Blog Posts - Libraries Aotearoa

Show Us Your Masks!

2/9/2020

#ShowUsYourMasks!

Have you been sewing facemasks? Or have you found the perfect library facemask to purchase online like this one pictured top left? Why not #ShowUsYourMasks on social media? Tag us in or use the hashtag.

Are you still looking for the perfect sewing pattern? Helen from the LIANZA Office has tried a couple of patterns so you don't have to - read on for pattern links and hot tips.

The first mask pattern I tried sewing was the Twig + Tale free mask pattern that a friend recommended. The pattern comes in multiple sizes, is simple to sew and fits true to the size as you'd expect. I made a large one for my partner, who has a fairly large head and nose.

He liked the fit and style but found that it fogged up his glasses, which was less than ideal for working on the train. We passed this one on to our university student son, who actually thought it was stylish and does wear it on the bus! For this one, I used an off-cut of denim for the outer layer and part of an old sheet for the inner layer.

This pattern also has a pocket so you can slip in a piece of chux cloth or paper towel if you want a filter layer. We found that an extra layer made the fog even worse but this shouldn't matter if you don't wear glasses.

Having learned from sewing the first mask I looked around for a simple, no-fog pattern online and hit on a very simple YouTube tutorial that didn't even require a pattern. You just measure a rectangle, fold and sew - simple! I did have to size the pattern up for my partner.

This version (pictured bottom left) does not have a filter pocket but the same YouTuber has now posted a similar tutorial that includes a a filter pocket, using a slightly larger piece of fabric. I have since heard that sewing a button on to the nose bridge of the mask (for your glasses to sit on) also helps further.

The best fabric to use is tightly woven cotton like quilting or craft cotton (like I've used for my mask) but something is better than nothing. You can read what Siouxsie Wiles has to say on the matter here.

What do you do if you don't have a sewing machine and can't get to the shop to buy disposable ones? Never fear - Nanogirl, Dr Michelle Dickinson, can show you how to make a face mask in under 10 seconds. I tried it using a large hanky and two hair ties that were lying around the house and it worked well!

So get sewing, or folding, and take a picture to share on social media using #ShowUsYourMasks (remember to 'smize' (smile with your eyes) - you might inspire others to do the same! The more of us wearing masks the better.

Watch: Guide to using and storing Covid-19 face masks

International Day for Universal Access to Information 2020

2/9/2020

The International Day for Universal Access to Information is on 28 September, 2020.

Why?

Informed citizens can make informed decisions, for instance, when going to the polls. Only when citizens know how they are governed, can they hold their governments accountable for their decisions and actions. Information is power. Therefore, universal access to information is a cornerstone of healthy and inclusive knowledge societies.

Universal access to information means that everyone has the right to seek, receive and impart information. This right is an integral part of the right to freedom of expression. The media plays a crucial role in informing the public about issues of interest, but it relies on the ability to seek and receive information. So, the right to universal access to information is also bound up with the right to freedom of the press.

In order to raise awareness of the importance of universal access to information, the UN General Assembly has proclaimed 28 September as the International Day for Universal Access to Information.

International days are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. More information available here.
(Source)

IDUAI 2020 will be focusing on to the right to information in times of crisis and on the advantages of having constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for public access to information to save lives, build trust and help the formulation of sustainable policies through and beyond the COVID-19 crisis.

To launch the 2020 International Day for Universal Access to Information and its themes, UNESCO will organize a high-level online panel, “Access of Information – Saving lives, Building Trust, Bringing Hope!,” set to take place online at 2:00 p.m. (CEST) on 28 September. The online panel includes statements from the UNESCO representative and by representatives of the Liberian and Uzbek governments followed by an Open Talks session.
More information available here.

IFLA outlines the role of libraries in this initiative saying:
Libraries have often been at the forefront of efforts to promote access to government information.
Parliamentary libraries for example have a key role in supporting scrutiny, and increasingly in informing the public about how decision are made and delivered. Law libraries preserve and give access to works, while public libraries can be spaces not only to access, but also to gain the skills and support needed to make use of information. See the IFLA article on libraries, access to information and democracy for more. Of course, access to information does not only concern government information.
(Source)

News flash!

