Google Newsflash
2.1. Google Real Time search This just happened - rolls out in NZ over 'the next few days' Purports - don't you love that word - to give immediate access to new posts including Twitter - and FaceBook 2.2. Google's Year?Are they still the big bad guys determined to steal all our data - not so according a major spokesperson at the Battle of Ideas conference in London Session - Rethinking Privacy in an age of Disclosure and Sharinghttp://www.battleofideas.org.uk/index.php/2009/session_detail/2515/The whole session is on line.
EAST-IN SIG (East Coast Special Interest Group)
Committee 2009-10
Sunday, December 13, 2009
NDF - Copyleft & Copyright
I was at the National Digital Forum conference in Wellington earlier this week mingling with people involved in digitising and curating New Zealand’s cultural heritage material – people from museums, galleries, archives, libraries.
I was struck by a few commonalities between the cultural heritage sector (known as GLAM – Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums) and the digital news media.
Both deal with sizeable repositories of digital content, for a start, and are grappling with how best to manage those assets, ensure their longevity and make them readily discoverable.
Here are a few thoughts on a couple of themes that I picked up on from the conference, which was held at Te Papa (Museum of New Zealand). The conference was nicely organised, had some interesting guest speakers from here and overseas, and was very enjoyable (my thanks to the organisers).
Copyright/copyleft
Since passive audiences have become active users of content, we’re all trying to figure out how to manage content ownership online and get a balance between commercial imperatives, the costs of digitisation, and the need to enable innovation and maintain a lively public domain of enduring use to citizens.
This is a big issue, and complex, and I don’t propose doing it justice in this post. I just want to acknowledge that it’s an issue affecting all branches of the creative industries and wonder out loud if we can’t jobshare the task of finding local solutions.
Five years ago copryight didn’t get a mention in a journalism curriculum. Now I feel dutybound to raise it, introduce Creative Commons, have discussions about how to use images found on Flickr and Google, and introduce questions to ask yourself when publishing your own work – who do you want to be able to use it, how do you want them to be able to use it, do you want to be credited, how will you enforce your rights and so on.
Libraries and museums, meanwhile, have to track down who holds the copyright on historical images and material, decide what to do if the holder cannot be found, very often seek permission to use the material, and determine how to indicate to end users what they are entitled to do with the material (without making them read dense legislation, clauses and exceptions).
Then there’s the people, like NZ On Screen, who are dealing with archival film and television material who also have to hunt down copyright holders, very often consult dozens of people about a single video clip (producer, director, writers, etc) and manage how end users interact with the material.
Meanwhile there are anomalies in the way we reference material. We think nothing of grabbing a couple of paragraphs from a report or speech or blogpost to include in a news story or essay or artwork, but we tend to feel differently about grabbing a few paragraphs out of an audio or video clip to use in a news story or essay or artwork.
Content ownership, use and licensing isn’t simple. Laws and regulations vary in different jurisdictions, how they’re applied varies even within jurisdictions, and they are often densely written and impenetrable to your average end user. Creative Commons stands out not only for giving content creators simple licences to choose from but also for creating simple icons to describe them that are instantly recognisable.
To extend that kind of simplicity to digital content management in the New Zealand context would be fantastic.
There was also a clearly articulated need for greater education about copyright/fair use issues.
There was a suggestion at the conference that members of the forum should work together on a coherent and simple set of guides/licences/icons for New Zealand.
If that conversation continues, my instinct is that the news media should be involved. I suspect we have insights from our industry to share, and would benefit from learning more about the issues and insights of others.
After all, journalists need cultural and heritage collections for research and should be linking to them for the benefit of readers, and I suspect the news media could learn a lot about managing archives from the GLAM folk.
Visual and digital literacy
Newsrooms everywhere are trying to get journalists comfortable online and competent at storytelling in visual, aural and written forms (video, audio, images, text) so they can get their product out to their customers in whatever format they demand.
Journalism schools are finding ways to do the same while still teaching traditional skills such as writing clearly, checking facts, attributing information, providing context, avoiding ambiguity and being fair and balanced and accurate.
It’s deceptively difficult, in my experience.
You think to yourself, ‘I’ll introduce Flickr, that’s a useful resource’, then find yourself talking about how to shoot images, crop images, caption images and add metadata, search engines 101, how to use software such as Photoshop or Gimp, choose file sizes, understand compression and loss and file types, manage uploads and downloads, collaborate on content creation, use in-house content management systems, manage online accounts and profiles, understand privacy controls, host images for blogs, links, broken links, how to consider copyright and apply and acknowledge it in a variety of scenarios. Phew.
It’s not just newsrooms. The GLAM crowd face similar challenges of bringing their staff up to speed in these and other skills, because they too have to learn how to give their audiences what they want in a variety of engaging formats.
I get the feeling we’re all still finding our way and could use a bit of help.
Making our stuff findable
We can build beautiful, rich websites till the cows come home but they’re no good to anyone if people can’t easily find all that lovely content lurking beneath the homepage. That’s as true for news websites as it is for cultural archives and exhibitions, and it’s a topic that arose often in conversation at the NDF conference.
I’ve been cooling on destination websites for a while. You need to have a destination website, of course, but you need even more to have your content out where your audience is so they can trip over it often and usefully.
I often think it would be nice to create a website from the premise that you publish content all over the web and use the home site to curate it, rather than aggregating/curating first and then pushing out from your home site.
Either way, the big deal in making our content findable is…
Joining the dots
We reinvent the wheel a lot online, and we duplicate content and destinations. That’s partly because we’re all separate organisations doing our own thing. It’s partly because our stuff isn’t findable enough – I often go looking for information and come up empty, even though I know it must be out there somewhere.
But I think it’s also partly because we don’t try hard enough. We don’t allocate enough time for staff to go searching around topic areas, vet what they find, select the most relevant for users’ benefit, and think about how best to link to it.
News websites are perhaps the worst culprits. Some still don’t link out at all, to anything or anyone. Others have begun throwing in a few links to public documents and have finally brought themselves to link to, gosh, YouTube clips that they’re writing stories about. Others are doing a much better job.
