Three funding rounds over 2022 and 2023 have provided grants to over 130 students to complete library and information qualifications. With 97 applications received in the October 2023 round of funding, 54 applications were successful. Over 50% of the grant recipients in this funding round are already working in or expected to work in school libraries. 
 
The total NZLPP-funded amount of $ 1.5 million has now been allocated, and no more funding rounds will be held. 
  
Students will complete undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications at Open Polytechnic Te Pūkenga, Te Wānanga o Raukawa, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington. The final group of successful applicants are expected to complete their studies in 2028. 
  
Of the grant recipients across all three rounds, around 25% are new to the library and information sector, and around 25% identify as Māori or Pasifika.

Learn more about becoming a library and information professional here. 

Annemarie Thomas has joined LIANZA as the project manager for Te Tōtara Workforce Capability Project. She has been employed initially until the end of June, and hopefully for a further six months from July 1. 
Annemarie joins us with considerable experience in national competency frameworks, operational, human resource and project management. She has qualifications in education, human resources management, health science, and project management. 
 
Annemarie has project-managed national competency framework development for registered and non-registered professionals in health and related workforces. Core to successfully adopting these projects were processes for engaging with stakeholders and valuing their knowledge, including Mātauranga Māori.   '

Annemarie will be responsible for engaging with thought leaders and sector organizations to promote the implementation of Te Tōtara workforce framework. In this role Annemarie will also research the interest of library and information organisations in using the framework, evaluating the current Te Tōtara online learning, and building on learnings from Whiria te Tāngata, He Kupenga Horopounamu and Kāpiti Coast District Libraries experiences.  

​The National Library of New Zealand has reached another significant milestone in their RDA journey with another load of policy statements to the RDA Toolkit. Following the January 2024 release, these are now visible at https://access.rdatoolkit.org/.
 
 
Where are the policy statements?
You can explore these statements in the RDA Toolkit via the link in the policies tab or by selecting ‘NLNZ PS’ from the menu at the top right of any of the element pages. If the NLNZ Policy Statements don’t appear in the drop-down list, you will need to ensure you have ticked ‘NLNZ PS’ in your Views.
 
 
What policy statements are included?
The NLNZ have loaded 98% of all the policy statements to the RDA Toolkit. The intention is to have policy statements at every element in the RDA Toolkit plus at all options on entity and guidance pages. If you don’t see any policy statements where you expect one, it is likely this is one of the few left to load.
 
 
What about supporting documentation?
With the January release they have published draft versions of some of their supporting documentation.
 
Throughout the NLNZ Policy Statements you’ll see references to the NLNZ Guidance. This is a document to support cataloguers to use the NLNZ Policy Statements in conjunction with the RDA Toolkit. When you follow this link, you will find a landing page within the RDA Toolkit, with a draft version of our guidance that can be downloaded. Please note that the NLNZ guidance is still a work in progress.
 
Other documentation made available with this release are:

• StaticNonAggregateText MAP (Our first format-based Metadata Application Profile (MAP) – this lists just the elements the NLNZ will use for describing a book)
• NLNZ Vocabulary Encoding Schemes (NLNZ VES)
• NLNZ String Encoding Schemes (NLNZ SES)
• NLNZ alternative arrangement of Manifestation: extent of manifestation
• NLNZ language guidance for RDA

 

What about training?
National Library cataloguers have recently completed the first phase of their Official RDA training. This first phase of training covers basic concepts, refreshing what is already known from Original RDA and introducing some new concepts.
 
A package of their training resources are now available. The package consists of:

• a plan for a seven-week programme of weekly discussions
• weekly prescribed readings and Niche Academy tutorials
• a further reading List.

 
This training plan assumes you have a subscription to the RDA Toolkit. Subscriptions are available through EPIC https://natlib.govt.nz/librarians/epic.

If your library is a Kōtui library you already have access. Details on subscribing directly are here https://www.rdatoolkit.org/subscribe and a free 30-day trial is available.
 
National Library cataloguers will be starting the second phase of training shortly and the training materials for this phase will also be made available.
 
Please contact [email protected] for a copy of the training resources or advice.
 
This is really exciting, where can I find out more information?
You can check out the December issue of Catapult (the newsletter of the LIANZA Cataloguing Special Interest Group) for a short overview of the work the National Library has been doing to prepare to implement the new RDA Toolkit later this year.
 
