Future sustainability of libraries

What’s Whiria te Tāngata?

Whiria te Tāngata, a one-year NZLPP-funded, project, aims to tackle the big questions of sustainability for the library sector. . The best way to describe our kaupapa is within the name — Whiria te Tāngata, toitu te mātauranga and our desire to encourage the weaving together of the sector to better support the long-term sustainability of libraries to hopefully see more authentic partnerships, collaboration and collective impact as a result.

There are four focus areas within Whiria te Tāngata:

• Wāharua, Mātauranga Māori — Developing increased capability regarding the importance and place of Mātauranga Māori within the Library sector.

• Poutama, Workforce Capability Framework — Implementing and piloting a sector workforce capability framework called Te Tōtara to build the infrastructure to support broadening and strengthening capability.

• Purapura whetū, Data, Research and Evidence Strategy (DRE) — Supporting the implementation of a sector data, research and evidence strategy to lay the foundations for a strong data culture and data, research and evidence base on the social and economic value libraries services deliver.

• Niho taniwha, Collective Impact — Looking at ways in which a foundation for a Sector-wide collaborative model can be established.

Our kākaho are the binding stitch for this mahi and were chosen from across Aotearoa’s library sector. We intentionally selected kākaho – sustainability champions from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences to be able to better test the sustainability initiatives in a practical sense, within the real world.

The selected kākaho are part of an eight-month learning and development programme with the aim to develop their networking, collective impact, and strategic leadership skills. They continue to work within their substantive roles and dedicate one day a week to the Whiria te Tāngata programme.

They work collaboratively using a hybrid approach of both a dedicated online learning management system and kanohi ki te kanohi via noho marae.

Let's meet this very interesting group.

Dan Beck — Auckland Libraries

Ko Dan toku ingoa. I work for Auckland Libraries in our Content Development and Engagement Team. We plan and develop the amazing collections Auckland Libraries takes care of for our communities.

I have worked across the libraries sector in New Zealand and the UK, from frontline to strategic roles, and also spent some time working with a library supplier.

I put my hand up to join Whiria te Tāngata as I was excited by the opportunity it presents for looking at ways to future-proof and forward plan for our profession. We live in times of rapid change, and I see the importance of telling libraries’ stories in ways that highlight and demonstrate their value.

I am interested to be involved in the weaving of Te Ao Māori into the sustainability of our sector. Using different ways of looking at the world and approaching problem-solving, is a wonderful way to enact change.  

I also look forward to developing my professional networks across Aotearoa through this program. I have already been impressed by the inspirational and knowledgeable people who make up our kākaho cohort. Their range of experiences and varied backgrounds are a wonderful reflection of the diversity that makes libraries in Aotearoa so amazing.

Ma whero ma pango ka oti ai te mahi!!!

Jasmin Ratana — Whanganui District Library

Ruapehu te maunga
Whanganui te awa
Whanganui te Iwi
Tēnā tātau katoa,

I work for the Whanganui District Library my job title is Pou Whiria, Māori Information Librarian. I am based at the Alexander Library Te Rerenga mai o te Kauru, which is the heritage and research library for the Whanganui District. I also work closely with the heritage and archive collections, answering research enquiries among other duties.

I became interested in the Whiria te Tāngata programme because of its intent to apply kaupapa Māori principles to the concept of sustainable libraries. I have been a part of the development and implementation of a Kaupapa Māori Access Framework for Whanganui District Library and have seen the value it has added to the library service. I am excited to see the application of kaupapa Māori in a wider context.

It is a privilege to be included among the kākaho, to be able to share my own experience and to be able to learn from the experiences of others. I hope to make a lasting contribution to sustainable libraries for the future.

Whaia te pae tawhiti kia tata, Whaia te pae tata whakamaua.

Heather Furniss — Matamata-Piako District Libraries

I’m the Community Engagement Librarian at Matamata-Piako District Libraries, having worked here in various roles over the last seven years. Prior to becoming a librarian, I was a teacher of English as a second/other language, a job that took me to Armenia for 2.5 years as well as to my native Australia. Since immigrating to New Zealand, I have been inspired by the way libraries have been embracing biculturalism. 

