API examples in use

The DigitalNZ API enables developers to find and query data from across the New Zealand cultural, education, and government sectors and create to new digital experiences. Here are some of the things people have made using our API. 

If you think we’ve missed your example of using the DigitalNZ API contact us and we will include it here.

ExhibitExplorer

ExhibitExplorer bot on Mastodon.

ExhibitExplorer is a Mastodon-based bot that periodically posts random items from museum, library, and gallery collections. In January 2024 the bot added a selection of DigitalNZ content partners, using the API to source and share collection items.

Kōtuia ngā Kete

Kōtuia ngā Kete home page

Kōtuia ngā Kete is a collection-sharing site developed by National Services Te Paerangi, a team at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. The website uses the DigitalNZ API to connect collections from museums, galleries, and whare taonga across Aotearoa New Zealand.

National Library of New Zealand website

Image search results page of the National Library website

The DigitalNZ API powers the search experience on the National Library website. It enables visitors to search across items in the various National Library of New Zealand catalogues as well as the Alexander Turnbull Library's unpublished collections.

CEISMIC

The homepage of the CEISMIC website

The Canterbury Earthquake Digital Archive (CEISMIC) is a comprehensive digital archive of video, audio, documents and images related to the Canterbury Earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. CEISMIC's collection search is powered by DigitalNZ.

WW100

Homepage of the WW100 website

The WW100 Centenary website uses the DigitalNZ API to help people find images, audio clips and video relating to New Zealand's participation in the First World War.

Europeana 1914-1918

Homepage of the website Europeana 1914-1918.

Europeana 1914-1918 brings together resources from libraries and archives with memorabilia from families throughout Europe. Europeana uses the DigitalNZ API to source images, films, and historical materials that relate to New Zealand's involvement in the First World War.

Any Questions/Many Answers

Home page of the Any Questions website.

Any Questions is a website where librarians help students with their inquiries via web-based chat. The answers to the most popular questions are kept and made available via Many Answers, and the DigitalNZ API powers this search.

Kauwhata reo

Search results on the website Kauwhata reo.

Kauwhata reo, a website managed by the Ministry of Education, provides access to resources for learning te reo Māori. The website is a portal to new learning resources, as well as content from Te Kete Ipurangi, and further search results provided by the DigitalNZ API.

Historical New Zealand

Three views of the iPhone app Historical New Zealand.

Historical New Zealand is an iPhone app that reveals historical photos (via the DigitalNZ API) on an interactive map – in your current location or anywhere in the country. A fascinating and fun insight into the past for locals and travellers alike.

Tim Sherratt’s (DigitalNZ) GLAM workbench

Graphic showing open collections on DigitalNZ.

Tim Sherrat's Jupyter notebooks are a collection of tools, tutorials, and examples of interesting uses of the DigitalNZ API. Jupyter notebooks combine narrative text and live code in an environment that encourages you to learn and explore.

QueryPic

Line graph showing newspapers articles by date.

QueryPic is a digital humanities research tool for seeing, searching, and understanding the digitised newspapers made available by Trove and Papers Past. The Papers Past data is queried through the DigitalNZ date facets feature.

Culture Collage

Culture Collage web page showing multiple thumbnail images.

Culture Collage is an experiment in presenting digital content as a continuous river of imagery. Culture Collage uses several cultural heritage APIs, including DigitalNZ, to create a truly international tool for visual exploration.

Metadata Explorer

Home page for Image Aotearoa.

Image Aotearoa is a visual search tool that allows user to easily search or discover by chance images held in many of New Zealand's top heritage organisations - aggregated using the DigitalNZ API.

Sourcera

Pop art item on the website Sourcera.

Sourcera allows you to highlight text in a document or presentation and use it to search and embed images from DigitalNZ, Europeana, and other archives and libraries from across the world. The images then come complete with reuse and caption information and a link back to the source.

New Zealand Institute of Economic Research

Search result on the NZIER website.

James Horgan, Senior Economist at the NZIER, used the DigitalNZ API to explore the language used to describe housing in Aotearoa over time. Tracking terminology via collections such as Papers Past, Horgan found that housing has changed from being described as a public and community good to an investment or an asset.

Embedded Widgets and Custom Related Search

Many institutions either integrate DigitalNZ-sourced content into their own search results or embed a mini DigitalNZ search engine to help their visitors find related content across other collections. Here are some examples.

Institution Description
Auckland War Memorial Museum Auckland Museum's online collections comprise more than one million items covering the natural sciences, human history, and documentary heritage.
Auckland Libraries Heritage Images Search Heritage Images to find over 100,000 images from the photograph and map collections of Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries.
NZ On Screen NZ On Screen is a showcase of classic NZ television and film. View programmes, and find out about the people who made them.
The Prow A website featuring historical and cultural stories from Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough.
Visualising Māori Land A prototype tool for accessing and interpreting environmental information about Māori land.