You can also email the National Library cataloguing teams at [email protected] if you have any questions about the policy statements, documentation, training or anything else!

In today’s increasingly digital world, digital literacy and computer programming skills have become valuable assets for young people in Aotearoa. Siobhan O’Connor from Code Club NZ writes in this article about how initiatives like Code Club Aotearoa and Recycle a Device (RAD) emerged to address this need, and now come together to make Code Club sessions accessible to a broader audience.
 
While Code Club does an excellent job of providing resources and guidance for young people who take part, there’s another crucial aspect to consider - access to devices. We know many tamariki and whānau don’t have access to devices or the internet at home. This is why we ensure every venue that signs up to host can provide them. However, not all venues can do so, and the last thing we want to do is limit participation, which is where Recycle a Device comes into play!
 
Every week, fifteen tamariki from west and south Auckland come together for an hour of coding at Glen Eden and Ōtāhuhu libraries. These are the settings for two of the first Code Clubs in Aotearoa, working entirely with devices sourced from our Recycle a Device program and Raspberry Pi gifted to us by genesmith.ai.

This article is an edited version of the paper presented by Reuben Love, ‘From the Ashes: LAGANZ’s Intergenerational Community Building’, presented at the LIANZA 2023 Conference. 

I am a project coordinator for the public engagement team at the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa. I also volunteer as a project coordinator for the Lesbian and Gay Archives of New Zealand Te Pūranga Takatāpui o Aotearoa (LAGANZ), which has recently transitioned into Kawe Mahara Queer Archives Aotearoa. Kawe Mahara means to carry the memories of our queer tūpuna and mokopuna of the past, present and future. It is a community archive in the Alexander Turnbull Library of Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa.
​
At the National Library in Wellington, the exhibition He Tohu stands as an example of archival justice and a mandate for archival justice. It contains the 1835 He Whakaputanga, the nine sheets of the 1840 Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Treaty of Waitangi, and the 1893 Women’s Suffrage Petition. These taonga have been saved from erasure to share their mātauranga with generations to come. The Waitangi sheet of Te Tiriti o Waitangi faces Parliament to hold the Government of the day accountable to its principles. This exhibition and the whakatauāki He whakapapa kōrero, he whenua kura guide the mahi and public programming of Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa and the work we have done and continue to do with our rainbow communities. 

One hundred and thirty years ago, when the Criminal Code Act was introduced, it meant says Chris Brickell, that “any sex between men, however much it was desired by the participants, would now be viewed as assault”. Criminalisation remained in place until 1986.

Kawe Mahara’s history since 1977 has been one of activism and community-building, collecting and disseminating resources, stories, histories and queer cultures among silences, to save lives from the silences of criminalisation and HIV and AIDS stigmatisation. Kawe Mahara gave life to and preserved the movement of Homosexual Law Reform, and the decriminalisation Act was finally passed almost a century later, in 1986.

Two months after the Homosexual Law Reform Act passed in 1986, two men tried to burn down the centre with cleaning fluid and issues of Australia’s queer magazine Campaign.
​
In an eerie echo of history, in 2022 two men burnt down RainbowYOUTH and Gender Dynamix’s drop-in centre in Tauranga. The harm of silence lives on as one of many threads of whakapapa that can bind us. It’s why we create memory archives, and it’s why we keep those archives alive. 

In her memoir In the Dream House, author Carmen Maria Machado writes, “What is placed in or left out of the archive is a political act, dictated by the archivist and the political context in which she lives. […] Sometimes the proof is never committed to the archive—it is not considered important enough to record, or if it is, not important enough to preserve. Sometimes there is a deliberate act of destruction. […] What get lefts behind?”

The problems of legislative timelines and legislative-based collections, indeed the challenges within a whare like Kawe Mahara Queer Archives Aotearoa, are the loud silences of archival violence.

This is not to say that work isn’t being done to address these silences. The Contemporary Voices and Archives (CVA) was established in 2021 at the Alexander Turnbull Library. CVA envisions contemporary collecting as an approach to preserving cultural heritage and a form of socially aware heritage practice if not activism. CVA practices collecting as a way of learning, of making meaning, by building collections believing in their power to act as agents of social change, focusing on marginalised and under-represented cultural identities, communities, events, concerns, and formats.

