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On behalf of the National Executive, I am pleased to announce that the recipients of SLANZA’s Study Grants for 2015 have been decided. Our warmest congratulations go out to these successful applicants:
Congratulations once again to all our grant recipients, we wish you every success with your studies in the coming year. Miriam Tuohy Professional Development Team Leader
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Region representatives met virtually for the first time this weekend on Google Hangouts. This involved members having access to suitable technology and broadband. Most found it better than expected but some members had difficulty with their devices or internet connection causing intermittent sound or video disruption. This did not stop us from getting through the agenda while working from home. The success of this trial means in future we will replace one face to face meeting each year saving money and wear and tear on NE members.
Our discussion about communication to members was significant as this was our current communication leader Lisa Salter’s last meeting. Cathy Kennedy, member for Aoraki has volunteered to fill this position and we are confident in her ability to engage with our members. Greig Daniels took over as editor of Collected magazine at the last meeting and his first issue will be out very soon. In a discussion around what our members get with their membership money it was decided to investigate sharing the magazine with members only in the first instance, with public access after a period of time. More news about this idea will be sent to members once investigated fully. The NE is pleased with our progress in developing external partnerships with other library focus organisations. For the first time ever SLANZA members have been offered LIANZA member rates to their 2014 conference in Auckland. At this stage staff from 20 school libraries have registered to attend. We are currently working on updating our Memorandum of Understanding with LIANZA and we have been offered space at their conference stand. We are working with the Association of Public Library Managers (APLM), currently focused on a Summer Reading initiative. We have accepted an invitation to join APLM in a national Digital Literacy working party. Karen Clarke presented a financial report and to date we are working to budget. While we have goals of raising membership to increase funds, most regions report that it is difficult to get information about library staffing in schools. There is also a general feeling that there are less school library staff overall as schools are changing the way they staff their libraries, particularly in the primary sector. SLANZA is committed to repeating our successful reading survey this year and hope to gather and present the information earlier in Term 4 this year. It will be good to see this year’s lists of most popular books, authors and series in New Zealand schools. It may feed into your buying plan for next year or make it in your school newsletter as advice for Christmas gift purchases. Cathy Kennedy reported that the 2015 conference committee is well into the planning of next September’s event. The committee had a brain storming session to balance the different types of speakers and workshops, so that there is something for everyone, at every level of library staff. We are all looking forward to another successful SLANZA conference. The virtual meeting was a success and feedback will give us the opportunity to improve on the concept over time. I for one really enjoyed it, it saved me a weekend away from home, the stress of travel and while I was engaged in the meeting I also got my ironing done. Lisa Salter Communications Leader (outgoing) SLANZA offers study grants each year, to those working in school library teams. Study grants are available for courses offered by an approved library education provider. We believe that continuing professional development is vital - it helps you increase the knowledge and skills you need to deliver a valued service to your school community, and it can open you up to new and exciting possibilities in the field of librarianship.
If you are thinking about undertaking Library and Information Studies next year, you may be eligible to apply for assistance. Successful applicants will receive $600 towards the cost of a paper. The closing date for submitting study grant applications is Thursday 25th of September 2014, and successful applicants will be notified in October. More information about the grants, including the application form, is available here. It gives the Life Membership Committee great pleasure to announce that the following people have been nominated by their peers and been successful in achieving Life Membership of SLANZA in 2014. These awards were announced at the Annual General Meeting 2014, held in Dunedin at the Weekend School.
Life membership is awarded to people who have contributed greatly over a number of years to our organisation. They have gone well above and beyond, they have given of their time and energy over many years for the betterment of our org and all of the people nominated this year have been stalwarts of the organisation since it’s inception. It is a hard thing making choices between such worthy nominees but after a great deal of deliberation the following people are being recognised for their contribution and awarded Life Membership in 2014. Jenny Millar Jenny has been with SLANZA from the very beginning. She was on the steering committee for SLANZA for the year before it’s inception. Prior to that she was heavily involved in the School Library Network, she was the first Otago/Southland representative for SLANZA and her foresight and vision, amongst the others on that committee have formed and shaped what we have become. She continued in this role for many years. She has been a major contributor to sub committees of the National Executive, giving of her own time for years. Keeping the Otago/Southland region humming when the chairperson was based in Otago and hosting and organising Otagoites, no easy job, organising meetings, and always keeping us in the loop with what was happening at a National level. She has been a huge help to local librarians and her work promoting and reviewing books has been fantastic. Jenny is a SLANZA stalwart. She is tough, resilient and a rock to those in the school library world who need one. We heartily endorse her nomination and are most pleased and happy to reward her with this Life Membership. Rosalba Finnerty This is a person who has been one of the standing stones of SLANZA since it started. She has been involved in almost every area of librarianship over her career and not content with that has become an archivist on top. Rosalba has served her time on the National Executive, she has been involved in so many conferences and committees that it is not possible to count them. She has represented the National Executive at committees of many kinds over the years and still does this today when needed. She has retired from her position at Samuel Marsden Collegiate, and gone on to have an illustrious career in archives, both for that school and for SLANZA, her lounge playing host to a mountain of paper and digital records, she has been in this privileged position for the last two years and her dedication and thoroughness has sharpened all the NE up. Because of her we are better organised and future ready. Rosalba gives up her weekend on National Executive weekends to cater to the National executive, it is a mighty thing, she is our emergency minute taker and advisor on matters of many kinds. Her knowledge of the history of the organisation is regularly called upon. This barely covers it. She is an advisor, an ear to many, a fantastic stalwart of the Wellington committee and all round organiser of everyone and everything. It