But there’s often not enough evidence of news organisations behaving like they’re a member of society. There’s little thought about what a reader coming to a given news story might want to know about its background or what other questions it may raise for them. There’s little interaction with cultural, non-profit, government and other organisations with rich content that would be useful to readers.
There’s often little thought about how to provide useful links – links in stories and listed at the bottom of the page are a great start but how about ways to search other sites from the keywords generated by a news story, a way to book tickets to the show you’ve reviewed, a link to an online bookseller from a book review, a map showing the location of the story topic and a way to click through and explore the location.
Easier said than done, I know, but still.
Those are just a few things chasing round in my mind after the NDF conference. There are many more. We were shown some great sites and exhibitions as well, which I’ll try to collate into another blogpost in a while.
I was struck by a few commonalities between the cultural heritage sector (known as GLAM – Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums) and the digital news media.
Both deal with sizeable repositories of digital content, for a start, and are grappling with how best to manage those assets, ensure their longevity and make them readily discoverable.
Here are a few thoughts on a couple of themes that I picked up on from the conference, which was held at Te Papa (Museum of New Zealand). The conference was nicely organised, had some interesting guest speakers from here and overseas, and was very enjoyable (my thanks to the organisers).
Copyright/copyleft
Since passive audiences have become active users of content, we’re all trying to figure out how to manage content ownership online and get a balance between commercial imperatives, the costs of digitisation, and the need to enable innovation and maintain a lively public domain of enduring use to citizens.
This is a big issue, and complex, and I don’t propose doing it justice in this post. I just want to acknowledge that it’s an issue affecting all branches of the creative industries and wonder out loud if we can’t jobshare the task of finding local solutions.
Five years ago copryight didn’t get a mention in a journalism curriculum. Now I feel dutybound to raise it, introduce Creative Commons, have discussions about how to use images found on Flickr and Google, and introduce questions to ask yourself when publishing your own work – who do you want to be able to use it, how do you want them to be able to use it, do you want to be credited, how will you enforce your rights and so on.
Libraries and museums, meanwhile, have to track down who holds the copyright on historical images and material, decide what to do if the holder cannot be found, very often seek permission to use the material, and determine how to indicate to end users what they are entitled to do with the material (without making them read dense legislation, clauses and exceptions).
Then there’s the people, like NZ On Screen, who are dealing with archival film and television material who also have to hunt down copyright holders, very often consult dozens of people about a single video clip (producer, director, writers, etc) and manage how end users interact with the material.
Meanwhile there are anomalies in the way we reference material. We think nothing of grabbing a couple of paragraphs from a report or speech or blogpost to include in a news story or essay or artwork, but we tend to feel differently about grabbing a few paragraphs out of an audio or video clip to use in a news story or essay or artwork.
Content ownership, use and licensing isn’t simple. Laws and regulations vary in different jurisdictions, how they’re applied varies even within jurisdictions, and they are often densely written and impenetrable to your average end user. Creative Commons stands out not only for giving content creators simple licences to choose from but also for creating simple icons to describe them that are instantly recognisable.
To extend that kind of simplicity to digital content management in the New Zealand context would be fantastic.
There was also a clearly articulated need for greater education about copyright/fair use issues.
There was a suggestion at the conference that members of the forum should work together on a coherent and simple set of guides/licences/icons for New Zealand.
If that conversation continues, my instinct is that the news media should be involved. I suspect we have insights from our industry to share, and would benefit from learning more about the issues and insights of others.
After all, journalists need cultural and heritage collections for research and should be linking to them for the benefit of readers, and I suspect the news media could learn a lot about managing archives from the GLAM folk.
Visual and digital literacy
Newsrooms everywhere are trying to get journalists comfortable online and competent at storytelling in visual, aural and written forms (video, audio, images, text) so they can get their product out to their customers in whatever format they demand.
Journalism schools are finding ways to do the same while still teaching traditional skills such as writing clearly, checking facts, attributing information, providing context, avoiding ambiguity and being fair and balanced and accurate.
It’s deceptively difficult, in my experience.
You think to yourself, ‘I’ll introduce Flickr, that’s a useful resource’, then find yourself talking about how to shoot images, crop images, caption images and add metadata, search engines 101, how to use software such as Photoshop or Gimp, choose file sizes, understand compression and loss and file types, manage uploads and downloads, collaborate on content creation, use in-house content management systems, manage online accounts and profiles, understand privacy controls, host images for blogs, links, broken links, how to consider copyright and apply and acknowledge it in a variety of scenarios. Phew.
It’s not just newsrooms. The GLAM crowd face similar challenges of bringing their staff up to speed in these and other skills, because they too have to learn how to give their audiences what they want in a variety of engaging formats.
I get the feeling we’re all still finding our way and could use a bit of help.
Making our stuff findable
We can build beautiful, rich websites till the cows come home but they’re no good to anyone if people can’t easily find all that lovely content lurking beneath the homepage. That’s as true for news websites as it is for cultural archives and exhibitions, and it’s a topic that arose often in conversation at the NDF conference.
I’ve been cooling on destination websites for a while. You need to have a destination website, of course, but you need even more to have your content out where your audience is so they can trip over it often and usefully.
I often think it would be nice to create a website from the premise that you publish content all over the web and use the home site to curate it, rather than aggregating/curating first and then pushing out from your home site.
Either way, the big deal in making our content findable is…
Joining the dots
We reinvent the wheel a lot online, and we duplicate content and destinations. That’s partly because we’re all separate organisations doing our own thing. It’s partly because our stuff isn’t findable enough – I often go looking for information and come up empty, even though I know it must be out there somewhere.
But I think it’s also partly because we don’t try hard enough. We don’t allocate enough time for staff to go searching around topic areas, vet what they find, select the most relevant for users’ benefit, and think about how best to link to it.
News websites are perhaps the worst culprits. Some still don’t link out at all, to anything or anyone. Others have begun throwing in a few links to public documents and have finally brought themselves to link to, gosh, YouTube clips that they’re writing stories about. Others are doing a much better job.
