Editor. FROM THE

NĀ TE KAITĀTARI

I tipu ake ahau ki Rangitikei Nō Kotarana, no Germany ōku tipuna

Ko Bob Cairncross tōku pāpa Ko Marion Soutar tōku māma Ko Phoebe rāua ko Elliot āku tamariki

Nō Kāpiti ināianei He kaiwhakahaere whakapā ahau

Ko Angie Cairncross ahau Mauri ora

This is my first editorial on joining LIANZA in October. It’s been a whirlwind start, but I’ve loved it so far. I’m a lifetime library user, a devourer of information, and a lover of books, art galleries and collections, so how can I not love this job?

I join LIANZA with recent communications experience with the Cancer Society, Community Housing Aotearoa and as the editor of the Occupational Therapy Association’s magazine. I was a textile artist before this. And I have a background in mental health sector community work and the social services having trained as a social worker in my early years.

So welcome to this edition of Library Life, the final for 2021. Following closely on from our awesome conference. I was reflecting during the conference on the move by libraries to develop the tools of inclusion and community development. Having a background in social work these areas are familiar and we had plenty of opportunities to explore this during the conference. Jane Stratton asked delegates how libraries might work differently in their communities. We have several reviews on the conference in this edition of Library Life including a look at the workshop led by Jane and Afaf Al Shammari.

In this issue we are excited to share more about the Puna Maumahara programme at Te Wānanga o Raukawa, an important qualification in te ao Māori, Te Reo Māori, library and conservation skills. Vicki-anne Heikell from the Alexander Turnbull Library talks about her conservation outreach work into communities and marae over the country.

We look at ‘Trouble in Paradise: Climate Change in the Pacific’ an exhibition based on the winning entries of a competition run by the UK Government, which invited people from the Pacific region to document the effects of climate change on their communities.

In our career profile we feature Suliana Vea, Pasifika Research Librarian, at the Alexander Turnbull Library. And our library of the month is the small library on Rakiura-stewart Island, a hub for community activity.

Library

Your contributions to

Life would be greatly appreciated – we are very keen to hear what you think and learn about your day-today life in the GLAM sector. Contact me with your ideas for articles on angela@ lianza.org.nz.

I look forward to working with you all,

Angie

Whaiwhia te kete mātauranga Fill the basket of knowledge

Kōrero o te Tumuaki, Te Rau Herenga o Aotearoa

Tēnā koutou katoa,

I want to begin by congratulating everyone involved in the recent, highly successful LIANZA Conference –Thriving Together.

Hats off to those of you who made the first-ever virtual LIANZA conference happen in such style. The conference committee, working with The Conference Company and supported by the LIANZA office, pulled off a blinder in very challenging circumstances. The delegates brought the experience to life, throwing themselves into the opportunity with enthusiasm. Engagement with the programme, the platform and with each other, was truly impressive. Registration numbers for this conference were only marginally less than the 2019 conference at 500. In the opinion of Jan Tonkin, Managing Director of The Conference Company, LIANZA set a benchmark for the way in which a virtual conference can create an engaging platform.

This conference proved the power of our collegiality, our passion and our connection as library and information professionals, connected to each other and to the wider world. We continue to face new challenges in these uncertain COVID times. If we continue to work together with the positivity and generosity of spirit evidenced throughout the conference, taking the opportunity to respond in new and creative ways to the challenges facing us, we will surely embody its theme, thriving together. As National Librarian Te Pouhuaki Rachel Esson, mentioned in her conference address, “We are lucky to be librarians. What a wonderful profession to be part of.”

This sentiment was also evident during the LIANZA