LIANZA Communities

LIANZA COMMUNITIES

“I was on LIANZA’s SLIS (Special Libraries & Information Services) committee for about ten years, with a few years as the co-convenor. This committee helped me stretch skills I hadn’t used in many years - public speaking for one. It gave me lasting associations and friendships with a lot of the people I served with.”

Hannah Russell
Library Manager, National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA)

LIANZA has active regional or special interest member communities.

JOIN A LIANZA COMMUNITY TODAY

If you haven't joined one yet, what are you waiting for? These regional and special interest communities use LIANZA as a platform to connect and get things done. Special interest communities are formed by our members, for our members, and we are here to support you in this.

AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT WITH YOUR PEERS

Do you want to get together and talk with your library and information colleagues informally? It is easy to become a part of the greater LIANZA community, to get support to reach and connect with all the other people who may wish to join in!

To join a committee or LIANZA community email officeadmin@lianza.org.nz
If you would like to join LIANZA go here >
To find out about our different regional and special interest communities go here >
To set up a new special interest community email officeadmin@lianza.org.nz.
Or join your peers on LIANZA Connect here – our online platform for connecting across the sector.

WHAT LIANZA COMMUNITIES DO

Each community is run by volunteers who work in the sector – these incredible people use their spare time to lead these communities and events! They provide:

valuable professional development activities
social events to strengthen connections
networking opportunities with like-minded people

Joining LIANZA is a great way to make new connections and get involved in your local professional community.

HOW TO JOIN A LIANZA COMMUNITY

Your LIANZA membership means you automatically become part of your LIANZA regional community, and you can choose to be part of as many LIANZA special interest communities as you want. Check out the regional community events near you!

Select special interest communities when you join LIANZA or let us know during the year if there are additional special interest communities you wish to be involved with by emailing officeadmin@lianza.org.nz.

SETTING UP A NEW LIANZA COMMUNITY

Do you have a great idea for a special interest community? New professionals, youth librarians, rare books, library strategy, special collections, climate change, libraries for the 21st century?

If there is no current special interest group that meets your needs – find out how to create a community by emailing the LIANZA Office.

REGIONAL COMMUNITIES

LIANZA HIKUWAI COMMUNITY

The Hikuwai community covers the area from the Bombay Hills, north to Cape Reinga, the tip of the North Island. Our origins lie in the formation of the Auckland branch of the Library Association of New Zealand in 1936. The name Hikuwai was adopted in 1999 and means "The fish tail of Maui".

Our role is to connect and be a voice for information professionals in the Hikuwai region. We deliver opportunities for entertainment, education and support the wider activities of LIANZA, providing regional input into national activities and thinking.

Facebook page.

LIANZA IKAROA COMMUNITY

LIANZA Ikaroa stretches from Wairoa in the East to New Plymouth in the West.Ikaroa means the long part of the fish and we are situated between the head (Te Upoko o te ika - Wellington) and the tail (Hikuwai). Ikaroa is also the traditional name for the Māori land Court that served most of this region.

LIANZA Ikaroa offers events which have included library experience day, weekend schools, journal clubs and social events.

Contact: Joanne O'Connor, Joanne.OConnor@pncc.govt.nz

LIANZA TE WHAKAKITENGA AA KAIMAI COMMUNITY

LIANZA Te Whakakitenga aa Kaimai formed in 1967 and offers networking and professional development opportunities to all library workers in all the major centres in the region – Tauranga, Hamilton, Gisborne, Coromandal, Hauraki, Rotorua, Taupo, Waipa, Waikato, and Matamata Piako.

We especially support smaller library and information services by providing a sense of community and sharing new ideas and knowledge.

Facebook page

TE UPOKO O TE IKA A MĀUI COMMUNITY

LIANZA Te Upoko o te Ika a Māui was established in 1938 and represents the members of LIANZA in the region covering Wellington City, Hutt City, Upper Hutt City, Porirua City, Kāpiti District and the Wairarapa. We represent a wide range of library sectors from public, national, special and tertiary.

The committee is a cross-sector team that believes in encouraging excellence within libraries and information services in the region. We aim to provide support and opportunities for professional development, social events, and networking opportunities for librarians and information professionals. Previous events have included: weekend schools, library assistant days, networking events across the region and library tours. New members are always welcome.