My work with the National Library’s Public Engagement team has allowed me to explore the questions: how can public programming work with and against archival silence? Even going beyond that, how can public programming do justice to archival silences?
​
Saidiya Hartman suggests one way of confronting archival violence – “writing history with and against the archive”. But this practice can be extended to oral history, strengthening whakapapa and creating new taonga – taonga kōrero. 

In our 2022 event ‘E oho! Mana Takatāpui’, Kassie Hartendorp talked about how whakapapa is not restricted to physical collections but is crucially formed through intergenerational kōrero:

Takatāpui has always been about the collective, it’s about bigger than just us as individuals, it goes beyond space and time, it stretches into the past, into the present, but also into the future as well because I think we often don’t talk about how takatāpui also form our own whakapapa and our own whānau and our own families. So yeah, I’m proud to have received this tradition, this kōrero, that was never offered, it was reclaimed, it was taken, it was held on to, it was resisted.

Intergenerational stories are the taonga, often in the absence and because of the absence of physical taonga. Stories are the bridges across institutional divides and bureaucracies, across the silences of collections, across the silences in education.

The need from our institutions is clear: let our communities in, and they will create the taonga. Our communities strengthen the neural pathways of history, and create new ones where needed.
 
If you would like to get involved with carrying Aotearoa’s queer memories and histories, contact us at [email protected].

Reuben Love (he/they) (Pākehā) is a kairuruku kaupapa with Te Pūranga Takatāpui o Aotearoa and a kairuruku kaupapa with Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa. They are excited by the potentials of weaving stronger queer connections between communities and institutions.

​Reading aloud is critical for helping children learn to read. However, many children have difficulties reading and become self-conscious, especially when reading in front of others. One solution used within libraries and schools is to have children read to a calm and friendly dog. The child’s fear of being judged or laughed at for their mistakes disappears, and their reading ability and self-confidence improve over time. They begin to associate reading with a pleasant experience. This article looks at ‘reading to dogs’ programmes in Aotearoa libraries.

WHY READ TO DOGS?
In 2009, Corinne Serra Smith, a doctoral student at National-Louis University, wrote her dissertation on the effectiveness of Sit Stay Read, a reading-to-dogs program used in select underprivileged Chicago Public School classrooms. Her goal was to measure if oral reading fluency increased in 152 second-grade students compared to 98 students who did not participate in the program.

Corrine’s research showed oral reading fluency increased by 20% in the control group, which confirmed the program's effectiveness. Qualitative results were also measured, proving the program's success with teachers and students. Teachers felt that Sit Stay Read was enjoyable for the students and that the children were calmer with the dogs present. Teachers felt the dogs were excellent listeners for the readers and helped them feel good about themselves. Students loved the program because it was fun and helped them enjoy reading. The programme's success comes down to the right dog and environment. A child’s relaxation can increase while reading as dogs listen attentively and do not laugh, judge or criticise. They allow children to proceed at their own pace and can be less intimidating than a child’s peers.

READING TO DOGS PROGRAMMES IN AOTEAROA

Wellington City Libraries initially ran a reading-todogs trial at Kilbirnie Library before establishing the programme in 2023. Slots were booked out quickly. Tamariki can bring in their favourite book or pick one with help from a librarian before they curl up with a dog to practice their reading, says Children’s and Youth Services Coordinator Stephen Clothier. “The aim is to help tamariki improve their literacy, self-confidence, and self-esteem in a relaxed and non-judgemental environment – after all, a dog won’t laugh at you or judge you if you don’t know how to pronounce a certain word, or if you trip up over your sentences.” “The feedback from tamariki and their parents has been really positive – I’ve personally received several messages of thanks from parents, and there was a real buzz in the library both days that the programme was on, with curious onlookers and excited children all thoroughly enjoying the experience.”

Stephen says that the physical environment is an important factor. By running the programme in a community venue like a library rather than in a school, some of the innate anxiety learners associate with the activity is nullified. Since the trial at Kilbirnie, Wellington City Libraries have run the Read to Kurī programme weekly at Kilbirnie and Johnsonville Libraries, with additional one-off sessions at other community libraries. “One of the best things has been seeing teens getting into the programme. When we first planned the programme, we anticipated it would mainly be younger tamariki and their caregivers, so it’s been wonderful that older tamariki and rangatahi feel comfortable and participate.”