I participated in the first cohort of the NZLPP Evaluation and Impact study and enjoyed learning with a group of professionals from a range of GLAMMIR sectors.  Soon after completing this, I was fortunate to co-lead an industry partnership with Design Factory NZ, where students learning the Design Thinking process worked with us to find solutions for a ‘wicked’ problem.  This innovative thinking and perspective from multiple backgrounds have helped the programmes and services I develop to be more flexible, adaptable, and responsive to the needs of our community.

I’m really excited to be a kākaho for the Whiria te Tāngata project; it was fantastic to meet the others and see where our different libraries are similar, and where we can share inspiration.

The thing I’m most looking forward to is seeing how small steps in one organisation, which then branch out to other organisations and slightly bigger steps, can become a major force of growth for the sector. 

Siren Deluxe — Kāpiti Coast District Libraries

My ancestors travelled to Aotearoa from lands I have never been, on ships I can’t name or imagine. I do not know their names, or if they were escaping, or adventuring, or both.

I cannot name my family beyond one of my great-grandmothers, and one grandfather, both on my mother’s side.

There is Scottish blood on my father’s side evidenced by the men in my family still playing the bagpipes and owning kilts. My mother’s side is English. I see her heritage in the way she cards freshly shorn sheep’s wool, makes it into yarn on a spinning wheel, knits it or weaves it on her loom.

My mother lives in Nelson. My older sister in Norway. My older brother in Masterton. We don’t see each other very much.

My partner and I, and our two children, live in Plimmerton, Porirua. We moved back here recently to raise our children in the landscape of our happy childhoods.

My background and experience lie in the Fine Art world and Museums. Libraries are new to me. I work in the GLAM sector (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) because I am committed to value-led cultural institutions exploring their potential to model progressive thinking, and inclusively uplift and empower all communities. Whiria te Tāngata takes me further on this journey.

I am the Operations Manager at Kāpiti Coast District Libraries.

Ko Siren Deluxe taku ingoa.

Kay Huia — Hamilton City Libraries

Ko Tutemaungaroa te maunga
Ko Hinemataroa te awa
Ko Mataatua te waka
Ko Ngai Tuhoe te iwi
Ko Tamakaimoana te hapuu
Ko Otekura te marae
Ko Kay Huia tooku ingoa.

He Ringa Tohu Service Supervisor ki Te Ohomauri o Kirikiriroa.

I have worked for Hamilton City Libraries for just over a decade now in various roles. I currently move between Saint Andrews and Hillcrest Libraries in a Supervisor role. In 2019, I completed He Korowai Akonga Degree in Adult Teaching while working as the Lifelong Learning Librarian.

The research project I led was to evaluate how effectively, and authentically, our library spaces were embracing and expressing the cultural richness of our communities: were they included? Were they validated? Did they belong?  My investigation was an Action Research project to determine some successful strategies for self-generated organisational culture change to establish meaningful community engagement in some Hamilton Libraries. 

The project would encourage collaborative active participation among enthusiastic staff to develop small projects for displays, stories, celebrations, and activities intended to engage staff and communities in shared, cultural experiences as living libraries. From this mahi Senior Storytime sessions were developed.

When I am asked if libraries are relevant today, my answer is always absolutely yes! In libraries, we continue to promote and support literacy, research, and lifelong learning for our communities. These goals have never changed, however, the way in which our communities seek to engage with us has changed. We are constantly looking at ways to engage and re-engage with our library users while making sure our offering is authentic and realistic.

Being a part of this cohort that focuses on sustainability practices for our sector is very appealing. Through a mātauranga Māori lens, we can build tino rangatiratanga to become self-determining as we collectively develop knowledge, experience, and creativity through shared experiences and interaction. This collective approach aligns with my own philosophies of teaching and learning.