is an utter pleasure to award her Life Membership of SLANZA. Janet McFadden The nomination for Janet McFadden was fulsome in its praise for her work for, with and alongside SLANZA for many years. Janet has been one of the biggest advocates for the benefit of school librarians belonging to SLANZA, she has been a committee member of the Wellington region for many years. Janet was the first convenor of the Wellington region, as early as 2002 she was helping organise Wellington conferences and has continued to do that regularly. No conference is complete without a presentation from Janet. Her dedication to school librarians across the country, and particularly in Wellington has been always appreciated. Janet has spent her professional life working to provide a wide range of resources and skills to school library staff. Her willingness to help and support others, well beyond the realm of her role at National Library and her continued commitment to the profession of school librarianship at all levels is testament her professionalism and leadership. Janet is a hard working endless promoter of school libraries, the people who work in them and SLANZA as an organisation of value and importance to those people and for this we are incredibly grateful and are delighted to award this Life Membership. Gerri Judkins The name Gerri Judkins is one which is clearly associated with SLANZA and her dedication to SLANZA is legendary. Not only within her home district of the Waikato but amongst all those who have stood back and admired the energy, the enthusiasm and the sheer gutsy determination that kids will read, that school libraries are the places where kids get the stuff to read. Gerri is a reading and school library evangelist. Her work on the SLANZA National Executive has left lasting effects. Her understanding of the different circumstances in which school librarians work had a major influence on decisions made around the NE table. Gerri understood the world that most of us worked in, it was refreshing. Gerri is still giving presentations promoting SLANZA, the work that we do with reading in schools, promoting the Lit Quiz and being the powerhouse of energy she has always been. I think she is currently in Russia at IASL doing exactly that. Gerry is the little engine that could, could promote SLANZA endlessly, could attend meetings when others couldn't, could answer tricky questions and indeed could ask them, could use her endless supply of contacts to make stuff happen, could organise a mini-conference with almost no time and limited funding and could be the person who had read every book available so that she could promote it to her kids and sell it to a whole NE meeting. Gerri Judkins does SLANZA proud and therefore it is not a difficult decision to award her this Life Membership. We offer our sincere congratulations to these awardees. We want them to know that SLANZA has appreciated their efforts and has received enormous benefit from their work for our organisation. Bridget Schaumann President All places at the SLANZA Otago Weekend School to be held in the first weekend of the July holidays have been filled and registrations are now closed.
Everyone who has registered should have been contacted by an Otago Committee member to have their registration confirmed and will receive more details regarding the weekend before the end of next week. If you have any questions regarding the Weekend School, please contact Carole Gardiner (Secretary, SLANZA Otago) at [email protected]. SLANZA members are still welcome to attend the SLANZA 2014 AGM at King's High School, Dunedin at 12.15 on Saturday 5th July without registering for the Weekend School. If you would like to submit an apology for the AGM please send it to [email protected]. Attention SLANZA members – Notice of 2014 AGM
The 2014 SLANZA AGM will be held in Dunedin at the King’s High School Library on Saturday 5th July at 12.15pm, as part of the SLANZA Otago Weekend School. While it is expected that most people wanting to attend the AGM would also be registering for the Weekend School, it is not essential and you are welcome to attend just the AGM if that is your preference. Please send any apologies for the AGM to [email protected] before Wednesday 2nd July. Regards, Carole Gardiner Administration Officer  We are pleased to announce that registrations for the fourth round of SLANZA’s online professional development course - Connected Librarians - will open next Monday, May 19th. Because we have a waiting list for course places, there are currently only 10 places available.
In order to ensure that our participants come from a range of school levels (primary, intermediate and secondary) we will select people from the registration list accordingly. Because Term 2 is somewhat shorter than normal, successful applicants will receive invitations to our learning community during Week 3, and the course will begin in Week 4. If your registration is accepted, it is essential that you ensure you have access to Google Plus using the email account you have registered with, before the course starts. The Connected Librarians course is designed by New Zealand school librarians, for school librarians. It is aimed at those just starting out with online tools in their library. Participants will be required to sign up for, and use a selection of 6 online tools (1 new tool each week). Each week’s work contains background readings and/or videos, tasks to complete using that week’s tool, and participation in discussions to share and reflect on your learning for the week. The course is free for SLANZA members. More information about the course is available here, or you can contact me directly with any questions. Miriam Tuohy Professional Development team leader Thanks to another tremendous response to our course announcement yesterday, places have now been filled, and registrations closed.
The course will be run again in Term 2 - announcements regarding signups will be made at the end of this term. Miriam Tuohy for SLANZA's Professional Development team Follow the link below to register for the upcoming round of our Connected Librarians online professional development course.
Please note that you must be a current member of SLANZA to be able to participate in this PD. http://www.slanza.org.nz/online-pd-registration.html Please contact me if you have any questions regarding the course. Miriam Tuohy Professional Development team leader  We are pleased to announce that this term we will once again be running SLANZA's online professional development course - Connected Librarians - for our members.
In this course you will learn about a selection of online tools to use and to share with your school community. Topics include professional reading, social bookmarking, community connections, and more. This course is designed by New Zealand school librarians, for school librarians - ideal for those just starting out with online tools, who are ready and willing to try new things. The course is free for SLANZA members. Please contact us if you are not sure of your current membership status. Registrations will open on Monday March 3rd. However, because we still have registrations from members held over from our previous course, we have only 15 additional places available. People who have already registered will be contacted directly this week. To ensure that our participants come from a range of school levels (primary, intermediate and secondary) we will add new participants from the registration list accordingly. Successful applicants will receive invitations to our learning community immediately. The course will begin on Monday March 10th and run through to the end of term, Thursday April 17th. More information about the course is available here, or you can contact me directly with any questions. Miriam Tuohy PD Team Leader m[email protected] |
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