But there’s often not enough evidence of news organisations behaving like they’re a member of society. There’s little thought about what a reader coming to a given news story might want to know about its background or what other questions it may raise for them. There’s little interaction with cultural, non-profit, government and other organisations with rich content that would be useful to readers.
There’s often little thought about how to provide useful links – links in stories and listed at the bottom of the page are a great start but how about ways to search other sites from the keywords generated by a news story, a way to book tickets to the show you’ve reviewed, a link to an online bookseller from a book review, a map showing the location of the story topic and a way to click through and explore the location.
Easier said than done, I know, but still.
Those are just a few things chasing round in my mind after the NDF conference. There are many more. We were shown some great sites and exhibitions as well, which I’ll try to collate into another blogpost in a while.
Make it Digital has two awards of up to $10,000
Hi there,
We launched an award a couple of weeks ago - NZ organisations can win one of two $10,000 awards to kick-start their digitisation project!*
Make it Digital has two awards of up to $10,000 on offer for organisations who have NZ content they want to digitise and make easier to find, share and use.
To enter, organisations need to register their Make it Digital project on http://makeit.digitalnz.org/voting and then encourage votes and comments from their community along with completing a supporting application to tell us why the project is important.
Find out more: http://makeit.digitalnz.org/about/award/
*Terms and conditions apply http://makeit.digitalnz.org/about/award/terms-and-conditions
Please feel free to email me if you have any questions.
Cheers,
Jo Eaton
Community Manager
DigitalNZ
http://www.digitalnz.org/
jo.eaton@natlib.govt.nz
Ph 04 474 3134 (ext 8785)
We launched an award a couple of weeks ago - NZ organisations can win one of two $10,000 awards to kick-start their digitisation project!*
Make it Digital has two awards of up to $10,000 on offer for organisations who have NZ content they want to digitise and make easier to find, share and use.
To enter, organisations need to register their Make it Digital project on http://makeit.digitalnz.org/voting and then encourage votes and comments from their community along with completing a supporting application to tell us why the project is important.
Find out more: http://makeit.digitalnz.org/about/award/
*Terms and conditions apply http://makeit.digitalnz.org/about/award/terms-and-conditions
Please feel free to email me if you have any questions.
Cheers,
Jo Eaton
Community Manager
DigitalNZ
http://www.digitalnz.org/
jo.eaton@natlib.govt.nz
Ph 04 474 3134 (ext 8785)
Extramural Short Courses Victoria University
Upcoming Courses2 FebruaryTe Māramatanga: Treaty of Waitangi
3 FebruaryEndnote 1: Managing Your References
5 FebruaryPowerPoint Start
10 FebruaryRisk Managemen
t11 FebruaryExcel Smartskills
17 FebruaryThe Art of Minute Taking
18 FebruaryProject Management for Administrators
18 FebruaryPolitical Marketing
19 FebruaryAchieving Productive and Outcome Focused Meetings
3 FebruaryEndnote 1: Managing Your References
5 FebruaryPowerPoint Start
10 FebruaryRisk Managemen
t11 FebruaryExcel Smartskills
17 FebruaryThe Art of Minute Taking
18 FebruaryProject Management for Administrators
18 FebruaryPolitical Marketing
19 FebruaryAchieving Productive and Outcome Focused Meetings
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Professional Registration & Revaildation
Using LIANZA Conferences and seminars to support your revalidation activities
The annual LIANZA Conference and other LIANZA activities such as seminars and weekend schools can provide an excellent opportunity to engage in a range of professional development activities which you can record in your journal and use towards revalidation of your professional registration.
Attendance at conference or a weekend school is not just one revalidation activity, it can be several. Conference activities cover all areas of the Body of Knowledge, as well as the different domains of professional practice, particularly Currency of knowledge (attending conference presentations) and Communication and networking, ( knowledge sharing). Conferences and seminars provide a great opportunity to think about the future of the profession and the challenges out there, while learning about new initiatives and best practice examples, and building new networks.
So keep your professional registration requirements in mind when making the case to attend the LIANZA Conference and other seminars, and again once you get there.
Here are some suggestions for how LIANZA Conferences and seminars can help you meet your revalidation requirements:
Identify the papers that are most meaningful to you, and record what it is about that paper that interested you. What did you learn from it, and how have you applied this?
Were there networking opportunities that were particularly useful and which you have followed up?
Are there opportunities to visit other libraries or information centres while at conference? Record any visits that were of particular value.
Are you presenting a paper – remember to record this.
Were you on the organising committee? – What did you learn from this that you can apply to your work? Maybe this counts under the domain of professional leadership.
Use the following form while at Conference to record possible revalidation activities, then complete it and add the detail to your Journal once you get home and have had a chance to reflect on the Body of Knowledge area and the learning outcomes.
Feel free to redesign this form to suit your own preferred way of working. Here is as an example you might use – http://www.lianza.org.nz/library/files/store_024/conference_seminar_attendance_template_revalidation.doc
Revalidation PowerPoint presentation
Recently the LIANZA office has received several questions regarding the revalidation process, mainly completing and maintaining your journals.
If you have any specific questions please email registration@lianza.org.nz otherwise please refer to the revalidation guidelines on the Registration website as there are some useful tips and interesting library life articles. http://www.lianza.org.nz/registration/revalidation.html
In case you haven’t seen the revalidation presentation by Alison Dobbie you can view this here: http://www.lianza.org.nz/registration/files/Professional_Registration_Revalidation_update_Dec_2009.pps
The annual LIANZA Conference and other LIANZA activities such as seminars and weekend schools can provide an excellent opportunity to engage in a range of professional development activities which you can record in your journal and use towards revalidation of your professional registration.
Attendance at conference or a weekend school is not just one revalidation activity, it can be several. Conference activities cover all areas of the Body of Knowledge, as well as the different domains of professional practice, particularly Currency of knowledge (attending conference presentations) and Communication and networking, ( knowledge sharing). Conferences and seminars provide a great opportunity to think about the future of the profession and the challenges out there, while learning about new initiatives and best practice examples, and building new networks.
So keep your professional registration requirements in mind when making the case to attend the LIANZA Conference and other seminars, and again once you get there.