Check out this local initiative
Auckland Libraries is delivering a 'Your vote counts' programme from Monday 21st September to Election Day on Saturday 17th October, 2020. It is focused on supporting communities to participate in the 2020 General Election, particularly those that experience barriers to doing so in a neutral and informative way. They aim to help customers participate and to research their decision, not to tell anyone who to vote for. They say, 'We want to empower our community to take part and hope that through doing so they feel a sense of connectedness and belonging to wider society.' The programme started at Central City Library but is now extended across the network, and has three components.

Library as information hub
Each library will be a location that can support people to enrol to vote, update their details, and navigate any challenges. There is a clear, concise desk guide that has been created for staff to follow.

Book a Librarian sessions (designed to be delivered via phone, Zoom, Skype, or in person)
For people with learning or literacy struggles that may be preventing them from participating. These sessions are also for a general audience to answer any specific questions, research any topics, and help people to make an informed voting decision.

Online Workshops
A series of digital workshops will introduce attendees to the New Zealand system of government, the voting process, and the referendum questions being asked this year. These workshops are being delivered in multiple languages and with different worldviews/experiences in mind (e.g. Te Ao Māori, sessions for the Rough Sleeping community, Auckland’s Persian community, Pasifika peoples, new migrants, refugee groups).

EVALUATION AND IMPACT IN THE LIBRARY SECTOR

1/9/2020

LIANZA is excited to be offering 40 FREE places in four evaluation workshops and a nine-month community of practice led by Marge Ainsley, a cultural consultant in the UK with specialist expertise in research and evaluation.

This is an opportunity to gain more confidence and capability in evaluation research and telling the story of New Zealand libraries. This initiative is supported by the NZ Libraries Partnership Programme.

Libraries collect membership, issues and other data, but may be less confident in collecting evidence and using it to tell the story of their impact. This vital evaluation and impact initiative aims to support your library to work out what exactly needs to be monitored, how to measure what matters and ways to communicate effectively about the impact your library makes in your community. Rather than taking a ‘build it and they will come’ approach, evaluation and research can enable your library to understand the wants, needs and motivations of your users and potential users, and to work out where’s best spend your time and money to grow and support your ‘library audience’.

Marge Ainsley. Photo credit: Chris Payn.

We caught up with Marge recently to find out more about her and what she has planned.

LIANZA: Kia ora Marge and thanks for chatting with us. We are really looking forward to working with you over the coming months.

Marge: I'm delighted to be delivering the forthcoming evaluation and impact workshops and community of practice in partnership with LIANZA.

LIANZA: Can you tell us about your past work?

Marge: Over the last 12 years I've worked with over thirty public libraries here in the UK to support and train them in evaluation and exploratory research. I work as an independent evaluator across the cultural sector too, helping a range of organisations to evidence, learn from and share their findings.

I'm not an academic: whilst my work is always rooted in theory, I take a very practical approach to evaluation and don't always stick to the textbook when it comes to designing methods.

Most recently I've been fortunate to be independent evaluator for three large-scale projects: Engaging Libraries 2 - a public engagement project with 14 UK library services funded by Carnegie UK Trust, Wellcome and the Wolfson Foundation; Get it Loud in Libraries (a programme of gigs in libraries across the UK and a young people's learning academy), and Digital Storytellers in Residence - a programme led by Scottish Book Trust with five library services across

Scotland, which encourages digital skills learning through storytelling. I'll be sharing experiences from these projects during our time together - plus many more examples from across the cultural sector.

LIANZA: What can our workshop participants expect?

Marge: In one of my last training workshops before lockdown, I asked a group of library staff which words they'd use to describe evaluation. The responses included 'stressful, boring, last-on-the-list, numbers, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), confusing, tick box and dull. This wasn't an isolated example. Whether it's lack of time, expertise or simply knowing where to start staff tell me they often struggle with embedding evaluation into their work for various reasons. I'm on a mission to challenge (and hopefully change) the perception of evaluation from something that's often last on the list, to something that can be strategically useful, interesting (for both staff and audiences) and ultimately - fun!

Over these four workshops and subsequent community of practice I hope that our participants will feel invigorated and enthused by evaluation. I want them to leave confident not only in measuring what matters, but also in being able to share their story more clearly and powerfully. By accessing the workshops, sharing experiences and learning together through the community of practice, we'll create a 'live' test-bed of evaluation planning and delivery that gives you the opportunity to prototype and explore what works for your service, and your users. We need to get better at failing - failing forward and learning from what doesn't work as much as what does. Hopefully this course gives you the permission to do exactly that - in a safe and welcoming space.

