Are you passionate about literature for children and young adults?

LIANZA is calling for expressions of interest in the position of LIANZA representative on the New Zealand Book Awards Trust (NZBAT) for the next three-year term 2019-2021. This board position was created in 2015, as part of the transfer of LIANZA Children’s Book Awards to NZ Book Awards Trust. LIANZA and NZBAT are working actively together to enable the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults (NZCYA) to continue to flourish. The trustee will also represent the interests of LIANZA and librarians in the other properties NZBAT governs, including the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards and Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day.

What are we looking for?
A LIANZA member with:
·         A passion for and knowledge of great literature, particularly for children and young adults
·         Commitment to hands-on engagement with the awards
·         A strong network within the library and information profession
·         Governance or senior committee membership experience

What are you committing to?
·         Attend regular board meetings (usually three to four a year) both in person and by phone conference
·         This is an operational board and the role will require a commitment averaging 5-10 hours per month.
·         Attend two face-to-face meetings each year either in Wellington or Auckland.
·         Sit on a least one sub-committee , which will involve up to three phone conference meetings a year
·         Help with the delivery of the various properties managed by the NZBAT
·         Facilitate communications between NZBAT and LIANZA members
·         Report on a quarterly basis to LIANZA Council

Your travel costs to meetings will be paid by LIANZA.
If you are keen to assist LIANZA and NZBAT to grow the profile of the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults and the Trust’s other properties, this may be a great professional opportunity for you!
The New Zealand Book Awards Trust was established as a charitable trust in 2014 to govern and manage the country’s two major literary awards and National Poetry Day, and to ensure their longevity and credibility. Other trustees comprise representatives of the Publishers Association of NZ, Booksellers NZ and the NZ Society of Authors, plus four independent trustees. To find out more about the work NZBAT does, visit http://www.nzbookawards.nz/.

Your expression of interest should include your CV and a covering letter outlining what you could offer the trust and be sent to [email protected] by Friday May 3.
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If you have any questions about this opportunity please contact:
Ana Pickering
[email protected]

I count it a great privilege to be one of Te Puna’s independent trustees, to be part of a team charged with enabling the Library’s crucial work to have even greater reach and impact across Aotearoa New Zealand. It’s especially satisfying – genuinely exciting – to be able to celebrate tonight this grant of $1 million dollars for the immediate implementation of the Communities of Readers project – the first initiative in the National Library’s 10 year strategic aspiration to grow a Nation of Readers – a nation that reads for pleasure.

For myself, active support of this aspiration feels both a natural – and urgent – part of being a reader and writer and citizen in Aotearoa – because of course, I am, like all of you here, acutely aware of my extreme good fortune in this regard. I was a child comprehensively formed by language and narrative, a child that books built, to borrow Francis Spufford’s words. We’ve known for some time now that a distressing number of the nation’s tamariki, their whanau, and their communities don’t attain this fundamental right and benefit. Recent New Zealand literacy statistics paint a very concerning picture. There is increasing evidence, too, of a decline in reading for pleasure. We’re all aware of the complex interplay of economic, social, and political reasons for this state of affairs and we’ve all in our ways mourned it, knowing as we do – in our hearts – that reading for pleasure is oxygen, nourishment of a high order. But what to do? 

What I have found so galvanizing – and what buttresses the National Library’s bold ‘Nation of Readers’ strategy – is the considerable body of research now available that tells us for a fact what we feel we’ve always known: 

* Reading for pleasure is absolutely vital to sustain comprehensive literacy – including digital literacy. But the findings go way beyond the attainment of literacy –
* Reading for pleasure, the research tells us, is vital for the development of social and cultural capital, for the economic success of individuals and communities. It is a key element in busting out of the poverty cycle. Reading for pleasure is more important for children’s educational success than their family’s socio-economic status or their parents’ level of education. 
* Reading for pleasure is very important in the development of empathy.
* Reading for pleasure greatly assists the development of personal and community wellbeing.

That sounds to me like the seeds of a reading activist manifesto. A thrilling prospect. If we can now say confidently that it is axiomatic that reading for pleasure helps build a better person and better communities, then tonight’s funding announcement and the work it will enable is a highly significant development. The ‘Communities of Readers’ initiative will build on work that National Library has been doing for decades, both directly supporting literacy and reading in New Zealand schools, and working with partners across the library, education and literature sectors, and the book industry, to increase access to reading opportunities for our young people. National Library knows where the barriers to creating reading rich environments lie; it’s librarians know well that community networking and investment, particularly in the nexus of schools, families, and public libraries is foundational to the Nation of Readers strategy. Thanks to the Minister, this investment and the community-based reading rebuild begins now. 

I guess I think of tonight as a rallying of the faithful, those of us who inhabit the reading ‘faith’, those of us who – personally, and through our various organisations – will be able to spread the Word, as it were – commit reading activism. And to stretch the metaphor, if National Library – our library – is the House of Reading, then all of us in the language and narrative ecosystem are potential evangelists in this dauntless Nation of Readers mission. 

