At Wellington City Libraries we have a large collection of CDs (well over 20,000) for you to borrow for free. Whether Matmos or Minogue, Strokes or Stockhausen, RZA or AWB you may very well find just what you were looking for in our collection.
Browse online — try these searches for the latest CDs in these categories:
From February 1st 2023, Wellington City Libraries will be running a one year trial where all CDs will be free to borrow.
Like the hands-on approach to finding music? You can find our browsable collection of CDs upstairs at Te Awe Brandon Library, with roughly 5000 items available covering a wide range of genres.
Genres available at Te Awe include: Popular, Jazz, Blues, Metal, Hip-Hop, Electronica, Soul/R&B, Folk, Classical, Experimental, and World Music – and most of these genre splits are there for separate New Zealand and Wellington music collections if you want to keep it local.
A further 23,000 items are available to reserve from our storage facility, Te Pātaka – while you can't go through these in person, you can use our catalogue to filter down to the 'Off-Site Storage' collection and 'Music CD' formats to explore what's available. All items are free to reserve with a valid library card.
CDs are issued for 1 week, and can be renewed once for an additional week.
Once upon a time, most houses had a dedicated home electronic device that could play CDs through a home stereo set up or a television. However, the advent of music streaming services has replaced a majority of these physical devices and cars no longer come with CD players.
While we still have a diverse collection of physical media, we realise that some of our patrons no longer have a way to appreciate our extensive music and audiobook collections, so we are excited to now offer portable CD players for loan.
These free lendable CD players enable you to listen to our music collection and enjoy audiobook stories with your whānau - find out more on the service page below:
Vinyl, records, LPs – they're all the same thing, produce great sound, are once again in high demand, and Wellington City Libraries has vinyl available to borrow from selected branches.
Browse online — try these searches for the latest vinyl in these categories:
Vinyl are $1 to borrow for 1 week.
Browse vinyl on the shelves at:
Note: Newtown's AV collection is a much smaller collection, consisting of a selection World Music CDs and Wellington/New Zealand vinyl.
Or place a reserve (reserves are free), and have the album you're interested in sent to your local branch.
Libraries are no longer just places to get books. Need a PA system for a party, a speaking engagement, or a wedding? Playing a live or studio gig? Need to do some recording in the field, or hook up some gear to your laptop and make a new album at home? Our Libraries’ Music Equipment collection has what you need. We love Wellington music at Wellington City Libraries and we are here to help you make it.
To make a booking, fill out the Music Equipment form, telling us your details, specify the equipment you want to borrow (options below), accept the terms and conditions and a staff member will contact you to confirm your pickup time.
For a detailed list of the Terms and Conditions for borrowing, click through to the form above.
| Equipment | Charge to borrow | Loan Extension Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Big PA Kit | $200 for 4 days * Currently discounted to $120 | $50 per day |
| Small PA Kit | $50 for 4 days | $50 per day |
| AudioBox Kit | $30 for 4 days | $10 per day |
| Zoom Kit | $30 for 4 days | $10 per day |
| Microphone Kit | $30 for 4 days | $10 per day |
| The Deluge | $50 for 7 days | $10 per day |
| The PreSonus | $50 for 4 days | $10 per day |
Tūhura HIVE is the makerspace and sound studio, located on the lower ground floor of Johnsonville Library. The sound studio is available for you to come in and record and edit your musical and video creations.
Bookings are essential; to book please email us your name, and preferred date and time to:
The studio is free for the first two hours of usage, then is $19p/hr after that.
Browse local music and artists over on our Wellington Music Project site. This site is a tribute to the decades of music that have contributed to Wellington’s sound, a browsable portal to our physical CD collection, as well as a hub for all the bands & musicians releasing their music in a digital format. Browse the artist directory, or read artist interviews and more.
Access eMedia with your Library Card — eBook music biographies, streaming docos, eMagazines, tutorials and more. Have a browse of the resources below.
LinkedIn Learning – Audio and Music Online Training CoursesLinkedIn Learning is an online educational platform that helps you discover and develop business, technology-related, and creative skills through expert-led video tutorials.
Get the training you need to stay ahead with expert-led courses on Audio and Music. Topics include audio recording, editing, mastering, mixing, post-production, recording studio setup, and more:
Libby, by OverDrive – Music eBooks, eAudiobooks and MagazinesLibby, by OverDrive is our most popular source of eBooks, eAudiobooks and eMagazines.
Enjoy a good music biography or browsing music magazines? Read and listen to eBooks and eAudiobooks, or browse music magazines via the Libby app:
PressReader – Music MagazinesWith PressReader and your library card, you have same day access to full-page replicas of newspapers & magazines from NZ and around the world in 60+ languages.
Read music magazines, including Billboard, Rolling Stone, Mojo, Guitarist and more, on PressReader:
Beamafilm - Music DocosBeamafilm is a streaming platform that has a curated collection of international movies and documentaries, with a strong Australasian focus. They have over 500 movies to choose from and new titles are added regularly.
Watch music documentaries on Beamafilm:
Kanopy - Music docosKanopy is a streaming platform that focuses on thoughtful entertainment, including some of the world's best cinema. They offer over 30,000 movies, with new titles added every month.
Watch music docos on Kanopy (to use the link below, you’ll need to set up your Kanopy account first to browse what is available):