I'm really looking forward to meeting all our participants and seeing the innovative approaches we can design together!

LIANZA: Thanks Marge, we can't wait!

FUNDING AND COMMITMENT

Funding
With the support of the NZ Libraries Partnership Programme, LIANZA will fund all participants to attend four workshops and engage in a nine-month community of practice. This opportunity is offered for two cohorts of 20 professionals from across the library sector. For libraries with small teams, additional funding may be available to provide staff release time.

Commitment
Library managers will be required to indicate their commitment to supporting their participant with release time to engage in the workshops and community of practice, undertake an evaluation project and to share their learning with the library sector.

All applicants are required to send in an application detailing why they wish to attend and to indicate their commitment to engaging in the initiative, including sharing their learning at a LIANZA regional hui whakamahi in September, 2021 and at the LIANZA Conference in November, 2021.

WORKSHOP OUTLINES AND COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE

Four workshops
All workshops will be delivered using Zoom and sessions will be as interactive as possible, including the use of breakout rooms for group tasks where appropriate.

Cohort One: begins Thursday September 24, 2020
Cohort Two: begins Friday October 16, 2020

Check out detailed workshop outlines and ALL dates online.

Community of Practice
A nine-month community of practice will support participants from both cohorts to put their learning into action. The purpose of the community of practice is to test and trial evaluation ideas and activity in a safe space, and to foster shared learning and networking opportunities through regular reflection workshops. Hui will be held by Zoom each month to allow adequate time for piloting and ‘doing’, with check-ins and dialogue with Marge and other participants in-between via online support channel.

Research
This initiative will be evaluated by LIANZA in partnership with Victoria University of Wellington.

APPLICATIONS AND SELECTION

Fill out the Application form linked to below and submit to LIANZA Office by Monday September 14, 2020.

If required, participant selection will be made by a panel, with preference given to LIANZA and Te Rōpū Whakahau members and staff from LIANZA member institutions.

Application Form

We hope many library professionals will take the opportunity to engage in this unique professional opportunity, to focus on making visible the essential role of libraries and to engage with colleagues from across the New Zealand library sector.

If you have any questions about your application, please contact: ana@lianza.org.nz

THREE FUN FACTS ABOUT MARGE

Currently reading:

The New Wilderness

by Diane Cook

Favourite city:

Istanbul

Hobbies:

Music, exhibitions and the outdoors!

I enjoy walking and running, and am about to take part in my 8th half marathon (the Great North Run, Newcastle-Gateshead) albeit it's virtual!

Marge Ainsley is a well-respected cultural consultant in the UK with specialist expertise in research and evaluation. She has 19 years’ experience working within the museums, libraries and archives sector leading evaluation initiatives, sharing skills and fostering innovative ideas through publications such as Public Library News or by disseminating evaluation findings at sector conferences.

Māori Language Week 2020

31/8/2020

Māori Language week has been celebrated each year from 1975.

Māori Language Day is September 14 and commemorates the presentation of the 1972 Māori language petition to parliament.

Mahuru Māori is an initiative begun in 2017 to promote the use of te reo Māori throughout the month of September.

What is your library doing to celebrate? Share your story with us before the end of September and be featured in Library Life magazine so we can spread the joy!

Email: Helen@lianza.org.nz

Kia Kaha Te Reo Māori

The chosen theme for 2020 is again 'Kia Kaha te Reo Māori’.

‘Kia Kaha’ is well understood in New Zealand English with its meaning of ‘be strong’. We often talk about languages as if they are people – talking about language health, strength and revitalisation. So when we say ‘Kia Kaha te Reo Māori’ we’re saying - ‘Let’s make the Māori language strong'.

Strength for an endangered language comes from its status, people being aware of how to support revitalisation, people acquiring and using it and from the language having the right words and terms to be used well for any purpose.

On the Māori Language Week website you can find resources, ideas and reports about revitalisation and its increasing success.

It’s a part of the national promotion of te reo Māori undertaken by Crown agencies and coordinated by the Māori Language Commission as part of the Crown’s Māori language strategy, the Maihi Karauna. This strategy supports the revitalisation strategy of Māori and iwi, led by Te Mātāwai.