Like many writers in Aotearoa, I’ve spent a good deal of time in schools over the years, courtesy of the New Zealand Book Council, most often doing writing workshops with students and teachers. Increasingly – as reading has been nudged and displaced by devices – I think of those workshops as an opportunity to focus on reading pleasure; in any case, reading is a sine qua non for writing well. It’s always interesting to ask students – whatever their age and stage – why they think reading’s important, or at least why their teachers think it is. Hilarious how often they say it is to teach you spelling. But actually, every class will find its way to articulating reading’s many benefits, and often they express it with the simple cogency of the young: reading, they say, can describe your world; it tells you things you don’t know, it tells you about others, it shows you how story works, it builds your vocabulary. In one way or another students will tell you that reading is, at its best, both a mirror and a window. For myself, it’s the ‘building vocabulary’ bit that seems increasingly crucial. Gathering and storing language. Naming and therefore enlarging your world and what you might ask of that world.

It is a sorrowful fact that some children in Aotearoa arrive at school with a vanishingly small vocabulary. They haven’t been read to; they may barely have been spoken to. This is an intolerable inequity and the Nation of Readers vision seeks to address it.  You could say that at its most fundamental, the Communities of Readers project will begin the process of equipping and empowering our communities with an abundance of language, and therefore, possibilities. 
The American children’s writer, EL Kongisburg put it this way: ‘I bring all of my adulthood to my writing for children. I make every effort to help children hear the language of my culture, a culture that reaches into the past and stretches over the present. Because, language not only tells you the shape of a culture but also helps shape it. I make every effort to expand the perimeter of their language, to set a wider limit to it, to give them a vocabulary for alternatives…’

May it be so here, in Aotearoa, too.

Tena koutou.


Kate De Goldi
April, 2019

Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini - success is not the work of one, but the work of many.

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and the New Zealand National Committee announced last night that the IFLA World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) in Auckland will now take place in 13-19 August, 2022.  This postponement will enable the WLIC to be held as planned in the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC).  
 
IFLA WLIC has a long established practice of being held in single-site convention centres. As the NZICC faced construction delays and no other single-site venue providing the same outstanding facilities was available for 2020 in Auckland, the decision was made to postpone the event.

Through this postponement, IFLA and the New Zealand National Committee will ensure that delegates from around the world have the best congress experience when WLIC is held in New Zealand for the first time. IFLA looks forward to coming to New Zealand in 2022, and will share information about plans for a new host city for the 2020 WLIC in August 2019.

WLIC 2022 will see more than 2,000 library and information sector managers and professionals descend on Tāmaki Makaurau from across the global community. It will be the first time the flagship annual congress of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) will be held in the Pacific region in nearly 40 years.

The world congress represents an extraordinary opportunity for New Zealand, Australia and all Pacific countries to showcase our innovative library and information sector, our cultural approaches and commitment to indigenous knowledge, and the valuable role libraries, librarians and information professionals have in our societies.

We invite you to share this news with your colleagues and networks and to encourage you to ‘save the date’.
The IFLA 2022 National Committee look forward to your involvement in a world-class WLIC in Auckland in 2022.
 
Ngā mihi nui,
 
Bill Macnaught and Te Paea Paringatai
Co-chairs, IFLA WLIC 2022 National Committee

​From 2019 the Rua Mano Grant will provide an annual subsidy of $500 to attend the Te Rōpū Whakahau Hui-a-tau.
Ki te whiwhi koe, ko te rima rau tāra te wāriu o te karahipi kia haere ki te hui ā-tau o Te Rōpū Whakahau.

You must be a current personal member of LIANZA or Te Rōpū Whakahau and have been a member for three years. You must be able to demonstrate commitment to learning te reo Māori, tikanga and/or Mātauranga Māori.
Ka herea te tangata ki te ako i te reo Māori me ngā tikanga me te Mātauranga Māori.

In your application you will need to explain how you intend to improve and share your commitment to te reo Māori, tikanga, and/or Mātauranga Māori.
Ka herea te tangata ki te whakamārama me pēhea tōna whāngai atu ngā mea e ako nei a ia

Download your application form  and send to [email protected] by Thursday, 30th May.

The LIANZA Scholarships Working Group recently reviewed all scholarships and awards. In response to current financial constraints they made the recommendation for future grants and awards to be funded from bequests only.  The Rua Mano Scholarship is one of only two scholarships funded directly by LIANZA and was granted from 2002-2014. The last time it was awarded was in 2016, despite being well-promoted by Te Rōpū Whakahau and LIANZA. 

Te Rōpū Whakahau and LIANZA Council greatly value their partnership and want to salvage the Grant. We jointly decided to re-purpose, rather than cease offering, this scholarship. The newly-named Rua Mano Grant aims to encourage and support both LIANZA and Te Rōpū Whakahau members to strengthen their knowledge of te reo Māori, tikanga and Mātauranga Māori by providing a subsidy to attend the Te Rōpū Whakahau Hui-a-tau. We encourage members to apply by the due date of May 30. 

