3M Awards

3 great finalist this year and they all deserved to be winners, Congratulations to Heather Lamond for her Resusable Online Tutorials, Spencer Lilley & Sheeanda Field for the Maori book Awards and Frances McEwen
The winner of the 3M Awards for Innovation was:

Frances McEwen – Upper Hutt City
With partnerships from Upper Hutt schools Upper Hutt City Libraries implemented a programme called “Library Book in Every Bag”. Children in the area are offered an opportunity to join and visit the library on a regular basis, regardless of their circumstances. The children are presented with a library card and bag. The project has left a long lasting impact upon the community.

Congratulations Frances and the Upper Hutt City Library Team

in 2nd Place was

Spencer Lilley and Sheeanda Field – Massey University
Spencer and Sheeanda organised an awards structure to promote the contribution that books on Maori subjects make to the New Zealand literacy scene. Secondly they directed library clients to read said items and to ensure that the awards became an annual event to encourage authors and publishers to continue publishing books on Maori Topics. Their project resulted in a well attended and covered awards ceremony.

and third was

Heather Lamond – Massey University
Heather created a range of reusable online library tutorials for use in online learning environments to increase the teaching and support available to distance learning students. As a result all teaching librarians were able to produce high quality online teaching and learning materials. The results have lead to high usage of the tutorials and now library staff are able to dedicate more time to advanced information literacy knowing that the introductory skills are available online 24/7.

Well done

Centennial Celebrations and LIANZA Book Launch

The Centennial Celebrations and LIANZA Book Launch was a magnificent event hundreds of past and present Librarians were there to see the Launch of the new book on the 100 years of LIANZA.

Great to see so many Librarians there great occasion to mark a centennary.

Dunedin at Last

Yes finally arrived in Dunedin 3 flights later, looking forward to the conference, but oh to settle into my room and freshen up.

Unicol Halls of Residence

The Forth Street Mews complex consists of 68 rooms and provides an alternative insight into community life. Here, residents live in groups of five per flat. This arrangement is sometimes more suitable for students who are slightly older, having had a break between school and coming to University. Students in the Forth Street Mews are fully fledged members of the College community with access to all facilities.
All rooms in the Annexe have a connection port to the University's computer network. There is a small extra charge for this service. Rooms in the South Tower and the Mews are able to access the University of Otago wireless network and plans are underway to bring wireless access into the North Tower for the 2011 intake. Some rooms at UniCol have a telephone jack which can be activated for an additional fee.
Residents can personalise their room with items from home. Personal items could include a duvet and duvet cover, rugs, prints, plants, computer, stereo, television, photos, desk lamp, etc.
In order to comply with fire regulations, electrical appliances such as fridges, hair straighteners, irons, electric jugs and heaters are not permitted in study bedrooms. Cooking is also prohibited in study bedrooms.

Napier Airport 6.00am Sunday 28th November 2010

It was a bright early start to the day, I'm now at the airport waiting for my flight, listening to the All Blacks play Wales at Cardiff Arms Park, what an exciting match. Won't be long and I will will be boarding the plance for Wellington. A two Hour waiting before heading to Christchurch, a short wait there beforw boarding for Dunedin home to the Centennial LIANZA Conference.

Stephen Abram - Background

Stephen Abram, a leading international librarian and lighthouse thinker in the North American library community, leverages his extensive experience in library technology and trend forecasting, new product conceptualization, and market development to ensure that Sirsi products and services continue to be the most innovative in the library market and meet the needs of library directors, library staff members, and library users. Working closely with other members of the Sirsi management team, Abram works on strategic projects in all areas to advance Sirsi's vision. Abram has more than 25 years in libraries as a practicing librarian and in the information industry. His most recent role was as vice president of corporate development for Micromedia ProQuest.
Abram's other roles include publisher for Thomson Carswell and director of Information Resources for the Hay Group. He is a frequent keynote speaker on issues that affect libraries, their communities, and librarians. In addition, Abram was named by Library Journal in 2002 as one of the key people who are influencing the future of libraries and librarianship. He is the incoming president of the Canadian Library Association and was president of the Ontario Library Association in 2002. He has also served on the international board of directors of the Special Libraries Association. Abram is a Fellow of SLA; and, in June 2003, he was awarded SLA's highest honor, the John Cotton Dana Award. In 2001, Abram was presented with the University of Toronto's Faculty of Information Studies Jubilee Award.
Stephen Abram***, former SLA President, VP at Gale/Cengage; Founder and Editor of Stephen's Lighthouse, and that's only a start. I could go on and on for an entire post with a list of what he's done. Needless to say, Mr. Abram is at or near the top of the "librarian chain" (similar to the "food chain) for many people (including this publication). Almost forgot, he's also a Canadian and we're big fans and major admirers of all things Canada and Canadians at ResourceShelf. In fact, Gary is proud to be called a Canuckaphile, a title Stephen gave him a couple of years ago