Te reo Māori is a taonga of Māori, guaranteed under the Treaty of Waitangi. But the Māori Language Act 2016 also makes clear it is for every New Zealander and a valued part of our national identity.

Goals of Māori Language Week

Create a positive environment for the use of Māori language.
Promote Māori language initiatives and events.
Encourage non-Māori speaking New Zealanders to use reo Māori.
Encourage speakers of Māori to support others who are just starting out.
Encourage community, business, government and media organisations to participate.
Promote resources to make Māori language more accessible.
Contribute to awareness of the Crown Māori Language Strategy and the Māori and iwi strategy that work together for revitalisation.

New role to champion reading for children

4/8/2020

Photo credit - Mark Beatty National Library.

A new role of New Zealand Reading Ambassador for children and young people is being established, Prime Minister and Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Jacinda Ardern and Minister for Internal Affairs and for Children, Tracey Martin announced today.

The Reading Ambassador, announced at a crowded Celebration of Reading event at the National Library in Wellington, will advocate for and promote the importance of reading in the lives of young New Zealanders, their whānau and communities, helping create a ‘nation of readers’.

“We know from research that reading for pleasure makes a huge difference to a child’s wellbeing and their potential for life-long success – in personal relationships, education, health and employment,” Jacinda Ardern said.

“The most recent OECD Programme for International Students assessment (PISA) results also show a marked decline in reading for pleasure, with nearly half of New Zealand 15-year-olds never reading for enjoyment.

“This makes it important for us to find ways to support educators, families and whānau to build and sustain reading cultures in their communities, at the same time contributing to the Government’s wider efforts on child wellbeing and poverty reduction,” Jacinda Arden said.

The establishment of the New Zealand Reading Ambassador for children and young people is another step to creating a ‘nation of readers’, something that is widely agreed as important across the literary, education, library and cultural sectors, Tracey Martin said.

Minister Martin acknowledged the great display of New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults finalist books and the importance for New Zealand kids to see the value of NZ books and writing.

“Just as importantly, though, it simply promotes reading and we all know what a difference the right book can make in the life of a child or young person,” Tracey Martin said.

The inaugural NZ Reading Ambassador will be appointed part time for two years, funded by Te Puna Foundation and supported by National Library in collaboration with key partners, including Creative NZ and ReadNZ. The nomination process will be confirmed shortly.

Equal Pay Amendment Act

2/8/2020

LIANZA is delighted the Equal Pay Amendment Act was passed by Parliament last week. The act introduces a simple and accessible process to address systemic sex-based pay discrimination across female-dominated industries and amends the Equal Pay Act (1972).

Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter described it as one of the biggest gains for gender equity in the workplace since the Equal Pay Act passed almost 50 years ago

In May 2019, Rachel Esson, LIANZA Immediate Past-President, and Moira Fraser, LIANZA Past-President, made an oral submission representing LIANZA to the select committee, supporting LIANZA’s written submission on the Equal Pay Amendment Bill.

You can read more here >

The Equal Pay Amendment Bill was triggered by a claim that went to the Supreme Court in 2014, started by Kristine Bartlett, who argued that aged-care workers were underpaid because they were mostly women.

“Our equal pay laws say that women and men should be paid the same for jobs of equal value, even if they are different. This is called pay equity. Until now, workers have only been able to make claims through the courts. The Equal Pay Amendment Bill will allow workers to make a pay equity claim within New Zealand’s existing bargaining framework. By making court action a last resort, the proposed approach will lower the bar for workers initiating a pay equity claim, and utilise a collaborative process more familiar to unions and businesses.”
MBIE. (2020). A just and practical pay equity framework. Retrieved from MBIE >

The 2019 LIANZA submission raised the issue of occupations where there are many different employers and how professional organisations should be involved in this process. “Given the nature of our sector, where library staff are usually a small group of staff for their employers, the process for combining claims by multiple employers is of great interest to us. We are particularly concerned for staff working in school libraries and how easy it will be to combine claims where the multiple employers are schools”.

