Nominations have closed for the LIANZA Council elections, and online voting is now open.
- We have one nomination for the president-elect position, who is elected unopposed.
- Voting is now open for the two elected council member positions and closes on May 2.
- The appointed council member position remains unfilled, and the council is currently considering recommendations and engaging potential candidates.
LIANZA would like to thank everyone who is standing in these elections. We want to express our excitement at the calibre of the nominees and their commitment to LIANZA. The successfully elected council members will be announced by May 19.
As a personal member, you are entitled to vote for two council members in this election. Institutional members are also entitled to vote on behalf of their organisation.
Please vote for TWO of the following nominees for LIANZA Council:
SHIOBHAN SMITH
Kia ora. Ko Shiobhan Smith tōku ingoa. Ko au te Associate University Librarian Customer Experience ki te Whare Pukapuka o Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka.
I am an active member of LIANZA, serving on both the TEL SIG and Murihiku committees, and a passionate neurodivergent librarian with 20 years of experience. I have qualifications in history, teaching, and librarianship, and my career has spanned roles from circulation library assistant to subject librarian and manager of a research support unit. I have expertise in strategic planning, budgeting, and organisational leadership.
I developed a capability framework for librarians supporting researchers and contributed to Te Tōtara Capability Framework, which I am now helping implement at Otago. I am committed to strengthening our profession and advocating for inclusive, future-focused libraries. It would be an honour to serve on the LIANZA Council, giving back to our community at a national level.
MAIA BENNETT
My name is Maia Bennett and I am a public and secondary school librarian in Wānaka with a broad and varied professional background traversing information technology, academic research and early childhood education before I leaned into librarianship.
My library roles have ranged from part-time sole-charge librarian in a small rural library, to secondary school librarian fostering reading for pleasure and supporting teaching and learning across the curriculum, to my current district-wide leadership role where I am responsible for Queenstown Lakes Libraries’ collections.
My strategic leadership and consensus decision-making skills were honed through my time at Miramar and Methven Playcentres from 2007-2014. Since moving to Wānaka, I have further developed my governance skills through serving on committees for preschools and sports clubs, and I am currently a committee member of the Upper Clutha History Society.
Consensus decision-making skills have been exercised through my recent experiences as a judge of the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults and the Storylines Notable Book Awards. I would be honoured to serve on LIANZA Council.
FARASAT SHAFI ULLAH
I have worked in libraries since 2000 and am passionate about my profession. In this time, I have led diverse, multilingual and multi-ethnic library teams. I am currently Senior Librarian Community Engagement at Auckland Council.
I have migrated five libraries, including two university libraries and national-level legislative assembly libraries to ILS migration and the Union catalogue on NZ-based ILS Koha. I am an active volunteer for library automation on OSS and helped libraries worldwide in migrating legacy system data to MARC21-based Koha, including NHS-UK, National Library of Cape Verde and Greece.
I have been an active member of LIANZA TELSIG since 2018, and I have research papers and conferences on my profile. I bring with me international exposure of the LIS sector and New Zealand professional insight. I am multilingual with the ability to engage the wider community and my volunteer connection.
CLAUDINE CRABTREE
Ko Maunga-taniwha te maunga
Ko Tapapa te awa
Ko Ngātokimatawhauroa te waka
Ko Ngāpuhi te iwi Ko Te Uri Mahoe te hapū
Ko Mangamuka te marae Ko Otene te whanau
Ko Claudine Crabtree takou ingoa.
I live and work in Tamaki Makaurau, Auckland, and started working in a school library in England. I am a passionate school librarian with over ten years of experience in Aotearoa and the UK at both the primary and secondary levels. Currently, I am the Library Manager at Baradene College in Auckland. I am a change agent, and enthusiastic about keeping up with the latest research and developing the library’s services and environment to best meet the needs and wants of the school community.
I want everyone – pupils, parents, principals, politicians, and the press to know the value and importance of librarians and libraries in schools, and how important all libraries are to the success, emotional and academic, of everyone in Aotearoa. In addition to my Library Manager role, I have been a member of the SLANZA National Executive for nearly four years, serving as Tamaki Makaurau Representative for two years, as President-elect for one year and as President/Manukura for nine months.
I have governance experience as a Board of Trustee Member and as a Parent Governor in the UK. I have been fortunate to benefit from governance training sessions. I believe I can make a positive difference to libraries and librarians across Aotearoa as part of the LIANZA Council and I would love the opportunity to learn, share and contribute to all that LIANZA does now and in the future.
