Library Chat

This time we chat with Robert Eruera, Senior Librarian Pou Arahi Taonga at Auckland Libraries and the lead curator of the Manatunga exhibition which runs at Auckland Libraries until Oct 20th.We talk about why the Manatunga exhibition is so significant and some of the challenges in mounting such an exhibition.  Also, about the role of Pou Arahi Taonga and the significance of positions such as Robert's in librarianship.  Lastly we talk about the concept of guardianship and the future of roles like Robert's and ensuring there are many more people ready to step into this type or work.

This time we chat with Paul Whitney the former City Librarian for Vancouver and primary author of the IFLA e-lending principles.  Paul is a consultant, speaker and volunteer on library and public policy issues including access to content for the print disabled and copyright. He chairs the IFLA eLending Task Force.  He has been a member and expert resource person on IFLA CLM since 1999. Paul has worked on public lending right issues as both a member of the Canadian Public Lending Right Commission and more recently as the author of the study eBooks and Public Lending Right in Canada completed for the Commission. Paul recently spent time in New Zealand to attend the Reader's and Writer's Festival and graciously gave of his time to talk with librarians in Wellington and Auckland.  I was lucky enough to meet him on his arrival in Auckland and arranged to catch up with him on his return before heading home, so we record this interview.   Paul is immensely knowledgable in this area, as can he heard in the podcast, where he talks extensively on the reasons for the IFLA e-lending principles, WIPO and IFLA.  For anyone who has an interest in these topics or needing to find out more this interview will be invaluable.

This time we chat with Paul Whitney the former City Librarian for Vancouver and primary author of the IFLA e-lending principles.  Paul is a consultant, speaker and volunteer on library and public policy issues including access to content for the print disabled and copyright. He chairs the IFLA eLending Task Force.  He has been a member and expert resource person on IFLA CLM since 1999. Paul has worked on public lending right issues as both a member of the Canadian Public Lending Right Commission and more recently as the author of the study eBooks and Public Lending Right in Canada completed for the Commission. Paul recently spent time in New Zealand to attend the Reader's and Writer's Festival and graciously gave of his time to talk with librarians in Wellington and Auckland.  I was lucky enough to meet him on his arrival in Auckland and arranged to catch up with him on his return before heading home, so we record this interview.   Paul is immensely knowledgable in this area, as can he heard in the podcast, where he talks extensively on the reasons for the IFLA e-lending principles, WIPO and IFLA.  For anyone who has an interest in these topics or needing to find out more this interview will be invaluable.

This time we chat with Mal Booth the University Library at UTS in Sydney.  I met Mal recently at the Information Online Conference in Brisbane Australia and was impressed by his down to earth attitude  and the way the staff from UTS seemed to love what they did and working with him. This set me thinking about the fact that a conversation with Mal would be very useful and interesting. Mal Booth was appointed University Librarian at UTS in mid-2012.  His barrows as he describes them are: codesign; design thinking; sustainability; active community engagement; curation of collections; visual communications; and the development of cultural collections in libraries. He was formerly Head of the Research Centre at the Australian War Memorial and responsible for its library, archive and the Memorial's web strategy. From 2006 to 2008 he curated the Lawrence of Arabia & the Light Horse exhibition which attracted almost 250,000 visitors.

This time we chat with Mal Booth the University Library at UTS in Sydney.  I met Mal recently at the Information Online Conference in Brisbane Australia and was impressed by his down to earth attitude  and the way the staff from UTS seemed to love what they did and working with him. This set me thinking about the fact that a conversation with Mal would be very useful and interesting. Mal Booth was appointed University Librarian at UTS in mid-2012.  His barrows as he describes them are: codesign; design thinking; sustainability; active community engagement; curation of collections; visual communications; and the development of cultural collections in libraries. He was formerly Head of the Research Centre at the Australian War Memorial and responsible for its library, archive and the Memorial's web strategy. From 2006 to 2008 he curated the Lawrence of Arabia & the Light Horse exhibition which attracted almost 250,000 visitors.

This time we chat with Laurinda Thomas.  Laurinda is the President Elect of the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa (LIANZA) and Public Sector Digital Continuity Manager at Department of Internal Affairs.  Having met Laurinda at NDF and chatted on Twitter I knew that as LIANZA President Elect she would be a great person to talk with about the challenges for LIANZA, why professional associations matter and about the archive career path for librarians. This interview was recorded some weeks ago before I knew that I was to be the next LIANZA President Elect and before Laurinda gave such an impressive interview on breakfast television about libraries and why the are still relevant to our society.