Here are some suggestions for how LIANZA Conferences and seminars can help you meet your revalidation requirements:
Identify the papers that are most meaningful to you, and record what it is about that paper that interested you. What did you learn from it, and how have you applied this?
Were there networking opportunities that were particularly useful and which you have followed up?
Are there opportunities to visit other libraries or information centres while at conference? Record any visits that were of particular value.
Are you presenting a paper – remember to record this.
Were you on the organising committee? – What did you learn from this that you can apply to your work? Maybe this counts under the domain of professional leadership.
Use the following form while at Conference to record possible revalidation activities, then complete it and add the detail to your Journal once you get home and have had a chance to reflect on the Body of Knowledge area and the learning outcomes.
Feel free to redesign this form to suit your own preferred way of working. Here is as an example you might use – http://www.lianza.org.nz/library/files/store_024/conference_seminar_attendance_template_revalidation.doc
Revalidation PowerPoint presentation
Recently the LIANZA office has received several questions regarding the revalidation process, mainly completing and maintaining your journals.
If you have any specific questions please email registration@lianza.org.nz otherwise please refer to the revalidation guidelines on the Registration website as there are some useful tips and interesting library life articles. http://www.lianza.org.nz/registration/revalidation.html
In case you haven’t seen the revalidation presentation by Alison Dobbie you can view this here: http://www.lianza.org.nz/registration/files/Professional_Registration_Revalidation_update_Dec_2009.pps
Monday, December 7, 2009
Night Before Christmas
A Politically Correct Christmas Story
'Twas the night before Christmas and Santa's a wreck... How to live in a world that's politically correct? His workers no longer would answer to "Elves". "Vertically Challenged" they were calling themselves. And labour conditions at the North Pole were alleged by the union to stifle the soul. Four reindeer had vanished, without much propriety, Released to the wilds by the Humane Society. And equal employment had made it quite clear That Santa had better not use just reindeer. So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid Were replaced with 4 pigs, and you know that looked stupid! The runners had been removed from his sleigh; The ruts were termed dangerous by the E.P.A. And people had started to call for the cops When they heard sled noises on their rooftops. Second-hand smoke from his pipe had his workers quite frightened. His fur trimmed red suit was called "Unenlightened."And to show you the strangeness of life's ebbs and flows, Rudolf was suing over unauthorised use of his nose And had gone on Geraldo, in front of the nation, Demanding millions in over-due compensation. So, half of the reindeer were gone; and his wife, Who suddenly said she'd enough of this life, Joined a self-help group, packed, and left in a whiz, Demanding from now on her title was Ms. And as for the gifts, why, he'd never had a notion That making a choice could cause so much commotion. Nothing of leather, nothing of fur, Which meant nothing for him. And nothing for her. Nothing that might be construed to pollute. Nothing to aim, Nothing to shoot. Nothing that clamoured or made lots of noise. Nothing for just girls, or just for the boys. Nothing that claimed to be gender specific. Nothing that's warlike or non-pacifistic. No candy or sweets...they were bad for the tooth. Nothing that seemed to embellish a truth. And fairy tales, while not yet forbidden, Were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden. For they raised the hackles of those psychological Who claimed the only good gift was one ecological. No baseball, no football...someone could get hurt; Besides, playing sports exposed kids to dirt. Dolls were said to be sexist, and should be passe; And Nintendo would rot your entire brain away. So Santa just stood there, dishevelled, perplexed; He just could not figure out what to do next. He tried to be merry, tried to be gay, But you've got to be careful with that word today. His sack was quite empty, limp to the ground; Nothing fully acceptable was to be found. Something special was needed, a gift that he might Give to all without angering the left or the right. A gift that would satisfy, with no indecision, Each group of people, every religion;Every ethnicity, every hue, Everyone, everywhere...even you. So here is that gift, it's price beyond worth... May you and your loved ones, enjoy peace on Earth.
'Twas the night before Christmas and Santa's a wreck... How to live in a world that's politically correct? His workers no longer would answer to "Elves". "Vertically Challenged" they were calling themselves. And labour conditions at the North Pole were alleged by the union to stifle the soul. Four reindeer had vanished, without much propriety, Released to the wilds by the Humane Society. And equal employment had made it quite clear That Santa had better not use just reindeer. So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid Were replaced with 4 pigs, and you know that looked stupid! The runners had been removed from his sleigh; The ruts were termed dangerous by the E.P.A. And people had started to call for the cops When they heard sled noises on their rooftops. Second-hand smoke from his pipe had his workers quite frightened. His fur trimmed red suit was called "Unenlightened."And to show you the strangeness of life's ebbs and flows, Rudolf was suing over unauthorised use of his nose And had gone on Geraldo, in front of the nation, Demanding millions in over-due compensation. So, half of the reindeer were gone; and his wife, Who suddenly said she'd enough of this life, Joined a self-help group, packed, and left in a whiz, Demanding from now on her title was Ms. And as for the gifts, why, he'd never had a notion That making a choice could cause so much commotion. Nothing of leather, nothing of fur, Which meant nothing for him. And nothing for her. Nothing that might be construed to pollute. Nothing to aim, Nothing to shoot. Nothing that clamoured or made lots of noise. Nothing for just girls, or just for the boys. Nothing that claimed to be gender specific. Nothing that's warlike or non-pacifistic. No candy or sweets...they were bad for the tooth. Nothing that seemed to embellish a truth. And fairy tales, while not yet forbidden, Were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden. For they raised the hackles of those psychological Who claimed the only good gift was one ecological. No baseball, no football...someone could get hurt; Besides, playing sports exposed kids to dirt. Dolls were said to be sexist, and should be passe; And Nintendo would rot your entire brain away. So Santa just stood there, dishevelled, perplexed; He just could not figure out what to do next. He tried to be merry, tried to be gay, But you've got to be careful with that word today. His sack was quite empty, limp to the ground; Nothing fully acceptable was to be found. Something special was needed, a gift that he might Give to all without angering the left or the right. A gift that would satisfy, with no indecision, Each group of people, every religion;Every ethnicity, every hue, Everyone, everywhere...even you. So here is that gift, it's price beyond worth... May you and your loved ones, enjoy peace on Earth.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
NDF Conference Brief Summary
Lots of people mainly from the "GLAMs"
but other Librarians and IT gurus.
but other Librarians and IT gurus.
