One night only!

Come celebrate Christmas and the local successes of this year's LIANZA conference with us!



2nd December, 5 - 7 pm
Te Puni Kokiri
143 Lambton Quay
Wellington

RSVP to meg.cordes@vuw.ac.nz by Friday 28th November

The Hollywood Librarian New Zealand Premiere!!

One night only - Wednesday August 27, 6:30pm
Penthouse Cinema, Brooklyn
In Wellington for one screening only, The Hollywood Librarian has generated huge interest in the library community.

TICKETS
LIANZA Regional AGM* / Student (with ID)$20
LIANZA Members / Group concession $22
Single tickets $25
Penthouse Cinema and Cafe, 205 Ohiro Road, Brooklyn, Wellington
Tickets available at the LIANZA office, level 7, 69 Boulcott Street, or by post. Also available at selected outlets. All enquiries to office@lianza.org.nz

*AGM attendees special price of $20.00 includes: the shortest AGM in regional history, wine and nibbles, and a seat for the NZ premiere of The Hollywood Librarian!
Limited places - door closes at 5:30pm

Winter Series - Brown Bag Lunches

Thursday lunch times during August just got interesting:
12:10 - 1pm
The 2008 Winter Series covers copyright, censorship and creative commons.

• 7 August: Richard Niven, a Wellington lawyer will speak on Copyright issues
• 14 August: Bill Hastings, Chief Censor, Office of Film and Literature Classification
• 21 August: Lousie O'Brien will speak on Creative Commons

Everyone welcome. There is no charge for these events and no need to register in advance.

Bring your lunch and take the opportunity to hear about some of the more challenging issues and opportunities facing the information world.
Tea and coffee available for purchase from the National Library cafe.

Presentations will be held in the Lower Ground Conference Room at the National Library (entrance from Aitken Street), 12.10pm to 1pm.

The Hollywood Librarian - coming to Wellywood

How cool is this - we can show the movie 'The Hollywood Librarian' in Wellywood just for librarians, LIANZA members, and friends (and other interested parties if not already in a category).
But - we need to hire the cinema and pay for the distribution costs of one showing.
So - if you want to see the movie (probably on Wednesday August 27, 6:30pm) and will pay $21 - $25 for a ticket ... quick, let us know and we will bring the film to Wellywood!
emailoffice@lianza.org.nz to express your interest NOW!
Note how many seats you want.
If unsure please note "possible" next to the number of seats.
See the blurb! join the discussion! find out about the director! on http://www.hollywoodlibrarian.com/

LIANZA/SLIS Mid-winter networking party

As you can see from the pictures a good time was had by all at the SLIS/LIANZA Wellington region party. Building on an event established by SLIS, we combined forces to get local librarians and information professionals together to meet new people and reconnect with others. SLIS made a selection of super cocktails, accompanied by delicacies from All About Catering, and we gathered in the Boardroom of the Museum of Wellington, City and Sea.

With the galleries open we were also able to browse the displays of local history and creativity. The place is fabulous, museum staff were great, and lots of SLIS and LIANZA came out, some with partners and little ones in tow. Hopefully we will be able to repeat this annually as it is a great opportunity for meeting with LIANZA National Council members and staff, as well as each other.

Being on the regional committee : a personal perspective

It's that time of year again; the time when the various regions announce that their AGMs are coming up and seek nominations for their committees. Maybe you've read one of these announcements on nz-libs and thought about putting yourself forwards, but have wondered what is involved?

I've been on the Te Upoko o te Ika a Maui (Wellington) Regional Committee for the past year. I have just resigned because I am leaving Wellington but I would definitely be sticking with the Committee if I was going to be around. I thought I would give a personal perspective on what I have put into (and gotten out of) being on the Regional Committee.