Amanda Bond — National Library

I am a Facilitator National Capability, Services to Schools, with the National Library in Auckland. I have worked as a Teacher Librarian in school libraries both here in New Zealand and at an International School in Istanbul, Turkey. I started my working life as a secondary school teacher, teaching English and Social Sciences.

Having seen how engaged students were when involved in Inquiry Learning I studied for my postgraduate diploma as a Teacher Librarian here in Auckland and then later completed my Masters in Education specialising in Teacher Librarianship.

I am passionate about the transformative role libraries can have in education and would like to see all students in New Zealand have the opportunity to benefit from thriving school libraries. Whiria te Tāngata brings the opportunity to learn and work alongside colleagues who are working to further the sustainability goals of the library sector in Aotearoa. As a member of SLANZA and LIANZA I see the value of working together to achieve our goals.

Simon Whitlock — Far North District Council

I am 53 years old and have been working in libraries for nearly 25 years now. I am a Casual Librarian (perfectly appropriate job title for me!) with the Far North District Council.

I will be working in all the libraries up there; Kaitaia, Kawakawa, Kerikeri, Paihia, Kāeo, and Kaikohe! I am looking forward to working in public libraries, having not worked in community libraries before.

My wife is from Pupuke, Whangaroa (Kāeo), and we will be living up there on the whenua she connects to through her whakapapa on her father's side. We are both very excited about the move and the associated changes it will provide. The main one being a closer physical connection to the family's tūrangawaewae and marae.

We have three sons (30, 27, and 17 years old). They have all been through kohanga reo and kura kaupapa Māori and we are happy to be moving to live up North from Auckland, as they will be able to more easily connect with their ūkaipō (origin or real home).

I started working in libraries as a Lending Services Library Assistant at the General Library, University of Auckland (UoA) in 1998. I completed the MLIS from Victoria in 2000 and held a number of different positions within the UoA library system and other institutions, before I moved to a role as Library/Website Manager with a large co-educational secondary school in Auckland in 2008.

I left that role just recently after we decided to move North. Prior to becoming a librarian, I was a youth/social worker. I see the two roles as being very similar, whereby the librarian/social worker is often simply a human link or conduit, helping to facilitate and convey the resource/information between the source/provider and the client/customer. 

Working in a school library I became very aware of the general decline in support and resourcing for the library in terms of budget, staffing and sometimes even space. I was interested in the Whiria te Tāngata programme for this very reason as I saw a lot of other school libraries in a similar position where the sustainability of quality services and resources and staffing was under threat due to budgeting and resourcing decisions being made at a wider school level which did not often account for the value of a well-resourced and staffed school library.

I have really enjoyed Whiria te Tāngata so far and I am very grateful to be involved to help build the sustainability of libraries and the services they provide to their respective communities across the sector, as well as the professional development and networking it provides for me personally as I have been quite isolated while working as a school Library Manager, often sole-charge with little or no time for networking, adding value and developing the library and its services.

Ki te kotahi te kākaho ka whati, ki te kāpuia, e kore e whati. (Nā Kīngi Tāwhiao tēnei tongi).

If there is but one toetoe stem it will break, but if they are together in a bundle they will never break.
— This saying is by King Tāwhiao. Source, Te Aka Māori Dictionary maoridictionary.co.nz

Usoaliitaua Tiata — Upper Hutt Libraries

Talofa, my name is Usoaliitaua Tiata and I am born and bred here in Te-Whanganui-a-Tara.

The library sector has one way been intertwined in my life in various forms:

• visiting my local library in Wainuiomata with my sister.

• as a teen looking for a space to take a “study break” 😊.

• or as a parent attending library programmes with my daughters.

My journey in the library sector started as an assistant librarian with Wellington City Libraries back in 1998, then I spent time at Hutt City Libraries as a Children & Youth Specialists.

I am currently employed at Upper Hutt Libraries where I held a variety of roles before taking the opportunity as the Customer Experience Outreach Services Team Leader.

One of the great experiences of my journey in the library sector has been the people I have been grateful to cross paths with and the opportunities of continuous learning to do better for our communities.

