Kia ora

Te Paea has resigned from her position of Manager, Engagement and Learning Support which she has held for nearly seven years.   Te Paea has led the ELS team at a time of transformational change and has worked hard to deliver results for students in library environments, engagement and services though out  this time.  She has also provided a significant contribution to the Library Management Team.

Te Paea has been on secondment to DIA as Director Mātauranga Māori (Transformation) for the last five months which has been a wonderful opportunity for her.

We wish her all the best in the future.

As usual we will review the position and look at finding a suitable replacement.

Ngā mihi nui, Anne

Kia ora

We have been advised that Ryan Dooley from ELS has COVID.  He last worked at ELS yesterday.   So far his symptoms are mild and he is working from home.

A couple of staff are currently isolating at home as household contacts.

I am not reporting the number of staff with COVID any more as a number of people have reported that they have had flu-like symptoms and, while testing negative multiple times using RATs,  believe they had COVID.

Please continue to self-monitor for symptoms and if you feel at all unwell, please self-isolate and get a test.

We wish a safe and speedy recovery to our colleagues and their whanau, and we will be working to ensure they receive good support.

Ngā mihi nui, Anne

I am very pleased to announce the Rachel Doherty has accepted the Tautāwhi | Library Administrator position.

Rachel has a BA from UC and Honours from Victoria, and a Masters of Library and Information Studies from Victoria.   She worked in the Parliamentary Library as a Research Librarian, as Knowledge Advisor for MBIE and an Senior Information Analyst at Deloitte, before moving on to a number of administrative roles both in New Zealand and England.  These include working as a Departmental Administrator at Sheffield Hallam University and for, the last five years, as a Sales Administrator at an Engineering and Manufacturing firm in Sheffield.   She has recently moved back to New Zealand with her family.

She will be working on Level 5 from 9.00 am -3.30 pm, Monday to Friday, starting from 11 April.   Please join with me in welcoming Rachel to the Library.

Ngā mihi, Anne

Kia ora

We have been advised of another three positive Covid test results from staff bringing our Library total to ten.

• A staff member tested positive yesterday who last worked at PJH on Sunday.
• Dale has tested positive this morning.  He last worked on Friday.
• Libby, a casual staff member, has tested positive today.   She last worked at PJH last night without any symptoms.

In the majority of cases we are seeing staff getting COVID from contacts outside the Library.    As we have a number of staff who are household contacts away at the moment, the numbers are likely to grow.

Please continue to self-monitor for symptoms and if you feel at all unwell, please self-isolate, get a test and report the results.

We wish a safe and speedy recovery to our colleagues and their whanau, and we will be working to ensure they receive good support.

We would also like to acknowledge that this news could cause us to experience a range of responses and that this is ok. Looking after our health and wellbeing as best we can is really important at this time.

Please do speak with myself, your manager/team leader or Aurelia if you wish to talk through any concerns or feel you may need some support at this time.

Ngā mihi nui
Anne

We have been advised of another positive Covid test results from staff bringing our Library total to seven.

Saharu has reported she is COVID positive.   She was last working in PJH Wednesday last week.

We have a number of staff who are household contacts away at the moment.    We are starting to welcome back staff who have recovered from COVID.

From the university, the cases in the Halls peaked last week and are now declining;  cases in student flats have now plateaued and are expected to decline next week.   Parties on Ilam Fields are not helpful.   Staff cases overall remain low.   The majority of staff with Omicron are saying they think they caught it off campus.

Please continue to self-monitor for symptoms and if you feel at all unwell, please self-isolate, get a test and report the results.

We wish a safe and speedy recovery to our colleagues and their whanau, and we will be working to ensure they receive good support.

We would also like to acknowledge that this news could cause us to experience a range of responses and that this is ok. Looking after our health and wellbeing as best we can is really important at this time.

Please do speak with myself, your manager/team leader or Aurelia if you wish to talk through any concerns or feel you may need some support at this time.

Ngā mihi nui
Anne

Kia ora

We have been advised of two more positive Covid test results from staff bringing our Library total to six.