Penny 
Carnaby (National Library) and John Garraway (NDF Chair)
Carnaby (National Library) and John Garraway (NDF Chair)Daniel opened with a very witty account of the transformation he has overseen of the IMA’s online presence and production. In particular the great use of personalities, narratives and stories told using low cost video but with high production values). He comes from a background like myself of
video production and I totally related to his
insistence on voice, opinion, humour trumping over the technology.
Nina (a woman after my own heart) talked about audience, mostly from the point of view of the physical exhibition but the issues translate to the online world very easily. The spoke of the importance of framing the ‘right’ question as a way to draw people in to an idea. She also got the whole conference on its feet, sharing skills and seeking advise in the one-to-one, with the reward for a a successful skill swap of banging a huge gong hanging on the stage. See the visual evidence of my successful sharing here!
Nina (a woman after my own heart) talked about audience, mostly from the point of view of the physical exhibition but the issues translate to the online world very easily. The spoke of the importance of framing the ‘right’ question as a way to draw people in to an idea. She also got the whole conference on its feet, sharing skills and seeking advise in the one-to-one, with the reward for a a successful skill swap of banging a huge gong hanging on the stage. See the visual evidence of my successful sharing here!
jane Finnis told the story of Culture24 over the last ten years, what we set out to do, what we actually did, what worked, what didn’t and what next. I also looked back on the duplication, lack of strategy, leadership and sustainability in UK digital cultural online. Ending with what I see as possibly the start of some real change in 2009 thanks to the following:
MLA digital principles publishedArts Council state digital opportunity as a key priorityNational Museum directors speak out to say future for museums lies with InternetMA conference, first year they have had a strand on ‘digital change’
MLA digital principles publishedArts Council state digital opportunity as a key priorityNational Museum directors speak out to say future for museums lies with InternetMA conference, first year they have had a strand on ‘digital change’
You can see the slides of Jane's talk, which are in two parts here: Part One / Part Two.
It seems from the Twitter back channel and the face to face chat that the stories were appreciated, which coming from such a highly skilled and digital literate group of people was a real compliment.
Also enjoyed hearing about the excellent stuff they are doing at the DigitalNZ (part of the National Digital Library). Their work with API’s, data aggregation and date sharing is really innovative for the cultrual sector and I for one an watching their space with interest.
Same applies to the stuff that Liam Wyatt from Wikimedia Australia is talking about concerning how to engage the GLAM sector more effectivly with Wikimedia. His recent blog posts on the low hanging fruit in this area are really interesting.
It seems from the Twitter back channel and the face to face chat that the stories were appreciated, which coming from such a highly skilled and digital literate group of people was a real compliment.
Also enjoyed hearing about the excellent stuff they are doing at the DigitalNZ (part of the National Digital Library). Their work with API’s, data aggregation and date sharing is really innovative for the cultrual sector and I for one an watching their space with interest.
Same applies to the stuff that Liam Wyatt from Wikimedia Australia is talking about concerning how to engage the GLAM sector more effectivly with Wikimedia. His recent blog posts on the low hanging fruit in this area are really interesting.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Karen Kalopulu
The sudden death of Karen Kalopulu is a great loss to Auckland City Libraries, The Library Community and the Family History Community. My condolences to her family.
Karen is well known and respected across many libraries and many community groups and organisations. Karen had attended various conferences over the years Genealogy, and Library related and has made many friends. She is renown for her "Family Lock ins" of which I myself have been part of two of these. Karen has helped thousands with family history help over the years. Her skills, dedication and knowledge were immeasurable.
This is a sad passing and she will be missed by all.
Karen is well known and respected across many libraries and many community groups and organisations. Karen had attended various conferences over the years Genealogy, and Library related and has made many friends. She is renown for her "Family Lock ins" of which I myself have been part of two of these. Karen has helped thousands with family history help over the years. Her skills, dedication and knowledge were immeasurable.
This is a sad passing and she will be missed by all.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Havelock North Library EXPO
Havelock North Library EXPO was a great sucess with approx 68 people plus Staff in attendance. It was great to see what new books were coming out in the new 2 months. Some great new titles.
We were very priviledged to have children's author Yvonne Morrison as our guest speaker.
Yvonne was born in Auckland in 1972, Yvonne went to primary school in Auckland before the family moved to Wellington. After attending Karori Normal School and Tawa College, Yvonne went on to Victoria University and finally to Wellington College of Education.
Yvonne trained to be a meteorologist, but found the late-night shift work too hard. Then she became a scientist doing research for the university’s physics department. Now Yvonne is a primary school teacher.
Although she started writing stories about the family cats during her primary school years, she did not publish her first book until she was 25 and then it was a science book about microscopes.
Yvonne loved reading children’s books and had lots of ideas for stories spinning in her head but it was while travelling (she has visited 28 countries so far) that she finally found the time to write the ideas down. The way the characters act out scenes in Yvonne’s head often surprises her and she especially enjoys making the readers laugh.
Yvonne’s advice to budding young authors is “Like any skill, writing takes practice. The more you write, the better you’ll become. Read a lot, and notice the way good writers write. Keep a diary of interesting things you notice about people, places or objects. Finally, your teachers are right – editing really is important.
We were very priviledged to have children's author Yvonne Morrison as our guest speaker.
Yvonne was born in Auckland in 1972, Yvonne went to primary school in Auckland before the family moved to Wellington. After attending Karori Normal School and Tawa College, Yvonne went on to Victoria University and finally to Wellington College of Education.
Yvonne trained to be a meteorologist, but found the late-night shift work too hard. Then she became a scientist doing research for the university’s physics department. Now Yvonne is a primary school teacher.
Although she started writing stories about the family cats during her primary school years, she did not publish her first book until she was 25 and then it was a science book about microscopes.
Yvonne loved reading children’s books and had lots of ideas for stories spinning in her head but it was while travelling (she has visited 28 countries so far) that she finally found the time to write the ideas down. The way the characters act out scenes in Yvonne’s head often surprises her and she especially enjoys making the readers laugh.