Paul says: Experiential learning opportunities of this magnitude don’t come along very often. Apply today, seize the chance to ‘learn by doing’ in your chosen area of interest.

​As the inaugural recipient of the Paul Reynolds Scholarship ‘No Numpties Award’ I travelled in early Feb 2012 to the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. I spent two weeks based in the Digital, Social and Emerging Technologies department.
 
I explored three complementary areas while there:

• How the Powerhouse is embracing the rapid growth of the mobile Smartphone market.
• What types of digital content are being created by staff, their rationale for doing so and the measurements of success employed.
• How and what content (particularly multimedia) is being deployed via location aware mechanisms and what impact this has had on customer engagement and reported satisfaction levels.

What are some of the things you learnt during your time?
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I learnt the importance of an empowered team culture. Teams embraced key values that were clearly communicated across all levels of the organisation and aligned with strategic thinking. This in turn played a big part in the success of the digital ventures I observed being undertaken. There was an underlying culture of openness, engagement, and experimentation between Digital, Social & Emerging Technologies team members and the wider community of museum stakeholders.
 
Whilst not shy of outsourcing some projects, the drive was to build in-house capability and staff were being trained and employed to do just that. Various mobile apps had been created using third party developers. Each app had a specific use case. Lessons were learnt with respect to cost/benefits of ongoing post launch support vs. starting over and developing something new from scratch. Google analytics and other in-app metrics were proactively reviewed and used to report on the success or failure of projects. Metrics provided useful feedback for iterative development of digital offers.
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How has your internship benefited your career?
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I’ve been able to take some of the lessons learnt and use them to offer feedback to GLAM organisations I have worked with across Dunedin City Council. This has usually been in the form of strategic planning guidance or advice sought concerning specific digital projects under consideration.
 
While working in the Dunedin City Council web team, I also applied Google Analytics learnings from my Powerhouse experience to implement more refined ways of how council tracked and measured success across its web portfolios.
There was also the professional exposure within the GLAM sector and more widely within local government circles that came with undertaking such research.
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Would you recommend for others to apply for this opportunity and why?
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Yes. Give it a go! If you harbour a curious mind and seek answers to a line of questioning you just can’t seem to shake from your consciousness — it’s well worth applying.
 
There are few opportunities in life to be able to dive deep in to something that is important to you and reflects the value of the Internet and the digital world for New Zealanders. Being able to focus on your lines of enquiry and spend time with people who are working in your area of digital interest is invaluable to getting the answers you seek.
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LIANZA’s vision is People and communities connected and empowered by information.

Do you want to play an essential role in enabling this vision to be realised?

LIANZA is seeking nominations for President-elect and three regional councillors. Nominations for these positions are now open and close on Wednesday May 1, 2019.

Are you or a colleague ready to step into a new leadership role? 
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Download a nomination form here.

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LIANZA PRESIDENT-ELECT
LIANZA President serves a three-year presidential term, with consecutive one-year terms as President-elect, President, and Immediate Past President. The three Presidents work closely together to deliver on LIANZA’s strategic mission: Strengthening our members to be innovative and responsive to future information needs and five-year strategic plan. Over the three-year term the ideal next President-elect would be confident to represent LIANZA and be passionate about the place of libraries and information services in making Aotearoa New Zealand a better place where everyone can thrive and grow and participate in communities, in education, and in employment.

This role provides many leadership opportunities – representing LIANZA at hui, forums and conferences, working alongside national and international stakeholders, leading the Council and championing our partnership with Te Rōpū Whakahau.

Paula Eskett shares with us what being LIANZA President means for her:

Te Whakakitenga aa Kaimai Regional Councillor, Amanda-Jane McFadden shares with us what being a councillor means for her:
On Council we all have different skill sets and library backgrounds so one thing I have enjoyed is getting to understand more about the different sectors and their needs. We get to read the findings of Working Groups (The Rules Committee, SIGs and Regions, Copyright, Registration Board) and it has given we a wider perspective on the library world and the challenges that Council faces to keep LIANZA up and running for its members. Being on Council has given me an overview on high level proceedings, such the LIANZA financials.
We also worked together to develop new mission and vision statements for LIANZA, the process was really interesting and I feel we came up with statements that really reflects who and what LIANZA stands for. I would recommend that if you get the chance to be a regional councillor then go for it, it has certainly helped to grow my leadership skills.
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For more information read our Guide to LIANZA Council. 

NB: Nominees for all positions must be personal members of LIANZA and hold LIANZA professional registration.

Remember to send in your nomination form by Wednesday May 3.

Nāku noa nā,
Ana Pickering
Executive Director
LIANZA

​Virgina says: Having a chance to step outside of your day job and be part of another organisation's reality is an incredible learning opportunity. If you get a chance to apply for a Paul Reynold's scholarship, do it!

It was inspiring to learn from a museum attempting to become a 'resource' for people to use, rather than to educate or story-tell... I came away with a conceptual toolkit to think about how digital and other media could be used to really carry out an organisation’s mission.  ​