Librarians Penny Walch and Julie Huggins have been sharing their enthusiasm for Aotearoa’s children’s books in podcast form since 2021. Here, Penny takes us through the highs and lows of podcasting. What do two librarians with verbal diarrhoea who are…
Librarian Jess Starr brings us highlights and insights from He Puāwaitanga—Growing Communities, Developing Knowledge and Building Confidence, the School Library Association’s 2024 conference. My tickets were booked, my cardigan was packed. I’d been practising my shushing all week and was…
When Jess Starr walked into the role of librarian at Ruakākā School in Northland, the library had been out of action for years while it served as a classroom. Jess tells us about the journey of relaunching the library, and…
A group of Aotearoa authors and illustrators have long felt a need to get more coverage for our locally produced children’s books that don’t have the same marketing reach as international titles. Author Maria Gill tells us about the creation…
Alan Dingley, as well as being Aotearoa’s Te Awhi Rito Reading Ambassador, is the Library Manager at Freyberg High School in Palmerston North. Here he tells us about his journey to becoming a librarian, and the passion he has for…
Vanessa Hatley-Owen is a librarian at Botany Downs Primary School, Auckland. Here, she tells us about the best aspects of her job, what challenges she’s come up against, and about her own book! Tell us about where you work and…
Diane Street is one of two school librarians at Collingwood Area School. She gives us a brief history of Collingwood and its early schools before diving into her experiences of working in an area school library. I want to preface…
Mikaela Ellwood is the School Librarian at Henderson North School in Tāmaki Makaurau. The school library I am privileged to work in is tucked in a corner of Henderson, on the edge of Auckland. I was welcomed to this role…
Our librarians of Aotearoa feature is hitting the road! Eliza Jackson is a Mobile Librarian with the Mobile and Access services for Auckland Libraries. As a fluent speaker in te reo Māori, Eliza spends her time bringing the library to…
South Taranaki Librarians have been running online events with some of our favourite New Zealand authors. Pamela Jones writes about how their libraries have been responding to their patrons unique needs in unusual times. As Librarians our mission and purpose…