Farmers' Trading Company (covering the period 19091987) The collection includes both local and national society records; some examples include: Ornithological Society of New Zealand Auckland Society of Arts Auckland Acclimatisation Society Auckland Amateur Operatic Society Auckland Choral Society Auckland Studio Potters Auckland Photographic Society The Library is the repository of the Presbyterian Church records for Auckland and Northland. About 600 manuscripts contain material by or about women. These provide fascinating insights into the lives of both pioneering and contemporary women, and are described in the Museum publication Womanscripts, compiled by Sue Loughlin and Carolyn Morris (1995). Nearly 300 manuscripts are described as being Māori or having Māori elements. Most of these are recorded in Jenifer Curnow's 1995 book Ngā Pou Ārahi, a tribal inventory relating to Māori treasures, language, genealogy, songs, history, customs and proverbs. Maps and plans The Museum is one of a small number of organisations in New Zealand which collects and cares for historic maps. The map collection contains large sequences of official New Zealand maps, WWII-era military maps, subdivision plans, and other material, including atlases, which helps record and provide evidence of early New Zealand development. There is also a small collection of significant maps relating to the discovery and exploration of the Pacific Ocean and islands by Europeans, dating from before 1800. Serials and newspapers Serials were the first collection items ordered by the Auckland Institute when it was formed in 1867. There are approximately 4,500 historical and current titles in the assemblage, excluding electronic journals. The extent, and in some cases uniqueness, of the Museum's holdings of historical and current journals makes their research value of national importance. The Museum holds the country's most significant collection of Auckland newspapers, based on a 1967 donation by Wilson & Horton of their historical Auckland newspapers dating from the early 1840s and supplemented by individual donations. The Museum contributes to the research site Papers Past, as well as to the national network of institutions that hold historical newspapers. Museum Library Te Pātaka Mātāpuna The Museum's own business and research archives (covering its governance, curation, exhibitions, education, publishing, building development and maintenance, and internal management) are housed alongside the above, and are accessed by way of the Museum Library Te Pātaka Mātāpuna, one of the country's leading heritage research libraries. The Library's collections of books and other publications are focused on New Zealand subject areas and are developed