders and was anticipating a sellout. “We haven’t had queues and queues. We’re expecting huge sales over the weekend. It will definitely be sold out during the course of the weekend.”
Archive ready
to open again
After several years and a month-long shutdown, Wairarapa Archive has finally reunited with its extensive collection.
Library and archive manager Tiffany Rawlings said staff were delighted to be back with the collection in a fit-for-purpose environment. “It has been several years since archive staff and the collection have been co-located, and they’re really happy to be back with the collection in a space that’s safe to store it, and much easier to access.”
Masterton District Council said the archive staff and collection were separated after the previous site was found to earthquake-prone, with staff relocating to the Library Learning Centre.
Meanwhile, the collection, which spans oral and written records and over two million photographs relating to Wairarapa remained at risk from several leaks. “Ours is an enviable archive. I know our team is looking forward to continuing to document and preserve our district’s history in this new space,” Rawlings said. Wairarapa Archive is now located at 3 Albert St, Masterton and is open from 1-5pm on weekdays. The Archive officially re-opens on Monday, January 16.
