A research team (with Kathryn Sutherland, Marc Wilson, Meegan Hall, Claire Timperley and Emma Tennent), are part of an international project on the Academic Profession in the Knowledge Society (APIKS).  They are conducting a survey, the results of which will contribute to a project that so far includes results from 17 other countries.

Academic colleagues, could you please consider completing the online survey (it will take around 20-30 minutes to complete).  It can be found at https://nzapiks.com/ and here (for a link direct to the survey). Do tell your colleagues too. The survey will be open until 2 March

The project investigates the working lives of academic staff in universities around the world, and the team is seeking the participation of all academics in all eight New Zealand universities. Academics are crucial sites of agency within universities, with the ability to shape disciplinary boundaries and contribute to NZ’s ‘knowledge society’, but they are often neglected in research on the future of tertiary education. By asking about the experiences, satisfaction, and wellbeing of the varied people who teach and research in New Zealand universities, we can better understand what might attract academic staff to come to and stay in New Zealand universities, and what university workplaces might do to better alleviate the stress levels of their employees. 

This research builds on the 2018 book by Kathryn, Early Career Academics in New Zealand, expanding to include academics at all levels in NZ universities. The more academic staff who complete the survey, the more robust the data set will be for national analysis and international comparison.

For more information on the research and the research team, click here. 

You can contact the research team by email at nzapiks@vuw.ac.nz or the lead researcher, Associate Professor Kathryn Sutherland, by email Kathryn.Sutherland@vuw.ac.nz or phone (04 463 5795).  


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You can join the LIANZA webinar on the Marrakesh Treaty and it's implications for libraries on Wednesday Feb 26 at 2pm hosted by the LIANZA Standing Committee on Copyright, the LIANZA Accessibility SIG and guests at this Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/699965855 The meeting will also be recorded and made available on the LIANZA YouTube channel.

Please enter any questions you might have into this spreadsheet in advance to give the committee a chance to prepare.

​The Marrakesh Treaty is an international treaty which aims to help people who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print-disabled have access to books and other literary works in accessible formats. Over 60 countries have ratified the Treaty which allows the international sharing of accessible format works between these countries. This will allow access to more written works in formats such as Braille, large print or audio and help visually impaired people’s 'right to read'. ​

An estimated 90% of all written works published worldwide are not available in formats accessible to people with a print disability. This barrier affects an estimated 168,000 New Zealanders.  Kris Faafoi, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs stated that, 'the Marrakesh Treaty means an end to a ‘book famine’ experienced by many of New Zealand’s blind citizens, as they will now be able to access an international virtual library through global collaboration.'
The treaty’s provisions are designed to address problems such as long waits for authorisation or accessible format copies from a copyright owner, unreasonable restrictions imposed on accessible formats, and barriers to cross-border exchange of available accessible works that often result in duplication of production efforts.

Before any library creates, imports, reproduces or exports an accessible format copy it must first register with MBIE on MarrakeshTreaty@mbie.govt.nz

The information you need to provide to MBIE is the full name of your organisation and the contact details for a person who MBIE can contact if they have any questions. Your contact details will not be published.

The library must also:

• Notify the copyright owner that it intends to make a copy
• Respect the integrity of the original work
• Only provide the accessible format copy to a person with a print disability or someone acting on their behalf  or another authorised entity
• Keep records and permit the copyright owner to inspect these

 
Librarians should be aware that there is significant concern by authors and publishers that these electronic files may find their way on to the Internet and have an impact on the ability of authors to sell their books. You should make sure that you remind the print disabled person that you are making the copies for, that any further copying, posting on social media and sharing of these works with others will be a breach of copyright.
 
How can I find out more?
The full Marrakesh amendments to the copyright act can be found here.  
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If you have a specific questions you’d like answered please email the LIANZA Standing  Committee on Copyright: lianzacopyright@gmail.com

BoK Cluster 1 Understanding the Information environment.

​Article:

• Ashley Roach-Freiman & Joseph Winberry. “Opening Our Minds: Two Early Career Librarians. Two Roundtables. Where To From Here?” Tennessee Libraries 69.2 (2019). Retrieved from: https://www.tnla.org/page/69_2_Roach

Related references:
Code of practice and Professional Codes of Ethics for Librarians

• LIANZA Code of Practice. (2017). Retrieved from: https://lianza.org.nz/about/what-we-do/lianza-organisational-publications/
• The value of ALA membership. (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://www.ala.org/membership/become-ala-member

 
Questions:

1. Do you think the themes from the discussion in Roach-Freiman and Winberry’s article apply to us in NZ and the tertiary library sector?
2. Are the challenges for early career librarians to get involved in their professional organizations from the article relevant to us?
3. With more professional staff joining in tertiary libraries, e.g. public relations, marketing, information technology, and more, what’s the attraction to join a library association such as LIANZA?
4. Is LIANZA practice and its history a part of your library’s induction? Why and why not? 

• The 100 Worst Ed-Tech Debacles of the Decade — #82 . ​Libraries haven’t gone away — they’re still frequently visited, despite dramatic drops in public funding. More and more public libraries have started eliminating fines too because libraries, unlike Techcrunch writers, do care to alleviate inequality.​ READ MORE >

• New-age librarians embrace new technologies to accommodate growing communities needs. For Australian children the library used to be a wonderful, magical place full of adventures, books, and the ever-lingering stern-faced librarian. But libraries are evolving, and so is the job of the librarian. READ MORE >

 

• America Has a Digital Skills Gap. Libraries Can Help Fix It. The tools of the digital age—computers, the internet, online training programs—are sometimes branded as a threat to the public library’s relevance.  READ MORE >

 

• Thank you to ... the librarian who saved my life before I knew it needed saving.  Kerry Hudson remembers the librarian who was always a kind, constant, gentle presence. READ MORE >

 

• But, Nobody Uses Libraries Anymore!! Except more people visit their library than attend the NFL, NHL, NBA, Nascar, or the movie theater COMBINED. READ MORE >

 

• Advocacy, an essential tool in helping teachers understand why they need school librarians. READ MORE >

 

• Libraries in Australia booming in digital age. They are experiencing a renaissance after major makeovers and adapting to technology. READ MORE >

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• Libraries Are Even More Important to Contemporary Community Than We Thought. And They Should Be Funded Accordingly. READ MORE >

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• Shelf Love: Several Fascinating Facts About Libraries. Libraries.  READ MORE >

New Zealand libraries have the opportunity to assist efforts to care for injured Australian wildlife by acting as venues for the many sewing/crochet/knitting bees being arranged by people around New Zealand who making bat wraps, kangaroo pouches and other items requested by wildlife carers in Australia.  

EDIT - DUE TO A HUGE RESPONSE THIS PROJECT IS ON HOLD

One of the suggestions from Australia is that if people wish to keep crafting while they assess the current situation, that crafters can make toys in the shape of any Australian animal and hold an event, a coffee morning, fete etc and sell them off. Charities where the money can be donated will be listed in the next update.