Yvonne’s advice to budding young authors is “Like any skill, writing takes practice. The more you write, the better you’ll become. Read a lot, and notice the way good writers write. Keep a diary of interesting things you notice about people, places or objects. Finally, your teachers are right – editing really is important.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
3M Award Finalists
Finalists
Early learning through Active Movement - Auckland City Libraries
Aotearoa People's Network - The National Library of New Zealand and Marlborough District Libraries (on behalf of partner Public Libraries)
Top of the South Stories Project: Te Tau Ihu o te Waka a Maui - Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough Public Libraries, Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology Learning Centre and Nelson Provincial Museum
Great to see what an innovative bunch we are. The winner Winner was APNK
See my Conference Blog for more details http://lianzaconference2009.blogspot.com/2009/10/3m-awards.html
Early learning through Active Movement - Auckland City Libraries
Aotearoa People's Network - The National Library of New Zealand and Marlborough District Libraries (on behalf of partner Public Libraries)
Top of the South Stories Project: Te Tau Ihu o te Waka a Maui - Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough Public Libraries, Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology Learning Centre and Nelson Provincial Museum
Great to see what an innovative bunch we are. The winner Winner was APNK
See my Conference Blog for more details http://lianzaconference2009.blogspot.com/2009/10/3m-awards.html
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
LIANZA Conference - Generation Ngai Tahu
Generation Ngai Tahu by Sir Tipene O’Regan and Hana O’Regan
The Audience warmly welcomed both Sir Tipene O’Regan and his daughter Hana O’Regan at this mornings first key note address as the 2009 LIANZA annual conference got underway.
They engaged in some light hearted intergenerational banter pulling each other up in areas such as pronunciation and family politics.
The thrust of their talk covered the intergenerational transmission of knowledge and their own generational ‘take’ on the issue.
During their talk they walked the attentive audience through the way a body of Ngai Tahu knowledge had been impacted over the years by the priorities applied to the transmission of information by each generation.
The Audience warmly welcomed both Sir Tipene O’Regan and his daughter Hana O’Regan at this mornings first key note address as the 2009 LIANZA annual conference got underway.
They engaged in some light hearted intergenerational banter pulling each other up in areas such as pronunciation and family politics.
The thrust of their talk covered the intergenerational transmission of knowledge and their own generational ‘take’ on the issue.
During their talk they walked the attentive audience through the way a body of Ngai Tahu knowledge had been impacted over the years by the priorities applied to the transmission of information by each generation.
Havelock North Library Publishers EXPO
Publishers Book Expo
Havelock North Library
Havelock North Library
Wednesday 28 October 6.45pm
- complimentary refreshments.
Starts 7pm.
Publishers: Scholastic, Hachette Livre, Harper Collins.
Tickets $2.00, available at Havelock North, Hastings & Flaxmere Libraries.
Special guest author Yvonne Morrison, author of A Kiwi Night Before Christmas, and over forty children's books. More on Yvonne Morrison >>
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Vince Collins Display Course
Last chance to register for the Displays Workshop with Vince Collins in Gisborne
Registrations for the Displays Workshop with Vince Collins in GISBORNE on Thursday 29th October, will close at mid-day on Friday 23rd October.
To book your place please click on the links below and complete the online registration form –
http://www.lianza.org.nz/cgi-bin/calendar/viewevent.pl?id=529
Workshop details –
Vince Collins returns with his popular workshop on how to get the most out of library displays.
In this economic recession library usage is up. People visit their library for recreational reading, but also for help job hunting and creating their CVs. Learn how your displays can help them do that, and keep them coming back for more.
Use your new knowledge about innovative displays to increase your usage stats and wow your institutions!
Vince uses low cost materials to create displays with impact on a shoe string budget.
Workshop length:
10.00am - 3.30pm. The workshop includes a welcome tea/coffee, and lunch at 12.30pm for 30 minutes
Cost:
$155 (incl GST) LIANZA member, $220 (incl GST) non-member
Places are limited
Registrants are asked to bring a camera.
BoK area:If you are professionally registered, you can enter this event in your revalidation journal under BoK area 3, 4, and 9
Registrations for the Displays Workshop with Vince Collins in GISBORNE on Thursday 29th October, will close at mid-day on Friday 23rd October.
To book your place please click on the links below and complete the online registration form –
http://www.lianza.org.nz/cgi-bin/calendar/viewevent.pl?id=529
Workshop details –
Vince Collins returns with his popular workshop on how to get the most out of library displays.
In this economic recession library usage is up. People visit their library for recreational reading, but also for help job hunting and creating their CVs. Learn how your displays can help them do that, and keep them coming back for more.
Use your new knowledge about innovative displays to increase your usage stats and wow your institutions!
Vince uses low cost materials to create displays with impact on a shoe string budget.
Workshop length:
10.00am - 3.30pm. The workshop includes a welcome tea/coffee, and lunch at 12.30pm for 30 minutes
Cost:
$155 (incl GST) LIANZA member, $220 (incl GST) non-member
Places are limited
Registrants are asked to bring a camera.
BoK area:If you are professionally registered, you can enter this event in your revalidation journal under BoK area 3, 4, and 9
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Heather Lamond Receives LIANZA Associateship
Congratulations to Heather Lamond whoc received her LIANZA Associates at LIANZA 2009 Conference. Heather is customer driven, an effiective communicator, able to demonstrate strong leadership She is strongly committed to LIANZA being active on both the local committee and on National Council This is a well deserved award, and we are greatly honoured to have you as our Ikaroa Councillor.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Professional Registration - Revalidation
Are you keeping a journal, will you be ready for revalidation?
Why not share your knowledge here with others.
Click on reply to post and share your knowledge or ask a question...
Why not share your knowledge here with others.
Click on reply to post and share your knowledge or ask a question...
