DALE WANG - UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY LIBRARY
I am Dale Wang (the ‘a’ in my last name rhymes with the ‘a’ in wand) has two children (Atticus and Aubrey) and I am the new team leader in the Engagement and Learning Support Team at the University of Canterbury Library. I've been a barista, a cabbage cutter, a school librarian, a finance and property officer, and now a team leader. With a Master's in Classical Studies, you might be tempted to think my love of libraries is primarily an archival and backward-looking pursuit. But I love libraries for their possibilities of creativity and innovation.
Poutoko Ratonga Kiritaki | Team Leader, Engagement and Learning Support
My position is an exciting and strategic one in the ELS team at the UC Library. Our team looks after front-facing services at both Puaka-James Hight (the Central Library) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Library on campus. I joined the team in 2021 as an assistant librarian with special focus on our burgeoning makerspace. I was later captured by the idea of leading an exciting and forward-focused team which supports teaching, learning, and research at my alma mater.
This position is about building the capabilities and operational effectiveness of the team during an exciting time in university’s development. 2022 has seen the central positioning and popularity of the library recognised by the wider institution as they have now moved student services into a ‘hub’ on our 2nd floor called ‘Te Pātaka’. Te Pātaka presents exciting opportunities and challenges to our mahi as it will both widen the diversity of people walking through our doors while also increasing pressure on our physical spaces. We have an exciting opportunity to rethink our services and how they connect with our tauira and academic community.
DIVERSIFICATION OF LIBRARY SERVICES
The diversification of library services in Aotearoa is a part of our continued journey as well. We have a new Makerspace (Te Rua) which has been taking off over the last year, and I am excited to support this space as it continues to grow and enmesh itself in our service delivery at UC library. From paper crafting to 3d printing, Te Rua is a lively and exciting area of growth that I am keen to continue to develop over the coming years.
At UC Library we have been on a long journey of refocusing ourselves from physical collections to learning spaces and I am also very excited about continuing to co-create creative spaces for our students to work, study and engage with each other. Our learning spaces are not just physical spaces but also our online spaces. Leading our team into multi-faceted and diverse engagement that encourages especially those who are reticent to engage in traditional library services is an exciting challenge I am ready to take.
I hope that over the next weeks, months, and years we can grow our team into a high-performance unit capable of focusing our student’s needs and supporting the world class education that UC offers.
Poutoko Ratonga Kiritaki | Team Leader, Engagement and Learning Support
My position is an exciting and strategic one in the ELS team at the UC Library. Our team looks after front-facing services at both Puaka-James Hight (the Central Library) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Library on campus. I joined the team in 2021 as an assistant librarian with special focus on our burgeoning makerspace. I was later captured by the idea of leading an exciting and forward-focused team which supports teaching, learning, and research at my alma mater.
This position is about building the capabilities and operational effectiveness of the team during an exciting time in university’s development. 2022 has seen the central positioning and popularity of the library recognised by the wider institution as they have now moved student services into a ‘hub’ on our 2nd floor called ‘Te Pātaka’. Te Pātaka presents exciting opportunities and challenges to our mahi as it will both widen the diversity of people walking through our doors while also increasing pressure on our physical spaces. We have an exciting opportunity to rethink our services and how they connect with our tauira and academic community.
DIVERSIFICATION OF LIBRARY SERVICES
The diversification of library services in Aotearoa is a part of our continued journey as well. We have a new Makerspace (Te Rua) which has been taking off over the last year, and I am excited to support this space as it continues to grow and enmesh itself in our service delivery at UC library. From paper crafting to 3d printing, Te Rua is a lively and exciting area of growth that I am keen to continue to develop over the coming years.
At UC Library we have been on a long journey of refocusing ourselves from physical collections to learning spaces and I am also very excited about continuing to co-create creative spaces for our students to work, study and engage with each other. Our learning spaces are not just physical spaces but also our online spaces. Leading our team into multi-faceted and diverse engagement that encourages especially those who are reticent to engage in traditional library services is an exciting challenge I am ready to take.
I hope that over the next weeks, months, and years we can grow our team into a high-performance unit capable of focusing our student’s needs and supporting the world class education that UC offers.