​Christchurch City Libraries Reading to Dogs programme has helped hundreds of children since it was set up eight years ago, giving them confidence to read to a dog in a calm, non-judgemental environment. An initial pilot programme at Papanui Library quickly expanded to three locations each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday during school terms, with sessions booked out weeks in advance. This has now been reduced to two libraries. Keegan and Riley Salt took part in Ōtautahi’s Shirley Library Reading to Dogs programme and said about the dogs, “They are good listeners, and they help with reading. I’ve moved up a level in my reading now”.

Ngā Kete Wānanga o Ōtautahi Christchurch City Libraries Reading to Dogs programme is provided in a relaxed, non-threatening atmosphere that encourages children to practice their reading skills and develop a love of reading. The programme uses dogs who are now the beloved pets of the Christchurch City Council Animal Control team. All dogs are chosen for their exemplary behaviour around children and have been trained and tested for health, safety and temperament.

Napier Libraries have provided a reading to dog’s programme for a term and say it was well received and they will be running it again in term one this year. They found that some of their reading programme participants weren’t so confident doing check-ins with the librarians, so they wanted to introduce a programme where participants gained self-confidence and practised their reading in a carefree, calm environment. Their biggest challenge was finding an organisation to work with that provided therapy dogs to rest homes and other similar facilities. “It’s been so amazingly well received by our tamariki and their families. One participant is actually selectively mute, and his parent was amazed to see him quietly reading to the dog. His psychiatrist even praised the programme for helping his confidence,” says Napier Libraries’ Keelie Nye.

Hamilton City Libraries Reading Buddies programme began in 2017. Su Bradburn comments, “We had staff who were keen to set up a programme, including our director at the time, so having this encouragement from the top was very helpful as it wasn’t a cheap process.” It took over a year to set the parameters for the programme and to find dogs that might be suitable, the willing owners, and to have them assessed. Potential dogs were sourced through contacts in the local Dog Obedience Club and through suggestions from them. “We chose to run our Reading Buddies programme because we felt it was a way to engage children with interesting, novel and fun reading – after all, a dog is a non-judgemental listener. We’ve not yet come across a child who hasn’t (eventually!) loved it.”

For the programme's effectiveness, a blanket and a water bowl for each dog and a quiet space for reading are created. Chairs are provided for both the dog handler and the reader. Children are encouraged to bring a familiar book to read to the dog, but we have a supply of books just in case. Initially, it was a seven-week programme – week one was a dog safety session, then six weeks of reading to a dog. A pilot at a local after-school programme and feedback from that was very positive. From there, the programme ran several times in two schools and three libraries. “We found that the uptake was lower when running the seven-week programme at a library branch, and there was a higher incidence of no-shows. COVID put a halt to the programme for a couple of years.”

​In 2023, Hamilton City Libraries ran a weekly session at another local primary school, and it will run there again in 2024. The school speaks very highly of the service as it benefits their struggling readers. One-off sessions are also held at different library branches during school holidays, which are always very popular. A couple of outcomes from the programme – during one of the library rotations a child who was terrified of dogs and couldn’t even look at the dog at her first session, was comfortable reading on the floor right next to the dog by the end of the last session. Last year, an autistic child who barely spoke above a whisper at the beginning of the year, was reading aloud to Toby (the dog he loves) by the end of the year. 

Below, Hamilton City Libraries reading to dogs programme

Stoke Library, part of Nelson Public Libraries, ran a reading-to-dogs programme for around seven years until the volunteer dog owner retired. Billy and Billy’s human, Nicki, visited the library weekly during term time, contributing significantly to the Stoke community. It gave reluctant readers a positive reading experience, and children struggling to read grew in their ability and confidence. The usual checks were provided after Nicki approached the library to volunteer her and Billy’s time. The library staff assessed how well the dog coped during a busy time. Stoke Library plans to restart this programme with another volunteer and dog, next time linking with St John Therapy Pets programme.