Facebook page

LIANZA AORAKI COMMUNITY

LIANZA Aoraki comprises Nelson-Marlborough, West Coast, Chatham Islands and Canterbury. The Canterbury Region for LIANZA was formed in 1937 and changed its name in June 1995 to Aoraki Region. Members are elected to join the Aoraki Committee at the AGM. Events held throughout the region are open to LIANZA members and non-members.

We are here to provide professional development and networking opportunities to encourage the sharing of ideas, knowledge and expertise with other library and information professionals living in the region. We hold or support various events throughout the region. This includes at least one event per year in the Nelson-Marlborough region and at least three events per year in the Canterbury Region.

Being a LIANZA Aoraki committee member provides insight into how a committee is run and what the responsibilities are of the various roles held within the committee.

If you are interested in being involved, contact one of the co-chairs Gail Cook or Katie Brazil.

LIANZA MURIHIKU COMMUNITY

LIANZA Murihiku supports members who live and work in the Otago and Southland. The Society of Librarians affiliated in 1937 as the Dunedin branch, later becoming the Otago region.

We are an active community, spanning a diverse geography and representing a wide variety of libraries. We host a number of events during the year, endeavouring to offer some of these around the regions of Otago and Southland. These include weekend schools and professional development days. We have a breakfast journal club, where we discuss prescribed journal articles on a variety of topics relating to our profession.

It was a long journey for our community to seek a Māori name. This was done with the support of the local Rūnaka (Rūnanga) who gave us the name of Murihiku in 2020. The Rūnaka said that they wanted to bring the name back into usage for the overall area giving us both Murihiku ki te toka (Southland), Murihiku ki te raki (Otago). We are humbled to be part of the energy in bringing the appropriate kōrero back as provided by tangata whenua and thank the tangata whenua and LIANZA members who have been proactive in helping guide us to this.

E kore e mimiti te puna kōrero i te tangata whenua, nā rātou i manaaki tō tātou ara whakamua, hei whakamana ai tātou katoa. Koia pū te kōrero, nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai tātou.

If you are interested in being part of the committee, please contact mark.hughes@otago.ac.nz
LIANZA Murihiku CoP terms of reference >

SPECIAL INTEREST COMMUNITIES

LIANZA CATALOGUING (CAT SIG) COMMUNITY

LIANZA's Cataloguing Community promotes an understanding of information storage and retrieval in libraries and information centres. LIANZA CAT SIG has been active for over 20 years organising events to bring the community together and share cataloguing developments.

We support those who undertake cataloguing by sharing information and ideas in efforts to create and maintain quality catalogues and other databases.
We organise training and encourage professional development.
We contribute to ORDAC, the Oceania RDA Committee, which represents the interests of the Oceania region on the RDA Steering Committee.
Members receive issues of the newsletter Catapult
There is an electronic discussion group CAT SIG
Find more information go to the DescribeNZ page for LIANZA CAT SIG.

LIANZA HEALTH SIG COMMUNITY

This group is for librarians who work within the health sector or otherwise have an interest in health information. Members come from all sectors, including Te Whatu Ora, academic, community and special libraries.

We provide:

A stimulating professional development for health library and information professionals
a forum for the exchange of information and expertise
promote access to health information and enhance usage skills by customers
represent and promote the interests of the health information sector within LIANZA and external bodies.
Health-Info discussion list. This email discussion group is for issues concerning health information in New Zealand. You don't have to be a member of the SIG to subscribe. To subscribe or unsubscribe go here.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Our key event is the study days held over two or three days in the alternate year between LIANZA conferences. The venue changes each time with a view to spreading travel costs and maximising opportunities to see other libraries. These days are always very well attended with often more than half of the membership taking part. They are promoted through LIANZA events.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

LIANZA Health SIG formally established closer relations with the ALIA Health Libraries Group in 2020. The Health SIG convenor is a member of the HLA executive and vice versa. The convenor of the LIANZA Health SIG is on the editorial board of JoHILA: The Journal of Health Information and Libraries Australasia. LIANZA Health SIG members are welcome to join the ALIA HLA listserv and to participate fully in HLA events.

Members of LIANZA Health SIG are strongly encouraged to join the ALIA Health listserv and browse the ALIA Health Libraries website for forthcoming events. If the event is free, you can register yourself. If there is a charge for the ALIA event or training, you need to email training@alia.org.au or groups@alia.org.au and provide your LIANZA membership number (on your LIANZA invoice!).
Find ALIA HLA events here, subscribe and unsubscribe

Contact committee chair for more information on joining this special interest group Sally.Simpson@waitematadhb.govt.nz.

