 On Wednesday 21st November over 30 school librarians met at Epsom Girls Grammar to share stories and catch up on all the gossip as only librarians can. We enjoyed beautiful platters of delicious nibbles and imbibed wine and/or coffee. We had a wonderful time! To add to our enjoyment we were privileged to hear author Fiona Sussman speak about her life as a writer, the journey she has taken to become a published author, and learnt a little about her life growing up under the Apartheid regime in South Africa. Fiona was born and grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa. She did a BA and then went into Medicine. She did all her clinical work at the Soweto Black Hospital (to show solidarity with the black and coloured students who were not allowed to work in a White Hospital). She met her husband-to-be in her fourth year and chose to finish her medical training in New Zealand after they married and emigrated. She became a GP and had a family but found the demands of working as a GP and managing a family with a husband who worked long hours was too difficult so she took a year off to see if she could write a book. Lacking confidence in her writing ability she enrolled in a Masters of Creative Writing and discovered that you are a writer when you think you are a writer. As well as writing her first novel she also wrote and had published a number of short stories. This established her CV as a published author so when she approached a publisher she was given a contract for her first novel - Shifting colours, a novel set in South Africa about adoption and identity. Her second book ‘The last time we spoke’ is a gritty novel set in New Zealand that explores what happens to both the victim and the offender after a brutal home invasion. We enjoyed meeting and hearing Fiona, a very entertaining speaker. It capped off a great evening. Thank you to Michele Coombridge and her library team at EGGS for hosting the event.
Do you know how long you have to wait before an author’s work comes out of copyright?
What is the USA’s Mickey Mouse copyright rule? What country’s copyright laws are New Zealand’s based on? What is creative commons? How many creative commons licenses are there? On Saturday 14th September 23 Auckland SLANZA members were informed – and entertained – by Paula Browning from Copyright Licensing NZ and Dione Joseph from Tohutohu (Creative Commons NZ). The complex issues around copyright were clearly explained by Paula – from the sections of the Act that apply to school libraries, to the difference between operating with a Copyright License from CLNZ or only under the Copyright Act. Copyright is a balance between the creators’ needs and the consumers’ needs. It automatically applies to any original work – including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, sound recordings, films, radio and TV broadcasts and the layout of a published work. This includes both hard copy and electronic formats. Any published work may have a number of different copyrights attached to it. For instance, a book can include the author’s writing, the publisher’s typographical layout, and the cover image as separate copyright works. If in doubt, or to learn more, check out the information sheets on the Copyright Council of New Zealand website. Creative Commons is a system that allows you – the creator of a work – to decide how you want your work to be used and shared. It falls between the public domain – no copyright restrictions at all, and a copyrighted work where permission for use must be sought from the copyright holder. There are four elements that can be combined in 6 different ways to give the creator the control on the usage of their work. The elements are:
I would highly recommend both of these speakers for anybody looking for good information about copyright and creative commons. It was a very informative and fun learning experience.  Des O'Leary's book launch at Aorere College's school library last night, was a lovely warm and inclusive event. The evening started with soulful singing and elegant dancing by the students, which was a joy to watch and made the whole evening extra special. A talk by the publisher and the author was followed by a re-enactment by students and a reading by Anne Rolinson.    The SLANZA Auckland AGM was held at Freemans Bay Primary school and was well attended by members. A robust discussion was held on the draft SLANZA Vision and Mission statements, with agreement to further petition members for their thoughts
Two long standing members of the Auckland committee stood down from their roles. However, both have agreed to stay on as part of the 2018 committee. They are: Elizabeth Atkinson, SLANZA Auckland Convenor - and more recently, the convenor of the SLANZA Auckland Conference Convenor. And Trish Webster our SLANZA Auckland National Executive representation. The significant contribution that they have made to the SLANZA Auckland region was acknowledged. We have been extremely fortunate to have two such knowledgeable, passionate and dedicated people in these roles. One new member was elected onto the committee - we welcome Michele Coobridge from Epsom Girls Grammar School. The evening finished with our guest speaker , Madeleine Chapman. Madeleine ghost authored the new Steven Adams autobiography. She kept us enthralled and entertained with fascinating insights and amusing anecdotes about her whole writing experience,  (About 40 SLANZA members met on a sunny winter morning to hear about the work of SPELD and how Librarians can help aid the experience of our students. Jeremy Drummond from SPELD spoke to us about the work they are doing with specific learning difficulty. SPELD NZ is a not-for-profit organisation that specialises in assisting people with dyslexia and other specific learning disabilities. It is hard to believe that this is yet another important organisation that receives no New Zealand Government funding, despite the tremendous work it does in providing support and advice. It has a library (for members) as well as a website, Facebook and YouTube presence. Dyslexia was only recognised in New Zealand in 2007 and maybe this was partly to do with fighting the impression that this condition was merely “over-compensating Mums making up for under-achieving children.” Specific learning difficulty is a term preferred to Dyslexia because this includes a multitude of problems and everyone is different. Unless there is a family history of SLD in the family a firm diagnosis cannot be made until the ages of 7-8. This is because it is only at this age that all physical problems can be ironed out. Brain plasticity studies show that parts of the brain can be taught new roles or activities. What can we do in the library to help those that suffer from some form of SLD?
Our final speaker was Jo Buchan from National Library who presented inspirational cases of finding the right book at the right time for individual students. It's all about connecting with students and developing a relationship so you can then help them.  |
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