Whakatāne Libraries have run reading-todogs sessions as part of their school holiday programmes as special Storytimes over the last ten years. The sessions provide pre-schoolers and primary school children with supervised exposure to pets/dogs and guidance on interacting with them and connecting to companion reading. Several dogs and owners have been involved, with the longest and most regular relationship ending in 2021. “After that, we were a bit nervous about revisiting doggie Storytimes too soon and only reignited them in 2022 with the labrador of a staff member,” says Whakatane Libraries’ Louise Anderson. “

In 2023, we had two sessions with the local Harmony and Hope Animal Rescue, and then a team member left to work for the local vet, so we have a second contact for doggie Storytimes. Establishing and maintaining the relationships is the most important part of this activity.”

Kāpiti Libraries ran a "Reading to Dogs" programme in 2023 and will continue this year. Like other libraries, the programme was set up to promote literacy and help children improve their reading aloud in a non-threatening environment. ​It also helps them feel welcome and comfortable in a public library. There has been good feedback on the programme. Children are more positive both towards the library and reading. Two locals trained the service dogs and volunteered their time. They will work with Canine Pet Therapy this year. A low-key and relaxing area for the dog and children is provided, and children can play with Lego while waiting for their turn.

FINDING THE RIGHT DOG AND HAVING THE RIGHT PROCESSES

Some libraries have tried dogs in libraries but struggled to find the right dog or sustain the service. Other issues occur in having a process in place to ensure health and safety.

One library introduced a vetted dog into the library and to a pre-school storytime session. This was successful, and the dog was then introduced to other sessions, including an adult group, children from the local High School Special Needs Unit and a class of 12-13-year-olds who regularly visited. The dog was not introduced as an aid for a specific literacy programme. It was a privately owned dog and the dog’s owner began to vary the arrangements for the visits. The programme was discontinued after the dog showed signs of being stressed. Library staff commented, “On reflection taking on an animal is a big responsibility. While we thought we were prepared (and we were so keen for it to happen), perhaps we were a bit naïve. And if there is a next time, we need to develop clear conversations around our expectations.”

Su Bradburn of Hamilton City Libraries says ensuring the safety of the children involved, staff, and the dogs themselves was paramount for their programme. The dogs underwent a rigorous assessment by an animal behaviourist – some were not considered suitable and didn’t make it into the programme. Wellington City Libraries work with Canine Friends Pet Therapy, which has systems for assessing the suitability of dogs for this programme. A rigorous three-stage assessment process covers dog suitability, handler suitability, and dog-handler interaction. The dogs and handlers must be approved by the Canine Friends Liaison Officer and a representative from the library after a face-to-face meeting. Canine friends Pet Therapy policy states that:

• Health and safety requirements of the school, library or facility hosting a programme must be signed off by a Liaison Officer either for an ongoing or one-off event.
• Any reading area must be separate from a classroom (school) and the public area of a library.
• No individual reading time should exceed 20 minutes.

Canine Friends Pet Therapy services are available in many parts of the country, and they are happy to work with libraries. You can email Canine Friends Pet Therapy at [email protected].

Keelie Nye from Napier Libraries said it took them 18 months to get their programme up and running. They wanted to find an organisation that could provide trained and reliable dogs. “After much searching, we came across Canine Friends Pet Therapy, which offers similar programmes at rest care homes and daycare centres. This gave us a trusted and reputable pool of dogs to work with who were used to working in this environment.”

Other libraries over the country provide Reading to Dogs programmes, including Palmerston North Libraries and Waikato Libraries. The growth in these programmes in schools and libraries is a testament to the programme’s effectiveness in aiding children’s literacy. Besides Canine Friends Pet Therapy, partners to consider working with when setting up these programmes are St John’s Pet Therapy or the local animal shelter.

REFERENCES
Christchurch City Libraries. Christchurch kids love reading to dogs (retrieved December 20, 2023)
Inklebarger, T. (2014). Dog Therapy 101-Expert advice to keep your program out of the doghouse
Napier Libraries. Reading going to the dogs (retrieved December 2023)
Smith, Corinne Serra, (2009). "An Analysis and Evaluation of Sit Stay Read: Is the Program Effective in Improving Student Engagement and Reading Outcomes?" Dissertations. 32.
Wellington City Libraries. Young ones reading to dogs does the trick (retrieved December 2023)
Amanda N. Coffman, Elana R. Bernstein, Susan C. Davies, Ann F. Justice (February 20, 2023). The Impact of a Canine-Assisted Reading Program on Readers Needing Extra Practice.
Therapy Dogs NZ