LIANZA PASIFIKA INFORMATION MANAGEMENT NETWORK (PIMN SIG) COMMUNITY

The LIANZA Pasifika Information Management Network (PIMN) was formed in October 2004. PIMN grew from a common desire for a Pacific support network and a forum to and has grown over the years.

Our goals are:

The sharing of information, ideas, experiences and expertise with members
Support of the development and improvement of Pasifika library and information services
Enhancing the development and management of Pasifika resources
Ensuring information & support services to Pasifika are relevant and current
Promoting resources and research on Pasifika peoples, cultures and languages
To network closely with colleagues who provide information services to Pasifika peoples
Supporting the professional development and training of Pasifika and PIMN members
Promote PIMN and membership to those who provide information services and support to Pasifika peoples
Foster collaborations and partnerships with other professional groups.

LIANZA PIMN NETWORKING

We schedule meetings for our members to talanoa either face to face or online across Aotearoa.
Facebook page
J oin the listserv

LIANZA RESEARCH (RES SIG) COMMUNITY

LIANZA RES SIG aims to develop and sustain a research culture in library and information services in New Zealand as part of the New Zealand research environment. Our goals are:

to maintain awareness of research in LIS being carried out in New Zealand
to provide support for researchers in LIS by facilitating networking amongst those engaged in research.
to disseminate information about potential research funding for LIS research
to promote excellence in LIS research in New Zealand through workshops, training and discussion of research.

HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED

We welcome enquiries from members and non-members interested in our activities, in assisting us to reach our goals, and in promoting research into issues of concern to libraries and information services in New Zealand.

We hold the bi-annual conference – Research by Librarians for Librarians (RLL).
We have a handy Research Toolkit you can use.

Contact: Rohini Biradavolu - rohini.biradavolu@vuw.ac.nz

LIANZA SPECIAL LIBRARIES & INFORMATION SERVICES (SLIS) COMMUNITY

SLIS (Special Libraries & Information Services) provides a forum for networking and exchange of professional information for those with an interest in Special Libraries . Mostly Wellington based.

We aim to hold around six open meetings each year, and to facilitate professional development of members through special events as appropriate.

Subscribe to the SLIS discussion list by filling out this short form.
Twitter: @SLIS_NZ

Contact: Jo Rusk – joanne.rusk@police.govt.nz

LIANZA TERTIARY LIBRARIES (TEL SIG) COMMUNITY

LIANZA TEL SIG provides regular professional development and networking opportunities for tertiary librarians and information professionals.

Leadership opportunities are available by representing your region on the TEL SIG committee. We have an active and engaged committee made up members from across New Zealand.

LIANZA TEL SIG has a close relationship with LIANZA’s Research SIG. In early 2021 the two SIGs held a very successful joint symposium – Tātou Tātou: Gather and Grow – in Wellington, which was attended by more than 100 delegates.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

LIANZA TEL SIG organises regular professional development and networking events which are popular with members. These are usually held over Zoom, as TEL SIG’s members are spread throughout New Zealand.

Recent events have included an open discussion on recruitment in New Zealand, IFLA stories from the inside and advancing open access through procurement and strategy. Many of these sessions are available on LIANZA’s YouTube channel.

JOURNAL DISCUSSION GROUPS

Our Journal Discussion Groups provide opportunities to discuss topical articles from the latest literature with your colleagues. Each article is connected to a LIANZA Body of Knowledge (BoK).

COMMUNITY NETWORKS

TEL SIG list-serv: Subscribe here
TEL SIG Public Facebook Page
TEL SIG Journal Discussion Group Facebook Page
Tertiary sector community on LIANZA Connect

REGIONAL CHAIRS

LIANZA AORAKI

Gail Cook & Katie Brazil
Christchurch City Libraries

LIANZA HIKUWAI

Stacey Smith
Auckland Libraries

LIANZA IKAROA

Joanne O'Connor
Palmerston North City Library

LIANZA MURIHIKU

Mark Hughes
University of Otago

LIANZA TE UPOKO O TE IKA A MĀUI

Jennifer Klarwill
Department of Corrections

LIANZA TE WHAKAKITENGA AA KAIMAI

Fiona Rongo & Mel Chivers
Matamata-Piako District Council & University of Waikato