Representing the project as a kākahoa champion was an opportunity to work collectively with others to learn, share, and develop concepts that will allow continuous sustainability for the library sector in our communities.

The potential outcomes from the project will hopefully allow us to leave our own organisation and wider library sector in a better place for those to come next.

Tautua nei mo sou manuia taeoa | Serve today for a better tomorrow

Mere McLean – Whakatāne District Council

E ngā maunga whakahī, e ngā wai tuku kiri, e ngā hau e whā huri noa.  He mihi nui tēnei ki a koutou katoa. 

I have been working as a Community Learning Specialist (Pūkenga Hāpai Hapori) since 2019 for our Whakatāne Libraries under the Whakatāne District Council. Based in the Murupara Library and Service Centre which is one of four libraries in our district I am passionate about the community and surrounding areas. 

In 2021, I was one of three New Zealand Libraries Partnership Programme (NZLPP) participants from our district, my focus area was on te reo Māori and Mātauranga Māori. During this time I was fortunate to collaborate and facilitate Mōteatea (traditional songs) sessions, whatu (fibre-weaving) workshops and ukulele classes. 

In August this year, the opportunity to be a part of Whiria te Tāngata programme came up. The programmes was looking for people with a diverse range of backgrounds and experience in the library sector to be part of a cohort working to deliver on the sustainability assets produced by the New Zealand Libraries Partnership Programme (NZLPP).  I did not hesitate in applying and I was honoured to be interviewed and given the chance to join. 

I hope that our work can help libraries like mine and our industry in educating, promoting, and marketing the need for libraries in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Maatakiwi Wakefield — Christchurch City Libraries

(Waitaha, Kāti Mamoe, Kāi Tahu, Ngāti Mutunga, Te Ati Awa, Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Maniapoto)

Ka rere tāna manu ki te tihi o Te Ahu Pātiki
Ka tiu, ka roha ka tuku te owha, te whakamihia
Ki a koutou e manaaki te kaupapa nei.

For over six years I have worked at the Christchurch City Libraries predominantly in the role of Kaitakawaenga Māori with Māori and Multicultural Services (Libraries). Briefly seconded to Floor Leader of Auahatanga | Creativity, Level Four at Tūranga in 2019, I discovered the endless possibilities and opportunities available to Library members through the stunning Christchurch City Libraries collections and the amazing technology spaces offered.

Whiria te Tāngata provides me with an opportunity to produce a suite of resources to grow the capacity and confidence of our sector through the development of tikanga-based systems that are underpinned by bicultural service philosophy practices.

In doing this she believes it will stimulate robust conversations that lead to greater equity of access to library services through sustainable initiatives and thus enable better, evidence-based decision making

Such things can only create natural pathways for our communities to access resources and services that inspire them to aspire; while championing the importance and value-add of Libraries services to the socio-economic well-being of our communities.

Isabella Stainthorpe – University of Canterbury Library

Kia ora! Ko Isabella ahau. My place of work is at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha The University of Canterbury Library, Ngā Puna Mātauraka. I work in the Engagement and Learning Support team which is our library’s customer-facing team. A significant part of my role, and a part that I love, is leading the library’s marketing group and assisting with organising and running of the library’s engagement activities. A key piece of work that I recently led with this group was our engagement strategy. This piece of work will inform our engagement with the UC community over the next two years, with the goal of tuia te tangata ki te mātauranga | connecting people with knowledge.

I began working at UC Library nearly two years ago, after graduating with a BSc and BSc(Hons) from the School of Biological Sciences, at UC. I have a very deep appreciation for libraries, having enjoyed libraries throughout my childhood and young adult life. The importance that libraries hold for the community should not be underestimated, and to be sustainable, libraries should be accessible and relevant to everyone. I am particularly interested in how we can engage ākonga with academic libraries, to support the sustainability of the sector. I look forward to exploring this through the Whiria te Tāngata project.

Watch out for more from the kākaho

The kākaho will continue working on this mahi for the next eight months and will be reporting back to the wider sector on the different learning opportunities. 

We will have some more blog posts to share about what they are up to.