The time commitment varies, but I would say on average, I have spent less than an hour a week on the committee. We have a meeting once a month that goes for 1-2 hours (fuelled by chocolate biscuits!), and in-between those meetings there is usually some work to be done. The Secretary has to write up the minutes and prepare the agenda for the next meeting; the Treasurer pays money into and out of the accounts and prepares a monthly financial report (thanks, Anne - better you than me); and Charlotte our Chair keeps everything ticking over in a project management type role. Everyone else is involved in organising the different events that we hold - coming up with ideas, contacting speakers, booking venues, organising the food and drinks... We are very much a hands-on committee - everyone puts in as much time and energy as they can, and when an event is on, it's all hands on deck making sure that the event runs smoothly.

So, why would you want to put this time in serving on a regional committee, here in Wellington or in the other regions?

Well, firstly, I wanted a chance to meet librarians from different sectors from mine, and to help plan events for the library community in Wellington. This year I've been able to work with a passionate bunch of librarians from very different organisations to help organise Christmas drinks, a visit to the Medical Libary, a joint cocktails-and-networking evening with SLIS, and seminar sessions about the IFLA Conference and the remuneration survey. As well as being informative, these have also been fun events. There has usually been some nattering over a glass of wine, as well as serious professional development and networking. (Nobody said you can't do both at the same time!)

I also thought the Regional Committee would be a good chance to gain some new skills. This is definitely true! During my year on the committee I have learned how to configure and contribute to blogs (this one), work collaboratively across different institutions with tools like Basecamp and Google Groups, and run online surveys. I will now be able to transfer these new skills to my work and personal life if I want to: trying these web tools "for real", not in the context of a training course, has definitely been the best way to learn how to use them.

And finally, I wanted to give something back to a professional association that I have found invaluable throughout my library career so far. Being new to Wellington in 2001 and embarking on the MLIS, LIANZA gave me a way to meet other librarians, to get to know leaders and mentors from the profession and to broaden my understanding of what librarianship was all about. After six years, I decided that it was my turn to help contribute to those learning and networking opportunities, rather than just turning up and enjoying the fruits of other people's labour.

Being on the Committee has been a great experience, and I would encourage anyone who wants to meet other librarians, learn new skills and give something back to the profession to put themselves forward at this year's AGM. Your ideas and energy will be welcome!

What you told us!

Thank you to all the people that responded to our "Tell us what you want!" questionnaire.

Robyn Hampton is the lucky winner of the prize draw for the $60 music or book voucher. Congratulations Robyn!

So what did you tell us?

• Lunchtime and Evening events were equal in popularity. About 15% of you preferred Breakfast Meetings or didn't mind. So we will make sure that we vary the times and days of the meetings that we plan.

• Library Tours and Presentations were the most popular format, followed closely by Interactive Workshops and Social Events.

• "Top Tech Tips" came out tops in our list of suggested topics and some of you made particular comments about wanting to learn new technology skills in an interactive way. Coaching and training, stress management and career development were also popular.

• In your comments you also suggested events for library assistants, people new to the profession or people that want to make career moves.

This is all really useful information to guide our planning and we'll do our best to provide something for everyone!

We would love some help!

We'd love some help - do you know anyone that might be interested in delivering any of the presentations/events? If so then give send us an email - we'd love to hear from you.

Our Committee would also love to have some new members to help us make stuff happen. If you're interested in planning some great events and joining our small and dynamic wee team then let us know.

SLIS & Te Upoko o Te Ika a Maui Winter Warming Social

The SLIS and Te Upoko o te Ika a Maui LIANZA Committees invite you to a winter warming cocktail evening at the delightful Museum of Wellington City and Sea.

Image attribution: Beverly Vealach
Licenced under Creative Commons

Mingle and mix over charming cocktails, mocktails and hors d'oeuvres.

Enjoy a leisurely look around the exhibitions - they'll be open especially for us!

When: 5.30pm - 7.30pm, Thursday 19 June 2008

Where: Board Room, Museum of Wellington City and Sea, Queens Wharf, Jervois Quay, Wellington

Dress: Fabulously

Parking: Wilsons Queens Wharf

Cost: SLIS/LIANZA Members $5. Students with ID $5. Non Members $10. Pay at the door - cash only.

