We are very fortunate to be working with Keri Hulme’s whānau on her archives coming to be cared for within the UC Library Archives. This material is in addition to the Keri Hulme archives we already hold. Tomorrow a group of us will be travelling down to Waimate to work with the whānau on sorting and uplifting a significant section of the collection. This is the culmination of many years of engagement with the whānau led by Erin, and supported by Jemma and myself.

Because of space limitations and current work to replace the shelving in Library Warehouse B, the initial tranche of archives will be temporarily stored in the Consultation Room in EPS for the next month, and we have contracted Catherine Bisley to work on further appraising, sorting and rehousing of the collection in EPS. This will further decrease the size of the collection for it to be moved to its final location in the Warehouse.

I have block booked the Consultation Room for the next month to accommodate the collection. Catherine will work in the Consultation Room and/or the Subject Librarian Office as necessary – I have also block booked a Discussion Room for work space for the final week of Catherine’s work. We will need to lock the Consultation room for the security of the collection, and the office if collections are being worked on.

Many thanks to Simon and Stuart and the EPS Subject Librarians for being so flexible and making this work possible!

Catherine will start work on the collections in EPS on Thursday 2 November. Erin will introduce her to people on Thursday – please make her feel welcome😊

There has been a lot of consultation and informal communications with stakeholder at UC. However, as we are still working with the Hulme family on deciding what material will come into the archives, we are not at a stage where it is appropriate for any formal communications regarding the Keri Hulme archives.

This weekend is the Alumni and Community Reunion Weekend, and the Macmillan Brown Library team has been working hard to prepare and/or support multiple events taking place on Saturday. This has included planning for the movement and display of collections around different events, digitisation of CANTA and display on the UC in Print site and planning for tours.

The library leadership team would like to share a bit more detail about the Pacific Talanoa day scheduled on November 13.

Co-designed by the Pacific Development Team and library staff, the session is tailored for library staff. In the morning, we will learn more about the realities for Pacific peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand, with an opportunity for reflection and discussion on the significance of these realities in the library context. In the afternoon, we will learn more about the new Pacific Knowledge and Culture Hub at UC and how the Pacific Liaison Librarian roles work with this team, learn about success strategies for Pasifika students, and reflect on how what we’re doing in the library supports these strategies and develop an action place for next steps.

This talanoa is an important step in developing our cultural awareness and capacity to better support Pacific students and staff, a key strategic goal for the university and the library. We encourage everyone to attend, even if you have attended a talanoa day in the past, as developing cultural responsiveness often takes repeated engagement/experience to deepen understanding and strengthen our ability to incorporate it into our work.

The session runs from 9-4pm – if you don’t usually work these hours (or all of these hours) but would like to attend, please have a chat with your manager about options to timesheet extra hours or swap shift. There is also flexibility if people need to leave early for school pickups.

Please RSVP to the calendar invite sent from the shared Library Managers email on the 11 October – we’re using these registrations to inform planning for the day, as well as the catering for morning and afternoon tea😊

Kia ora koutou,

I am very pleased to share that Hine Ngarewa has been appointed to the fixed term position of Kaiāwhina in the Macmillan Brown Library.

Hine has been on the casual team for several years and has previously worked in a fixed term role at MB.  We are delighted to have Hine joining the team in a more long-term role.

Her start date is Monday 10 July and she will be in this role until end of January 2025. Hine will be working Monday to Thursdays.

Ngā mihi nui,

Fiona

Kia ora koutou,

We are currently recruiting for a fixed term kaiāwhina role within the Macmillan Brown Library, with applications closing on Sunday 11 June.  The role is part-time, at 22.5 hours per week and there is some flexibility around the hours.

Please share the link with your professional networks: Library Assistant | Kaiāwhina (Macmillan Brown) – University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha

If you are interested in applying and have questions, please contact me or Sarah Johnston.

Ngā mihi,

Fiona T

I’m pleased to announce that Hannah O’Dwyer has been appointed as the Archival Shelving Project Manager.

Hannah will start this role on Monday 29 May and the role continues to January 31, 2025. Hannah will continue to work her current hour schedule, with Monday to Thursday in the ASP Manager role (based in MB) and Friday in her substantive role as library assistant in Macmillan Brown Library.

Congratulations Hannah!

We are recruiting for a fixed-term, part-time project manager role based within the Macmillan Brown Library. The purpose of this role is to manage the project to replace existing end-of-life shelving in the UC Library Warehouse B with powder-coated steel shelving.

This will include managing staff, resources, communications and quality control measures to ensure that the archival collections are relocated appropriately, with up-to-date data in the archival management system.

The role is 0.6 FTE (22.5 hours per week) and runs until January 2025. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the UC Library Archives and contribute to the long-term preservation of these unique cultural heritage collections.

Applications close 30 April 2023. Please share with your networks and if you would like to discuss the role in more details, please get in touch.

Fiona T

Kia ora koutou,

I am very pleased to share that Caroline Kyle has been appointed to the fixed term position of Kaiāwhina in the Macmillan Brown Library.

Caroline has been working on the casual team this year and we are delighted to have her working with us for the remainder of the year. Her start date is Wednesday 28 September and she will be in this role until the end of the academic year.

Ngā mihi nui,

Fiona

Sometimes I find mysterious things in my office that raise questions.

Questions like who was Mrs F. R. Allison? Is it the same F. R. Allison who wrote a masters’ thesis on ‘The ecology of Celmisia spectabilis with short notes on the anatomy of Celmisa species’? What was this plaque attached to (surely not her thesis?)? What did we do with the object this plaque was attached to?

If you have the answer to these questions, I would love to know. (Also, this could possibly be a running (but short) series as  I keep working through boxes in my office).

Ngā mihi,  Fiona