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (SIG) CHAIRS

LIANZA CAT SIG

Joanne Rowan
University of Auckland

LIANZA HEALTH SIG

Sally Simpson
Waitemata District Health Board

LIANZA RESEARCH SIG

Rohini Biradavolu
Victoria University of Wellington

LIANZA SLIS SIG

Jo Rusk & Jennifer Klarwill
NZ Police Library & Department of Corrections

LIANZA TEL SIG

Diana McMahon-Reid & Kate Reynolds
Manukau Institute of Technology & University of Waikato

LIANZA PIMN SIG

Trina Schuster
Auckland Council

NOT SURE WHERE YOUR REGION IS?
CHECK OUT OUR MAP

PROVIDING A LIANZA COMMUNITY

LIANZA communities provide robust communities of practice for library and information professionals. They strengthen the role of LIANZA through their activities and support.

FORMING LIANZA COMMUNITIES

We recognise that LIANZA communities will form and dissolve depending on the ongoing purpose, and engagement of those involved, and the relevancy of the group to LIANZA members.

Creating a new LIANZA community is now as simple as finding ten members with a common goal or purpose and sending a brief proposal for approval by LIANZA Council.

RUNNING A LIANZA COMMUNITY

We want to make it easy for our volunteer members to contribute to the success of their community.
We recognise that different LIANZA communities will want to operate in different ways.

Your community may choose to run an Annual General Meeting and have elections for office holders, but this is no longer a formal requirement for a community.
You may designate any roles you feel necessary to run the group effectively. At minimum you must provide the names and contact details for one named co-ordinator or office holder, who can attend quarterly Zoom meetings with LIANZA Executive Director and other community members.
The only other requirement is that every LIANZA community must provide a report by the end of August each year for inclusion in the LIANZA Annual Report, so that we can make visible the amazing work being done around the country.

FUNDING FOR LIANZA COMMUNITIES

Financial sustainability is an essential focus for LIANZA and its membership.

Historically LIANZA SIGs and regions were distinct legal groups with their own incorporation, bank accounts and legal standing. In 2011 the process began of bringing these groups back into LIANZA. Initially each group had their own trust account, but these were disbanded in 2014 and all region and SIG funds are now administered nationally by LIANZA. The changes outlined below are essential steps in ensuring the on-going viability of LIANZA and its communities.

BUDGETED OR UNBUDGETED

We see flexibility and ease in how communities can operate as essential.
LIANZA now has two types of communities – budgeted or unbudgeted. Each community can decide which category they wish to operate under and can move from budgeted to unbudgeted annually depending on future plans.

Unbudgeted communities
Unbudgeted communities are those where interaction between participants in the LIANZA Community is online and/or members pay their own way at face-to-face events.
Budgeted communities
Budgeted communities are those where income and expenses are generated from events and activities. Their financial plans are considered as part of LIANZA’s operating budget.

All budgeted LIANZA communities are required to operate a neutral or surplus annual budget and any annual surpluses are returned to the LIANZA Community Contestable Fund (see below).

All losses from budgeted LIANZA Communities are the liability of LIANZA, not of the co-ordinators, office holders or community participants. Budgeted LIANZA Communities receive support from LIANZA Office with budgeting, planning, registrations, sponsorship, liability insurance, GST, promotion and invoicing.

LIANZA COMMUNITY CONTESTABLE FUND

A central fund is administered for the benefit of LIANZA communities with the goal of making access to funding equitable.

The fund is maintained sustainably by the addition of annual contributions made from interest on the fund, 5% of LIANZA personal member and student member income (excl GST) and all annual surpluses from budgeted LIANZA communities.
An annual funding round will enable all LIANZA communities to submit funding applications for research, advocacy, community projects and grants for new initiatives.
The fund will support projects or initiatives that are innovative and provide opportunities that have the potential to make a difference for New Zealand, contribute to the LIANZA vision, mission and strategic goals, demonstrate how LIANZA community will benefit from the knowledge, information and connections generated; show how evidence will be generated and evaluated, and create partnerships with other groups or people that will be used to change or enhance the initiative.

LIANZA REGIONAL COMMUNITY CONFERENCE GRANTS

The contestable fund will also be used to fund a maximum of six regional LIANZA Community conference grants biennially. The conference grants will be awarded nationally by a selection panel made up of the representatives from each regional LIANZA Community.