The New Zealand Parliamentary Library and the Wider Development of Parliamentary Libraries over 150 Years

This paper discusses the development of the New Zealand Parliamentary Library in the context of other significant parliamentary libraries in the English-speaking world. There are four phases of development in New Zealand???s 150 years, which are also observable in other parliamentary libraries. The four phases are: getting established, building a strong library collection, supporting library functions, and focusing upon Parliament. This paper tells the story of one library???s development, highlighting the influences, connections, and similarities with other well-known examples. Although the world???s parliamentary libraries take varying paths because of the different cultures, parliamentary models, and national library frameworks in which they operate, comparisons can be fruitful.published or submitted for publicatio