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Joy Tutty Retires
Joy Tutty, who signed out for the final time on September 25, Joywas credited with being the force behind Masterton becoming one of the first community libraries in the country to switch to fully-computerised cataloguing. Miss Tutty as I new her was "a passionate advocate for the Masterton Library". SHe was always aimingto improve services at the library, this was her corner-stone commitment and in 30 years she did not deter from working tirelessly to make the library one of the best in the country,"
Miss Tutty joined the library in 1980, with her first priority being the construction of a new library building in northern Queen Street. During planning she insisted that provision be made for computer cabling. This showed huge foresight, given the fact computers now manage library databases nationwide and back then none did. The new library opened in 1982 and has seen many improvements.Innovations included the introduction of the Eastern and Central Summer Reading programme for children, the long running Glistening Waters Storytelling Festival and the Yarns in Barns Festival.
Miss Tutty also promoted the establishment of the Wairarapa Archive, instigated an oral history programme and was the prime mover in the introduction of the te reo Maori component of the Summer Reading Programme.
Active on the national library scene, Miss Tutty was a member of the steering group for the formation of the Association of Public Library Managers, and was part of the consultation group for the Aotearoa People's Network that installed computers for free public use in libraries.
She was awarded a G T Alley Fellowship to study local history services in American libraries and was made an Associate of the Library and Information Association New Zealand Aotearoa in 1986, and a fellowship in 2001.
Miss Tutty joined the library in 1980, with her first priority being the construction of a new library building in northern Queen Street. During planning she insisted that provision be made for computer cabling. This showed huge foresight, given the fact computers now manage library databases nationwide and back then none did. The new library opened in 1982 and has seen many improvements.Innovations included the introduction of the Eastern and Central Summer Reading programme for children, the long running Glistening Waters Storytelling Festival and the Yarns in Barns Festival.
Miss Tutty also promoted the establishment of the Wairarapa Archive, instigated an oral history programme and was the prime mover in the introduction of the te reo Maori component of the Summer Reading Programme.
Active on the national library scene, Miss Tutty was a member of the steering group for the formation of the Association of Public Library Managers, and was part of the consultation group for the Aotearoa People's Network that installed computers for free public use in libraries.
She was awarded a G T Alley Fellowship to study local history services in American libraries and was made an Associate of the Library and Information Association New Zealand Aotearoa in 1986, and a fellowship in 2001.
I wish Joy all the best in her retirement, and it won't be the last time she goes to Masterton Library. Thanks Joy for all you have done for our profession.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
LIANZA'S Children's Book Awards
Random House Wins at the 2009 LIANZA Children’s Book AwardsRandom House NZ had a very successful night at the Library and Information NZ Association (LIANZA) awards. Fleur Beale had the honour of receiving the prestigious Esther Glen Award for fiction with her young adult novel Juno of Taris, and Rebecca Priestly and Veronika Meduna won the Elsie Locke Award for non-fiction with Atoms, Dinosaurs and DNA. Hosted by Café L’Affare in Wellington, the awards recognise children’s book authors and illustrators who make a contribution to New Zealand’s cultural heritage and national identity.For more information on all this year's winners, visit the LIANZA website.
LIANZA'S Children's Book Awards
Random House Wins at the 2009 LIANZA Children’s Book AwardsRandom House NZ had a very successful night at the Library and Information NZ Association (LIANZA) awards. Fleur Beale had the honour of receiving the prestigious Esther Glen Award for fiction with her young adult novel Juno of Taris, and Rebecca Priestly and Veronika Meduna won the Elsie Locke Award for non-fiction with Atoms, Dinosaurs and DNA. Hosted by Café L’Affare in Wellington, the awards recognise children’s book authors and illustrators who make a contribution to New Zealand’s cultural heritage and national identity.For more information on all this year's winners, visit the LIANZA website.
Pōwhiri – here’s what you need to know
So you’ve never been to a pōwhiri before? Or perhaps you’ve been to one before, but not for a while, or not outside of a marae, or not away from home.
So you’ve never been to a pōwhiri before? Or perhaps you’ve been to one before, but not for a while, or not outside of a marae, or not away from home.
Pou in Victoria Square
Haneta Pierce, who is the manager of Māori Services at Christchurch City Libraries and heads the Bicultural portfolio for LIANZA 2009 Conference, has helpfully put together an explanation of what a pōwhiri is, what you can expect and where to meet.
Why have a pōwhiri? The primary purpose of the pōwhiri is to bring together two groups of people – the hosts (mana whenua) and the visitors (manuhiri). This is a step-by-step process, observing Māori tikanga, that allows the two groups to become sufficiently comfortable with one another, so that they can then mingle with each another and together undertake the business of the meeting, which, in this case, is the annual LIANZA Conference.
Where is it being held? The pōwhiri for this year’s conference will take place in Victoria Square, which is a very short stroll to the conference venue.
What to wear? Tidy dress, just as you would wear to work, or to a conference. There is no specific requirement for skirts for women. It may be cool, or it may be hot, so we suggest you dress in layers to adapt to the weather conditions.
When and where to gather. The pōwhiri is scheduled to begin at 8.30am, on Monday 12th October, so please start to gather near the bridge in Victoria Square from 8.15am. There will be folks around to guide you about where to stand before the pōwhiri begins, and where to move after the wero (formal challenge) and karanga (ceremonial call) have happened. The seating on the manuhiri side is intended for pōwhiri speakers and overseas guests.
Information for the day. As mentioned above, there will be folks on hand to guide you. You will also receive a pōwhiri booklet when you register to explain the process (so if you can register before 8.15am, that would be useful!). Mana whenua will speak first, then the manuhiri will reply. There will be various waiata (songs), including the LIANZA waiata, Ko nga kete wananga e rapuhia e Tane. To familarise yourself with this waiata, have a listen to the tune and learn the words here.
After the formal proceedings. Once the harirū (pressing of noses) between the mana whenua and seated guests is completed, we will enter the Town Hall and make our way to the air bridge upstairs to cross to the Convention Centre for morning tea.
What if it rains? In the event that the weather on the morning of Monday 12th October isn’t favourable, a decision will be made to engage our “change of venue” plans by 7.30am. The process remains the same, but the venue changes to the main hall of the Convention Centre. There’ll be folks on hand to make sure you know where to go.
