Time to choose your workshops!

Workshop Selection for SLANZA Stronger Together Hui 2025

We now have our workshops ready for you to make your choices.

If you have registered, you will have received an email with the form to fill in your workshop choices. If you haven’t received an email please register again here and click submit.

Saturday 1 hour Workshops

Connect, Inspire, Read Together: Tools for developing a reading community  
Ellie Nicholson, Facilitator National Capability - National Library of New Zealand 
This practical workshop is an opportunity to explore the tools and resources developed by the National Library to strengthen the motivation, identity and enjoyment of readers in your school. There will be an opportunity to directly engage with materials and consider effective strategies for implementation in your unique environment. We will also explore a specific reading community project currently underway with National Library support, and have the opportunity to ask their librarian some burning questions.

A Roadmap to Reading: How a Reading Culture Review is Informing a Whole-School Plan
Sasha Eastwood, Librarian and Jared Fretwell, Manchester Street School, Principal
Manchester Street School (MSS) is on a journey to foster a whole-school reading culture. As the school Librarian and Resource Manager, we share how our ongoing Reading Culture Review, guided by the National Library's 'Reading Culture Roadmap', is informing our strategic planning. We'll present the key findings—our strengths like strong community connections, and our challenges, such as an aging library collection and inconsistent implementation of reading strategies. The core of this presentation will focus on how we are translating these findings into a concrete action plan, discussing our strategies for securing Board of Trustees buy-in, developing teacher capability, and promoting reading more visibly. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of how to initiate a similar review, use evidence to drive change, and create a reading plan that supports a lifelong love of reading.


Guiding students to the good stuff: information-rich resources
Miriam Tuohy, Senior Specialist School Library Development - National Library of New Zealand
In an age of overwhelming information choice, how can school library staff and teachers ensure ākonga are accessing the right resources to support their learning? What skills do ākonga really need to become confident and capable searchers themselves?
This workshop will help you design library-led class lessons — and mini-PD sessions for teachers — that focus on information-finding skills and strategies — from identifying what’s needed, to selecting appropriate sources, to navigating online and offline resources with confidence.
We'll explore a step-by-step approach to planning and delivering library sessions that build these skills across age groups, with practical tools to scaffold students’ learning, and support growing independence.
We’ll also touch on how school library staff can work with teachers to improve access to high-quality resources that support knowledge-rich curriculum delivery.
During the workshop you’ll create a draft lesson plan, consider a library skills progression for your learners, and discuss ways forward for collaborating with teaching staff on resource discovery and curation.


Steve Mushin Workshop
Industrial designer, illustrator, science communicator and workshop facilitator. Author and illustrator of UltraWild, Best Designed Children's Non-Fiction book (2024 Australian Book Design Awards), and the 2024 Elsie Locke Award For Best Nonfiction (NZ).
I run high-energy creative-thinking sessions to inspire people of all ages to re-imagine rewilding the world’s cities. My talks and workshops include inspiring stories about incredible real-world design, engineering and rewilding projects, laugh-out-loud explanations of my own absurd-sounding, but theoretically possible rewilding inventions, as well as high speed design, drawing and model making activities. My workshops focus on encouraging creative thinking, imagining positive futures, and helping participants overcome anxieties around climate change.


Sunday 25 minute workshops - Round 1

Ngā Upoko Tukutuku/Māori Subject Headings in school libraries
Ceinwen Jones, Cataloguing Team Lead, SCIS
In 2024, SCIS ran a survey on Ngā Upoko Tukutuku/Māori Subject Headings in New Zealand school libraries. This presentation will share the findings which demonstrate the value of having Māori topical terms in catalogue records to many school communities. The plans Schools Cataloguing Information Service (SCIS) has for inclusion of Ngā Upoko Tukutuku/Māori Subject Headings into SCIS bibliographic records will be shared.

Be Prepared: processes in place for book challenges
Marlies Zyp - van der Laan, Chair of LIANZA. Standing Committee on Freedom of Access to Information and Raschel Eesa-Danes, Upper Hutt Libraries Access and Content Team Leader
Presented by LIANZA’s Standing Committee on Freedom of Information, this workshop will guide you through preparing yourself and your library to manage challenges you encounter to books in the collection, be that from parents, teachers, or students. Discover the principles of intellectual freedom that underlie libraries, and run through the essential processes your library should have in place by diving into the Freedom-to-Read toolkit and Library Challenges Register. Balancing intellectual freedom with age appropriateness is a nuanced business, especially with the additional values of the school and its community. In this workshop, we’ll discuss specific examples of challenges and give you an opportunity to brainstorm what your steps will be and how you’ll determine an outcome based on professional practice and your library's unique circumstance. 

Celebrating Diversity in the Library
Sally Brown, Library Manager, Riccarton High School
Boasting 78 different ethnic groups, Riccarton High is one of the most multi-cultural schools in New Zealand. With this comes challenges but also opportunities for clubs, activities, performances, classes, displays and so much more. Many of them student led. Join Sally in a celebration of diversity and ways your library can promote multiculturalism.

Library 101 - Where to begin as a School Librarian
Trena Lile, Library Manager, Massey High and SLANZA President
Practical tips and tricks on how to begin your journey as a new School Library Kaimahi. How to build a vibe of happiness and library joy in your school library as well as keeping your head above water with all the paperwork. Advocating for you and your tamariki to your leadership.


Sunday 25 minute workshops - Round 2

The IFLA-UNESCO School Libraries Manifesto - an international advocacy tool
Ceire Hopley, Librarian, Waiopehu College
Did you know there is an international document advocating for the importance of school libraries? Produced by IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations) and endorsed by UNESCO, the document sets out recommended standards for the provision of library services in schools worldwide.
Recently updated, the document is a useful advocacy tool, as well as a guide to "health-check" your library service.

Reader Engagement Class Sessions (Year 9 and 10)
Shona Shearer, Assistant Librarian and Megan Ferris, Library Manager at Aotea College
Sharing our journey of developing reader engagement class sessions for year 9 and 10 students. Including the year plan, and the why, what, how and content of sessions. Examples: Discovering your favourite genre, navigating the catalogue, how to to judge a book by its cover, highlighting a genre and showing students how to talk about books

Aotearoa School Library Week 2026!
Trena Lile, Library Manager, Massey High and SLANZA President
Come and join me as we work through what ASLW26 will look like. Workshop some ideas for the Activity Guide and what guidelines you'd like for the poster competition. What other things could we be doing during ASLW - how do we make ASLW more visible to the world outside of our schools?​