This time we chat with Dr Matt Finch.  Matt is an award-winning British writer and educator who has taught and told stories for people across the age ranges from 4 years old to 40, in locations as diverse as the mountains of Peru, the streets of Brooklyn, Shakespeare’s birthplace and rural New South Wales. Matt is well known within libraries for his work in rural outback Australia and his use of a zombie hoard to engage with teens. We talk with Matt about the role of immersive play and performance in libraries and why this is important for the way we engage with children and teens in our libraries.  We examine some of the challenges to the traditional concepts of what libraries are and in some examples our comfort levels but also how what takes place in libraries needs to have a tie back to knowledge and learning or we risk watering down our value. The mission is to extend and enhance Auckland’s already superlative library offerings for children and young people with creative, challenging, and sustainable activities for the future.

This time we chat with Carson Block, I.T Consultant and former I.T. Director at the Poudre River Public Library.  Carson brings energy, directness and a user-centered approach to I.T in Libraries.  He is an expert at translating the I.T. gobbledegook (my words) into sensible business concepts that work for the library and meet the changing I.T demands of its users. In his role as IT Director for the Poudre River Public Library District, Carson managed multiple technology projects and project teams (including network infrastructure overhauls, a comprehensive conversion to RFID, creation of  patron self-service kiosks, and technology design and project management  for new library construction projects (including the first LEED platinum for interior and second platinum LEED library in the nation), and contributed to the successful effort to form a library district.  He led the District’s mobile strategy and studied automated materials handling (AMH) systems.   Carson also co-chaired a committee with Colorado State University concerning eBooks and eReaders. I have met Carson on two occasions, having been on a panel discussion with him at the 2011 IUG Conference in San Francisco and then for a more relaxed brunch in Colorado, his state of residence.  We have also chatted twice via Skype for podcast interviews and regularly contact via Facebook.   I knew that Carson had to be one of the interviewees for the Library Chat series because of all of the above and because when we chat, we generally have a riot, which I think is apparent in this podcast.

This episode we chat with Stewart Parsons, creator and driving force behind the highly successful Lancashire County Council’s Get It Loud In Libraries.  Get It Loud in Libraries brings live concerts into the library to engage youth and create a connection for them.   It builds on the concept that music is a key resource for libraries.  Stewart talks about why they created Get It Loud In Libraries, how difficult it was to get support, how youth are involved and some of the experiences they had with some pretty major artists. I met Stewart as part of the International Network of Emerging Library Innovators and have been always been impressed by his energy and vision for making Libraries interesting spaces for the younger people in our cities.  He’s giving voice and action to the need to create a meaningful interaction for these people in Libraries and I cannot help but admire that. Stewart was also interviewed recently by Dr Matt Finch for his blog Books and Adventures. This can be found here "I much prefer it when libraries are less about archiving the past, and more about presenting culture today”: Stewart Parsons on “Get It Loud in Libraries”

This episode we talk with Sue Roberts, Chief Executive Officer and State Librarian of Victoria in Australia. Sue is an experienced strategic leader, having worked in the UK, New Zealand and Australia. Prior to her role in Melbourne she was University Librarian at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, and served as Chair of the Council of New Zealand University Librarians and Director of the Library Consortium of New Zealand. Sue and I talk about leading through change, leading a learning culture,  advocacy, innovation and risk taking.

This episode we chat with Rivkah Sass the Library Director at the Sacramento Public Library.  Rivkah is a very experienced public library manager and former Library Journal Librarian of the Year. She is enthusiastic,  she has vision, she cares and wherever she goes, she sets about making the public library better.  She has presented in many forums, including a TedX Youth event hosted at Sacramento Public Libraries with a presentation called Bleak of Brilliant : The Future of Public Libraries.  In 2008 she visited New Zealand, visiting over 30 Libraries, which is where I met her, where she made an impression on me, and where our friendship began. Rivkah and I talk about the health of public libraries in general in the U.S. and the challenges facing them competing for the public dollar.  We look at the international landscape and discuss the role of advocacy in ensuring their continued existence.  We discuss the future for libraries and finally talk about her time as Librarian of the Year in 2006.  What this meant and what it was like to be in that position.

This episode we chat with Jenica Rogers, the Director of Libraries at the State Library of New York at Potsdam.  Jenica is an engaging, thoughtful and sometimes challenging speaker who has gained a reputation in the U.S.A. and increasingly around the world, for her willingness to speak up on the issues that are facing libraries.   As a passionate advocate for staff development and people taking risks in their career, she is a natural candidate for a Library Chat. Jenica and I talk about staff development and the challenges of balancing the needs of seasoned staff and new recruits. Then we chat about the hierarchical nature of libraries and  how this can be an enabler or a hindrance to staff development.  Next we spend some time talking about communication within the profession and how we interact with each other, exchange ideas and find information.  Core skills come under the spotlight before we talk briefly about social media and the role this has played in the development of librarians and how we operate