 | Beth Marriott reports back on LIANZA TE UPOKO O TE IKA A MAUI COMMUNITY Library Assistant Day organised by Stephnie Burton >> The day began with, naturally, awkward smiles and introductions between the attendees from across the region. Library Assistants – from newbies such as myself to older, more experienced women – mingled and found their seats whilst we were sorted alphabetically (a system of organisation my catalogue-obsessed mind found quite satisfying!) into our groups for the morning tours. |
| The group I found myself a part of began our adventures at the Alexander Turnbull Library within the National Library, where the event was hosted. We were lucky enough to wander through the stacks, see paintings and hear the stories of Alexander Turnbull and his family, as well as see the world’s biggest atlas! The Parliamentary Library managed to reinforce a sense of political involvement within everyone present, as well as showing us how varied you may not expect the needs of everyday requests to be. |  |
 | Our final stops were the Victoria University of Wellington Pipitea Campus’ Law and Commerce Libraries. Housed in the Old Government Building beside Parliament, the Law Library was filled with those studying and we avoided the quiet areas at all costs. The Commerce Library was a direct architectural contrast, refurbished and modern throughout. We rounded off the tours there, having seen styles of library and library needs ranging from historical preservation and documentation, to legal precedent and newspaper article requests, to simple ‘how do I log in to this account?’ and cataloguing. The knowledge that working within a library allows access to multiple facets of information and experiences in different formats, all whilst sharing this with others, was already something I had; however, these tours had really impressed this upon me. |
| After a lunch break (and my 5th coffee in as many hours), we were able to rest and listen to the prestigious speakers of the afternoon. There were speakers from libraries across the Hutt and Wellington regions, as well as the PSA and the LIANZA President, Rachel Esson, as well as Ana Pickering, the LIANZA Executive Director. While the inspiration from their passion for their work sunk in, and the newfound depth of insight towards the heights that libraries can take everyone took hold, we were treated to a STEM programming workshop. |  |
 | Coding small robots by drawing coloured lines on paper isn’t something you would expect to come under ‘library work’, but if there’s anything I learned from the Library Assistant’s Day, it’s that working as a Library Assistant, and within a library, is one of the most exciting and stimulating jobs out there. Reflecting on the theme of library closures that was a reluctant trend throughout the afternoon speakers, the main take from this event that I had is not to underestimate people’s love for information, and the library ethos of maintaining as open access to this as possible. Thank you to LIANZA and those that support libraries everywhere: there is always more to learn. |
RSS Feed