NZ Library Association was also involved in a pay equity claim in the mid-1970’s. The PSA set up several committees to discuss whether public service occupations might be able to take a claim under the new Equal Pay Act (1972). Librarians were one group that established a committee. By that time the majority of librarians were women, and the profession had a problem over its relatively low salaries because Australian libraries were recruiting in New Zealand Trevor Mowbray recalls being involved on the library committee that compared the skills of librarians to those of male dominated professions. The claim was submitted to the Public Service Tribunal, which granted a salary increase for librarians.

You can read more about this historical pay equity claim and the recent update on the progress of a pay equity claim for school librarians being negotiated by Ministry of Education and NZEI in Library Life June 2020.

LIBRARIES & BLACK LIVES MATTER

6/7/2020

What can libraries do to respond to, and act as allies for, the Black Lives Matter movement?

The most obvious is to be the conduit for good and useful information by sharing anti-racism resources. But there is more that can be done, including educating yourself about anti-racism and racial equity efforts within your profession.

ALA have shared a PLAN FOR ACTION, which includes Advancing Racial Equity in Public Libraries alongside amplifying the voices of POC library workers and supporting their community spaces through donations and membership; training staff on topics related to equity, diversity, and inclusion; committing to hiring POC library workers, connecting paraprofessionals to scholarship opportunities, and supporting residents and interns; and Library Programming o name a few.

Earlier this year we shared Anti-Racism Resources for All Ages

Auckland Libraries also shared some recommended reads on anti-racism for teens and fiction by black authors
along with a Black Lives Matter search list and the following resources:

Racism, politics and America
Books and Beyond: Young, gifted and black
Lifting Black voices
Antiracism and decolonisation

What is your library doing in response to the Black Lives Matter movement?
We'd love to hear from you.

Of course, it is just as important to look at Black Lives Matter as a model for our own country to have dialogue about racism in Aotearoa.

LIBRARIES IN TIMES OF ECONOMIC DOWNTURN

6/7/2020

LIANZA Literature Review: Libraries in Times of Economic Downturn is now available to LIANZA members on request. The aim of the literature review was to provide key evidence-based learning that can be used for advocacy and was supported by the LIANZA Community Contestable Fund. You can request the review below and also register for the LIANZA webinar with Dr Lara Sanderson, the author of the review.

Register for LIANZA webinar

LIANZA Literature Review: Libraries in Times of Economic Downturn

In the past 100 years we have experienced many global economic downturns, including both the Great Depression (1929) and the Great Recession (2009), in 2020 we are now arguably entering yet another global economic downturn.

How libraries have adapted to support their users during times of economic downturns is the key focus of this literature review. The value of libraries during these times reflects the integral role libraries play in the wider education and economic infrastructures.

Request LIANZA Lit Review

Library Stat of the Week #20: Countries with more public librarians have more adults engaged in non-formal education… but there is more to do!

With many – especially those in lower-skilled, lower-paid jobs – facing unemployment in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments would do well to invest both in skills provision, and the libraries that help those who need it most to find it.

READ MORE >

IFLA Governance Draft Proposal

29/6/2020

LIANZA is delighted to invite the library and information sector in New Zealand to learn more about the IFLA Governance Draft Proposal. This proposal is built on the development of the Global Vision and IFLA Strategy 2019-2024 and centres on the priorities identified by the field, and built on suggestions and ideas from around the globe. IFLA Secretary General Gerald Leitner explains, ‘It is essential to our transformation into the inclusive and effective organisation we want and need to be.’ LIANZA is encouraged to see the proposal to create a regional council to support the development of regional strategies and provide a strong voice for the integration of regional priorities in all IFLA work.

Jane Hill with Gerald Leitner and Gloria Salmeron Perez during their visit in 2019.

Throughout the process, IFLA has made an exceptional effort to ensure that the voices of its members and volunteers were heard. In 2017-18 IFLA engaged thousands of librarians in IFLA’s Global Vision discussion. LIANZA contributed to this work by contributing ideas to enable a united library field to tackle the challenges of the future. LIANZA Executive Director, Ana Pickering joined representatives from across Asia Oceania at the Global Vision workshop in Hanoi in May 2018 and in 2019 LIANZA had multiple opportunities to understand the global vision for libraries contributing to, and enabling the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. LIANZA’s strategic plan reflects our commitment to mahi in this space. IFLA Secretary General Gerald Leitner and IFLA President Gloria Salmeron Perez also shared this global strategic work with our professional community when they visited Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in February 2019. LIANZA has a strategic goal is to link LIANZA members with IFLA initiatives and we invite you to take time to engage by reading the proposal, viewing IFLA President Christine Mackenzie’s short presentation.

