End-of-year-get-together

We’re having an end-of-year-get-together. Everyone is welcome, not just SLANZA members, to join us at Kerikeri Primary School Library on Wednesday 30 November after school. We’ll have games and quizzes, as well as plenty of library chat about our year.

Please all bring a plate to share.

Thank you to Kris for hosting the event in her library

RSVP to me please jsmith@kerikerihigh.ac.nz

Term 2 event - Building a Quality Collection

This term’s event will be a friendly and useful discussion around all aspects of developing a great collection for your school library, everything from selecting books to promoting them. The more people who come and contribute to the discussion, the healthier that will be and the more we will all learn.

Please RSVP to me by Friday 17 June.

Engaging Book Talks - Term 1 event

Unfortunately, due to insufficient interest in the SLANZA Professional Development opportunity planned this Saturday, the event has been cancelled.

This Thursday in Kamo - love to see you there

Creative Commons and a Curation session, plus AGM coming up this term

We have an exciting professional development opportunity lined up for you this term. A Saturday morning session on June 20^th at Kerikeri High School Library which will include two sessions: the Creative Commons Road Trip for New Zealand schools which aims to spread the word about Open Educational Resources – relevant for both librarians and teachers, followed by a presentation on Digital Tools for Dynamic and Efficient Curation for both classroom and library knowledge management. Importantly, our AGM will be included as well as a Northland committee meeting. All details on the flyer.

We are critically short on members for our SLANZA committee, please seriously consider getting involved. We meet approximately four times a year, usually after a SLANZA event, with just a little work in-between times. Members can be Skyped in to join the meetings if they can’t attend. Please, please think about how you can be involved.

You are welcome to print/share the PDF flyer, email me if you would like another copy of the flyer as a pdf, and promote amongst your school community.

Questions and RSVP to me please by June 10^th.

SLANZA Meeting Notes – Term 1, 2015

 Agenda - National Library Services to Schools Changes

List of Northland's concerns with Garth, Dee & Alyson

Whangarei Boys High School Library - Wednesday February 25 

Meeting opened at 3:45pm.  

Present:

Dee Brooker	Whangarei Boys High School
Jane Woods	Pompallier Catholic College
Alyson Gates	Kamo High School
Catherine Pilkington	Otamatea High School
Trudy Norrish	Kamo Intermediate
Sonya Prchal	Morningside School
Garth Rodda	Whangarei Intermediate
Julia Smith	Kerikeri High School

Apologies: Lisa Salter, Dargaville Libraries; Carol Crowley, Tikipnga High School 

We acknowledged that these changes prove a conflict of interest for our terrific National Library Advisor Jeannie Skinner, who was unable to attend the meeting.  

A member of the National Library Leadership team, Geraldine Howell, Director, Literacy, Learning and Public Programmes along with Elizabeth Jones, were invited to attend our Northland meeting but the invitation was declined due to a clash of dates. 

  

This meeting was essential to allow members to voice their concerns and openly discuss the changes proposed. Although we felt this was a fait accompli, we all volunteered opinions and talked freely on how these changes would affect us. It was a learning experience for us all to hear how other members viewed the changes. We were unanimously concerned at National Library's proposed transformation to services. 

We congratulated ourselves that Northland schools had borrowed 29,595 books in 2014, and wondered how that data may change this year. Then, as repercussions of the new services take effect, we discussed the probable drop in usage in 2016. Those present predominantly represented Intermediate and High Schools that had no need, inclination, or space for more fiction and high-interest non-fiction. Therefore we were greatly concerned that the decline in uptake of National Library books from 2016 onwards may be interpreted that the service is no longer required, that books are no longer required. Would this decline in usage be evidence towards the dissolution of school libraries?  

Members also voiced their concern that this was just the beginning of National Library changes; they feared what would come next for school libraries.

Other concerns discussed in detail, listed:

·         Lack of library budget means reliance on NLNZ books

·         Already buying fiction and high-interest non-fiction

·         Lack of consultation

·         Connectivity issues

·         Disparity

·         Timeliness of announcement – second to last week of school

·         Suitability and quality of books chosen for your school

·         Quantity of books insufficient

·         Logistics of handling books

·         Public Libraries providing books

  

Quote of the day: National Library New Zealand is the envy of the world, why would they want to damage that reputation? (apologies, Jane or Catherine, please confirm who said this) 

Thanks to Dee Brooker who asked teaching staff to submit written comments on their usage of National Library resources, these collectively reflect the teachers' dismay at the upcoming changes. I will take these to the National Executive meeting later this month.  

We thanked Garth Rodda for his re-worked letter against the National Library changes , (original by Bridget Schaumann) which three Northland members I know of used to gather support and signatures from staff. 

Meeting closed about 5:00pm