Term 4 Xmas Event

On the 18 of November Wellington members gathered for their final PD event of the year. We bought our xmas treats to St. Patricks College, Kilbirnie for a relaxed event for term 4. Firstly we farewelled and gave an Award to Sue Esterman of Scot's College.  Sue has been a wonderful ambassador for school libraries through Wellington and we we wish her well in her retirement.

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Sue Esterman of Scot's College.

We then presented Barbara Murison her Life Membership Award.  Barbara has been hugely influential within, library and literature circles in New Zealand.  Her life has been filled with books, writers, libraries and her passion for literacy.

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Barbara Murison with her Life Membership Award

Then we awarded Marianne Dobie her recognition award and she talked to us about her experience of the Christchurch conference. Here is what she had to say:

Highlights of the 2015 SLANZA Conference


Where to start? The conference was such a positive experience it is very hard to choose just a few highlights.
Here are only a few of the highlights.


Roger Dennis’ keynote address was about how technology is changing the world and how to prepare children for entering the workforce in ten years. The point that was most memorable was that people can do great things, and so can technology. It is when the two work together that something amazing can happen.


Kay Oddone’s keynote on Makerspace gave practical advice on this phenomenon, in terms of setting up, staff roles, activities and equipment.  I took many ideas away with me, and have already contacted Kay for more information, which she was very generous in giving.


Alison Johnson’s workshop on eBooks was interesting, as her findings on eBook borrowing are very similar to our own experiences – namely that library platforms for eBook borrowing are not as popular as we had expected or had hoped. Alison also talked about different ways of promoting eBooks.


Visiting other libraries is always fascinating and I had the opportunity to visit Fendalton Open Air School, Halswell School, and the Secondary and Primary Libraries at St. Andrews. I took many photographs and ideas. Halswell was particularly interesting as we saw the purpose-built  MLE classrooms and the  new library. It never fails to amaze me how creative and adaptable librarians can be.


Meeting other colleagues, sharing ideas, experiences and laughter is always a highlight.
A personal highlight for me was being awarded the SLANZA Award of Merit for Library Assistant. This came as a complete surprise, and was a very humbling experience. Being presented with my certificate in front of my colleagues was especially meaningful.

I was fortunate enough to receive a grant from Wellington SLANZA which covered the registration costs of attending Conference, for which I am extremely grateful.

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Marianne Dobie with her Award.

Clare Forrest treated us to a fantastically funny and challenging literature quiz.  Luckily for everyone we all went away with prizes.

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