The Library are looking for a colleague who is interested in being the contact person for any enquiries regarding opportunities for colleagues to come to Canterbury or for UC library staff to visit libraries within the Aoraki region. All PURR arrangements must be agreed to by the Library Managers.

Please discuss with your manager or team leader if you are interested in being involved with the co-ordination of this programme and if they support your involvement then please let me know.

I attended a meeting regarding PURR on 17 January however it would be good to hand this task on to someone else. Erin Kimber has previously taken on this role.

Professionals Unleashed for Refreshment and Reflection

What is PURR?
PURR is not an exchange programme, rather a partnership between the participant, their employing organisation, and the hosting organisation that gives individuals an opportunity to participate in a professional development and learning activity.

Originally, it was established as a programme of short-term visits between Christchurch libraries but now has been extended to all library professionals in the Aoraki region. The length of the visit is flexible and should be designed to suit individual and library needs; the visits can be for just one day or a week up to a maximum of two weeks. The idea is that length of the visit should provide the best opportunity for a range of library professionals including school librarians to participate in the programme.

Please get in touch with me if you have any queries. My first post on this in December noted the contact person needed to be a LIANZA member but this was incorrect. LIANZA hosts the information about PURR on the Aoraki page but the PURR scheme is separate from LIANZA.

Joan Simpson