RSVP: Complete this RSVP form by noon Monday 16 June 2008

A 19th century NZ library

It was a great privilege to see Lydia Wevers give her inaugural professorial lecture at VUW last week.

Lydia wears many hats, and is well-known to many of us in the library community through her research into New Zealand literature and history, and her work with the Stout Centre and as Chair of the Guardians Kaitiaki of the Turnbull Library.

Lydia's lecture was about the Brancepeth Station Library, now held as part of the special collections at the J.C. Beaglehole Room in the VUW Library.

Lydia's presentation featured stunning images of the library like the one below, as well as details gleaned from the library itself and the extensive archives of the station. Lydia's wide-ranging talk included analysis of the genres in the 2000-volume collection (mostly popular fiction and reference works), marginalia (including the word "Rot!" on the title page of a book promoting temperance), the value of newspapers, and the borrowing patterns amongst the various groups of staff that worked on the station.

Lydia is writing a book about the library, which will hopefully be available soon, as her account of the role of the library in the social and intellectual life of the station was fascinating.

The Brancepeth Station Library c.1966. Image credit: Edward Beetham.

Lydia's standing in the academic and wider community was obvious from the large numbers attending the lecure. The lecture venue was changed at late notice for a larger room, and even then, it was standing room only, with several hundred people crammed into the lecture hall.

As Lydia herself noted at the start of her lecture, it was gratifying to see so many people turn out on a cold Wellington night for a lecture about books and reading. Congratulations to Lydia on a very successful lecture - I look forward to reading her book when it is published.

Hi from Charlotte

I originally wrote this note in a word document, in preparation for the launch of our blog, and MSWord underlined the word blog as a misspelling. Now, we all know MSWord is not the last word on spelling, but blogs and blogging are hardly new any more! Yet here we are launching a blog in 2008. For a profession deeply involved in all manner of information technology it seems an event to be quietly sclathed into being without drawing any attention to it at all. But to do so would undermine the purpose of this blog – which is to provide a space for local LIANZA members to keep informed about events, news, ideas, and hold conversations.

So, am I a little embarrassed about the late arrival of a blog into our midst? Not at all. I am really pleased to be welcoming all members and any other interested people to our blog, and I am thrilled we can offer this facility. Like many new events, the blog has been championed by a couple of keen and able members who are on the regional committee –Fiona Rigby and Sam Searle.

Thinking about the launch of our blog, I paused to reflect on the many and varied IT capabilities we have at our disposal – each with it’s own set of stunning features and each presenting a new set of learning needs for hopeful users. The idea of publishing news and views so they are visible to the whole world is still a concept that causes me to pause, but it’s the ‘how-to’ that often leaves a good idea that little bit out of reach. We used to say that the only help you needed to install the new VCR was the teenager from next door. Fortunately, signing up to web accounts is now second nature – it’s remembering the passwords that catches me out!

I hope all readers will feel free to ask a question and post comments, and I would like to reiterate our invitation to join the bloggers. Watch out for new events coming up too. June's event is a cocktail party. In the meantime, we welcome your participation however you join in, and look forward to getting to know more of you.

Naku noa, na
Charlotte

Tell us what you want!

Te Upoko o te Ika a Maui Regional LIANZA Committee is really keen to know more about you and what we sort of events you want us to organise.

Our aim is to organise professional development events and opportunities that are useful, interesting, relevant and fun.

We've got a few ideas but we really want to hear from you.

So tell us what you want by completing this short online questionnaire.
All respondents will go into a draw for a $60 book or music voucher - you could be that lucky person!

The questionnaire closes on Monday June 9th 2008 at 5pm.

Grand Tour of Wellington Medical Library - 15 April 2008

Thanks to the Wellington Medical Library manager, Rachel Esson, and her staff, for opening the doors to their refurbished building to Wellington colleagues on 15 April.

Over drinks and nibbles, around 25 of us heard Rachel’s stories of the ups and downs of planning and implementing a library move.