LIANZA is keen to support creation of an IFLA regional council and to leverage this to build capability and connections across the Pacific.

IFLA will hold a series of online forums in August, open to all, in order to offer further opportunities to share ideas and views. On this basis, the IFLA Governing Board will revise and improve the proposal, in order to present this to its members at the 2020 General Assembly in late October or November.

Happy Retirement to Anne Buck!

22/6/2020

This month Anne Buck is retiring from both Dunedin Public Libraries and LIANZA Council. LIANZA Executive Director, Ana Pickering says:

“I have enjoyed working with Anne on LIANZA Council for the last couple of years. She has brought a wealth of knowledge from her career in libraries and useful perspectives from her involvement as a LIANZA regional councillor and member of the LIANZA Rules Committee. Anne can be relied on to respond quickly to questions and I have appreciated her commitment to our professional association. We wish her the very best for her retirement…”

We caught up with Anne before she left to ask her a few questions and thank her for her time.

Kia ora Anne and firstly, thank you so much for all the time and hard work you have put into LIANZA!
You have just retired from your role of Information Services Supervisor and Team Leader at Dunedin Public Libraries. Can you tell us how long you worked at DPL and a little about your day-to-day work?

I have worked at Dunedin Public Libraries for nearly 39 years having held many roles both in Customer Services and in Collection Services. Once I decided that I loved working in libraries I took up as many opportunities that I could and as libraries developed, luckily so did I.

My first permanent role was cleaning LPs, rewinding cassettes and processing them ready for loan as well as helping the customers to find and discover information in the Literature, Arts and Music Section.

I then moved to be a cataloguer (both copy and original) on NZBN at the start of this part of my journey moving into the heritage collection (with a side trip or two) and then into serials work. I was the possibly the first serials librarian at DPL and then combined this role with the acquisitions of new and sometimes old material for all the collections until my final position of Information Services Supervisor from which I have recently retired.

I have been through local government amalgamation and what seems like a lot of big and small restructures at DPL.

I have seen the library go from only having one computer – a very clunky paper tape issuing system – to every staff member having a computer on their desk that can access the internet and even having computers for the public. From card catalogues to microfiche and then real time access to holdings via the internet.

In my final role I oversaw the adult reference service and APNK computers for the city library as well as helping to provide digital classes via Stepping Up and giving modems via the Spark/Skinny Jump to those who did not have access to the internet in their homes. All in all great to end on a high with working with the customers and meeting their needs and expectations.

What brought you to a career in libraries?

I fell into library work. I was technically unemployed ( I worked in my parents dairy) and the labour department sent me for an interview at the library. I was hired for 4 months to put red dots onto the spines of youth books for +10s. I finished that task in one week and so then graduated to putting the three call letters onto the spines of the youth fiction for the remaining time. At the end of it I was offered a permanent job and then went on to study for and gain the New Zealand Library Studies Certificate.

What has been your biggest challenge while working in the LIS sector?

There have been two big challenges. The first is managing the customer expectation of the librarian when they expect us to know everything about a topic so we can help them. The second is dealing with the ever changing technology in the library environment. When I first started in the library we had the issue system but no other computers at all. Everything was manual and look at us now.

You’ve been a LIANZA regional councillor for Otago/Southland and part of CAT SIG for some time now, do you have any highlights from the time you’ve spent volunteering for LIANZA?

The highlights of my time working for LIANZA at a local and national level has been the networking and seeing what other libraries are up to. The ability to support librarians in their professional development and to recognise their achievements. And not forgetting the influence on the wider community in promoting librarianship as a career and the opportunities that it brings.

Why do you think it is important to have a national professional membership organisation such as LIANZA?
What would you like to see LIANZA do more of?

I think it is very important to have a national organisation that is professional and capable of responding to issues quickly but with considered thought. Librarians are the gateway to knowledge and as we cut across all sectors of the community, be it school, tertiary, special and public we need an organisation that can keep its finger on the pulse of the profession as a whole and support the library world to continue to be of service to our communities.

Tēnā rawa atu koe Anne, we wish you all the very best with your retirement!