History Corner
LIANZA has elected a president annually since the very first Library Association of New Zealand (LANZ) conference in 1910, although no one was elected while the association was on hiatus between 1913 and 1925. Most past presidents served a single term, but some of the big names in New Zealand library history – including Ellen Melville, our first female president, and John Barr, the author of the sector-defining Munn-barr Report – served multiple terms over their careers.
One of the association’s early presidents was Thomson Leys of the Leys Institute, who served as president in 1910 and 1911 after being elected at that very first conference. Today, the Leys Institute Library is part of the Auckland Libraries network, and was closed due to earthquake risks late last year. But in Thomson Leys’ day, the institute was brand-new, Edwardian-baroque, Ponsonby landmark, founded along the lines of a Mechanics’ Institute by Thomson to fulfil the dream of his late brother, William Leys.
Thomson Leys’ main responsibility as LANZ’S president was to organise the new library association’s second conference in 1911, which he and his wife hosted in Auckland over Easter weekend. Many of the issues discussed at this conference set the scene for the Association’s direction in the 1920s and 1930s – particularly the importance of establishing a National Library, the role provincial associations (the forerunner to today’s LIANZA regional communities) could play in supporting librarians, copyright and censorship, children’s literacy, and standardising staff working hours and pay.
Leys also advocated and networked internationally for the New Zealand library sector. An Evening Post article from February 1911 reports that individual librarians from several major American libraries, including the publishers of Library Journal, had already taken a keen interest in the NZLA, and were offering their expertise in setting up travelling libraries for rural communities.
During both the 1911 and 1912 conference, papers written by American librarians were highlights of the programme.
Leys moved into the role of vice-president of the NZLA at the 1912 conference, passing the presidency to Wellington MP Arthur Atkinson. Interestingly, Leys served as one of four vice-presidents elected for that year – no doubt providing continuity and support for the new president. A more recent addition to LIANZA’S presidential structure is the ‘3P’ model – as Paula Eskett called it in a 2019 post on the LIANZA blog: ‘essentially the tuakana teina model without the age differences!’ The President-elect, President and Past President each serve a three-year term, working together to support each other to lead and represent LIANZA.
Did you know that you can access a digital version of LIANZA’S history: A Century of Library Life in Aotearoa, Te Rau Herenga, thanks to the National Library?