Rachel Esson, Wellington Medical Librarian shares her experience with the group.








Rachel’s talk was very wide-ranging, covering topics like planning, establishing a project team, and weeding collections. Design and interiors issues like signage (the positives of adopting bilingual signage, and the negatives of trying to design signage if you are spatially challenged!), shelving, furniture, and ergonomic service desk design were also discussed.





Staff and students alike love the beautifully designed shelves at the Medical Library.









Following Rachel’s talk, we were split into groups led by some of Rachel’s staff members, Joy Wearne, Susan Hope and Kareen Carter.





The open, inviting entrance to the library.













The grid panel on the staircase was designed by artist Simon Morris.










The tours covered all the public areas and behind the scenes; an unexpected highlight was the library’s public artworks. Rachel’s belief that “artwork in a library is important to give a point of difference and to help create an atmosphere” has been translated into a stunning new art collection, which includes works from well-known and upcoming contemporary artists, including Gina Matchitt. The centrepiece of the collection is Gina’s tukutuku panels, which are constructed of recycled computer keys. These are not only beautiful, but fit with the library’s mission of supporting staff and students: the panels in the library collection are a poutama design that represents the “stairway to knowledge”.






A quiet area for browsing journals with Dean Bradley's "Venice After the Rain" in the background.










Workstations accompanied by some artworks by Taranaki artist Yvonne Coleman.






These panels provide visual interest on the lower level of the Library.











The tour group checks out the Issues Desk.
Rachel recommends getting your architects to work behind a work desk before they design them!





Thanks again to Rachel and her staff for a fascinating evening at the new Wellington Medical Library!

Rachel's presentation notes are available to download(29.5 Kb Word Doc).

On Becoming an Associate

Recently a lovely friend of mine asked for advice about the process for becoming an Associate of LIANZA. It made me reflect on how beneficial I actually found the whole experience. So when we were planning this Blog I decided that this could be a good thing to share with you.

I became an Associate in October 2007 (that's me in the shiny red dress) and I didn't find it an onerous process at all.

So what do you have to do?

Note: you should read the full requirements for the nitty gritties.

But in short you need to:

Step 1:

• Fill in a form that states your career details, length of LIANZA membership and qualifications
• Write a statement about your skills and competence as a professional librarian
• Pull together a portfolio of reports, articles, bibliographies, guides, publications, that you've written.
• Arrange for 3 referees to write really nice things about you and your career. ; )
• Pay a very reasonable fee of $50 to help cover the cost of administration.

Step 2
If your application gets through to the interview stage you need to:

• Prepare a 10 minute presentation on your career and present it to the interview committee (made up of 3 or 4 members of the Credentials Committee).
• Then you have an interview with 3 or 4 senior, talented people where you get to talk about your career and your thoughts on the library profession and how you to contribute to it.

So what do you get out of it?

There are tangible benefits to becoming an Associate ( a pin, a lovely certificate, a citation, and the awards ceremony that gave me the chance to wear my shiny red dress) but it is the intangible ones that stand out for me. In fact it was the application process that I got the most out of. It provided the satisfaction of bringing together the things I've done in my career into a portfolio and then sharing it with the interview panel. Then during the interview I had the wonderful privilege of conversing with some interesting, talented, senior members of our profession. I got to share my thoughts, ideas and hopes for our profession with them and, best of all, I got great advice from them. I think they asked me a few tricky questions too but I don't really remember what they were. What I do remember is that it was a very positive and affirming experience. It is the most enjoyable interview I've ever done!

So why do it?

When I try to think back on why I applied for it I came up with this:

I applied because I am committed to the library and information profession (and everything we do) and also because I am proud of contributions I have made (and will continue to make) to it.

Being an Associate of LIANZA is official recognition of this committment and I'm really proud of that.

Well this is all my own personal experience and thoughts. If you're thinking about applying next year then I'm happy for you to contact me. Also, perhaps some of my fellow associates could share their experience in the comments?


Cheers

Fiona ALIANZA