Some of the challenges to holding the pōwhiri in Victoria Square. In holding the pōwhiri outside of a marae setting, there are some challenges posed as it acquires an additional purpose, that of making a symbolic statement about the identity of the local, regional or national community and the part Māori have within that, as well as an introduction between two groups. It also acquires a different audience, one whose members in most cases do not understand or speak te Reo Māori. This can present the presiding kaumātua (elders) with a dilemma, as speaking in only te Reo Māori may mean that many of those present do not understand the speeches, miss out on the information contained therein, and, instead of enjoying, endure the ceremony. However, through discussions with Te Rōpū Whakahau and tangata whenua representatives, in this case Ngāi Tahu, and structure and guidance from the LIANZA Conference Handbook, we’ve worked together to ensure that the pōwhiri achieves the goal of bringing the two groups together, observing tikanga and welcoming our overseas manuhiri appropriately.
So you’ve never been to a pōwhiri before? Or perhaps you’ve been to one before, but not for a while, or not outside of a marae, or not away from home.
Pou in Victoria Square
Haneta Pierce, who is the manager of Māori Services at Christchurch City Libraries and heads the Bicultural portfolio for LIANZA 2009 Conference, has helpfully put together an explanation of what a pōwhiri is, what you can expect and where to meet.
Why have a pōwhiri? The primary purpose of the pōwhiri is to bring together two groups of people – the hosts (mana whenua) and the visitors (manuhiri). This is a step-by-step process, observing Māori tikanga, that allows the two groups to become sufficiently comfortable with one another, so that they can then mingle with each another and together undertake the business of the meeting, which, in this case, is the annual LIANZA Conference.
Where is it being held? The pōwhiri for this year’s conference will take place in Victoria Square, which is a very short stroll to the conference venue.
What to wear? Tidy dress, just as you would wear to work, or to a conference. There is no specific requirement for skirts for women. It may be cool, or it may be hot, so we suggest you dress in layers to adapt to the weather conditions.
When and where to gather. The pōwhiri is scheduled to begin at 8.30am, on Monday 12th October, so please start to gather near the bridge in Victoria Square from 8.15am. There will be folks around to guide you about where to stand before the pōwhiri begins, and where to move after the wero (formal challenge) and karanga (ceremonial call) have happened. The seating on the manuhiri side is intended for pōwhiri speakers and overseas guests.
Information for the day. As mentioned above, there will be folks on hand to guide you. You will also receive a pōwhiri booklet when you register to explain the process (so if you can register before 8.15am, that would be useful!). Mana whenua will speak first, then the manuhiri will reply. There will be various waiata (songs), including the LIANZA waiata, Ko nga kete wananga e rapuhia e Tane. To familarise yourself with this waiata, have a listen to the tune and learn the words here.
After the formal proceedings. Once the harirū (pressing of noses) between the mana whenua and seated guests is completed, we will enter the Town Hall and make our way to the air bridge upstairs to cross to the Convention Centre for morning tea.
What if it rains? In the event that the weather on the morning of Monday 12th October isn’t favourable, a decision will be made to engage our “change of venue” plans by 7.30am. The process remains the same, but the venue changes to the main hall of the Convention Centre. There’ll be folks on hand to make sure you know where to go.
Some of the challenges to holding the pōwhiri in Victoria Square. In holding the pōwhiri outside of a marae setting, there are some challenges posed as it acquires an additional purpose, that of making a symbolic statement about the identity of the local, regional or national community and the part Māori have within that, as well as an introduction between two groups. It also acquires a different audience, one whose members in most cases do not understand or speak te Reo Māori. This can present the presiding kaumātua (elders) with a dilemma, as speaking in only te Reo Māori may mean that many of those present do not understand the speeches, miss out on the information contained therein, and, instead of enjoying, endure the ceremony. However, through discussions with Te Rōpū Whakahau and tangata whenua representatives, in this case Ngāi Tahu, and structure and guidance from the LIANZA Conference Handbook, we’ve worked together to ensure that the pōwhiri achieves the goal of bringing the two groups together, observing tikanga and welcoming our overseas manuhiri appropriately.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
EAST COAST LIBRARIES TRAINING OPPORTUNITY
EAST COAST/HAWKES BAY/TARARUA REGIONAL LIBRARIES
present
Reference interviewing, readers advising and a road trip!
Learn the basic principles of the reference interview; readers’ advisory tips and techniques and sample a variety of Hawkes Bay libraries!
Introductory training sessions:
· Reference interview
· Readers’ Advisory
PLUS
Tour:
· Taradale Library (re-opened July 2009)
· EIT Twist Library
· Flaxmere Library
· Lindisfarne College Library
· Hawkes Bay DHB Library
Venue: Taradale Library, White Street, Taradale (please park on the street)
Date: Friday 9 October 2009
Time: 8.30am-4pm
Cost: $30 per person, includes training sessions, full tour and catering (please advise of any special dietary requirements)
Registrations by Tuesday 6th October to:
· Paula Murdoch, Hastings District Libraries, paulam@hdc.govt.nz OR
· Sheryl Reed, Napier Libraries, sherylr@napier.govt.nz OR
· Diane Friis, EIT Twist Library, dfriis@eit.ac.nz
present
Reference interviewing, readers advising and a road trip!
Learn the basic principles of the reference interview; readers’ advisory tips and techniques and sample a variety of Hawkes Bay libraries!
Introductory training sessions:
· Reference interview
· Readers’ Advisory
PLUS
Tour:
· Taradale Library (re-opened July 2009)
· EIT Twist Library
· Flaxmere Library
· Lindisfarne College Library
· Hawkes Bay DHB Library
Venue: Taradale Library, White Street, Taradale (please park on the street)
Date: Friday 9 October 2009
Time: 8.30am-4pm
Cost: $30 per person, includes training sessions, full tour and catering (please advise of any special dietary requirements)
Registrations by Tuesday 6th October to:
· Paula Murdoch, Hastings District Libraries, paulam@hdc.govt.nz OR
· Sheryl Reed, Napier Libraries, sherylr@napier.govt.nz OR
· Diane Friis, EIT Twist Library, dfriis@eit.ac.nz
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