News Item

Many leading works on the Treaty of Waitangi are now available digitally via a single online “e-collection”, thanks in part to Law Foundation support.

In early April, Bridget Williams Books’ (BWBs) Treaty E-Collection went live, giving subscribers online access to significant works on the Waitangi Tribunal, Treaty settlements and histories of British conquest and Treaty claims.

The e-collection of 14 books and growing includes Dame Claudia Orange’s definitive series of Treaty publications, as well as works by authors such as Judith Binney, Vincent O’Malley, Alan Ward and Aroha Harris. It presently holds mainly BWB titles, but is being expanded to include titles by other publishers.

The project is winning plaudits – it’s been described as “a powerful new platform for reading, research and education” by reviewer Morgan Godfrey, who added: “for many, this may feel like the future of publishing.”

Of particular interest is the impressive use of online referencing in the collection – by clicking on cited resources the reader has the option to link directly through to an extraordinary number of related documents and publications.

Tom Rennie, who led this BWBs project, says more than 40 libraries have already subscribed to the e-collection, including city libraries, government agencies and educational institutions. Schools can access it via the Ministry of Education, as can the legal community through the judicial libraries network. It is through these subscriptions that the public can gain access to these e-collection books. The site can be viewed successfully on any device – tablets, smart phones and desktop computers.

Further information about BWBs e-collections

NZ Law Foundation contributed $15,000 to the production of BWBs’ Treaty of Waitangi E-Collection