Leah in LAC has tested positive.   She was last on campus on Friday 4 March.  One of our casual staff has also tested positive but has not been in the Library since 21 Feb so is not counted in the total

I am only doing a Omicron update when a positive case is notified to us, so if there is no update then there are no further cases.    Note we also have staff away for a variety of reasons, they may be isolating or sick for an entirely different reason.

Please continue to self-monitor for symptoms and if you feel at all unwell, please self-isolate, get a test and report the results.

We wish a safe and speedy recovery to our colleagues and their whanau, and we will be working to ensure they receive good support.

We are expecting to get a supply of RAT tests for our front-line staff soon, four per staff member.   They are for use if you do not feel well rather than for ongoing preventative tests such as those used in government determined critical worker environments such as health care.   The N95 masks are also expected this week.

We would also like to acknowledge that this news could cause us to experience a range of responses and that this is ok.    Looking after our health and wellbeing as best we can is really important at this time.

Please do speak with myself, your manager/team leader or Aurelia if you wish to talk through any concerns or feel you may need some support at this time.

Ngā mihi nui
Anne

Kia ora

We have been advised of two more positive Covid test results over the weekend from staff bringing our Library total to five.

One person was on leave last week and works in LAC.   The second person works in Macmillan Brown Library and was last on site on Wednesday morning.   Both are currently isolating at home for the next 10 days and will working from home when they feel up to it.

We also have a number of people away with a different flu with similar symptoms to Omicron that has been circulating for the last couple of weeks.

Please continue to self-monitor for symptoms and if you feel at all unwell, please self-isolate and get a test.

We wish a safe and speedy recovery to our colleagues and their whanau, and we will be working to ensure they receive good support.

We would also like to acknowledge that this news could cause us to experience a range of responses and that this is ok.    Looking after our health and wellbeing as best we can is really important at this time.

Please do speak with myself, your manager/team leader or Aurelia if you wish to talk through any concerns or feel you may need some support at this time.

Ngā mihi nui
Anne

Kia ora

We have been advised of positive Covid test results from two of our staff.

One colleague last worked yesterday at MB in the morning, then  at PJH at lunch time.

Another colleague last worked at PJH Library on Tuesday.

Both are currently isolating at home.

Please continue to self-monitor for symptoms and if you feel at all unwell, please self-isolate and get a test.

We wish a safe and speedy recovery to our colleagues and their whanau, and we will be working to ensure they receive good support.

We would also like to acknowledge that this news could cause us to experience a range of responses and that this is ok.    Looking after our health and wellbeing as best we can is really important at this time.

Please do speak with myself, team leaders or Aurelia if you wish to talk through any concerns or feel you may need some support at this time.

Ngā mihi nui
Anne

Kia ora

We are now seeing the number of cases of COVID in the Library rising so I would like to outline the processes we will be using.

If you have tested positive or are a household contact isolating at home:

• Contact your manager to let them know
• Log into Assura and report your situation, or ask your manager to do it for you
• Let your manager know if you are happy for us to release your name to staff
• Please keep in touch with your manager and they (or their delegate if they get sick) will keep in touch with you
• The UC Welfare team will contact anyone who has added their name to Assura
• You can also ask for support from the Library Welfare Group through your manager or directly.

Notification to others

• Managers/team leaders will let staff who are close contacts at work know that someone who worked a shift with them has tested positive
• We will announce on Counterculture in the afternoon where the last shifts were worked, naming people only if we have permission at the time.
• If the staff member has not been at work for the last seven days they will not be included in the email
• We will also let other teams in PJH know if appropriate

We are navigating as best we can a delicate balance between the right of staff for privacy and being open and honest with other staff who may be affected.   We will also continue to align this process with UC best practice as it continues to evolve.

Library managers are reviewing the situation regularly and will make decisions about priority services as the situation develops.

Everyone will be feeling and reacting differently to this situation and that is okay.   Take care of yourself and be kind each other as we move through this phase of the COVID outbreak.

Ngā mihi nui
Anne

Kia ora koutou,

Today we have been advised of a positive Covid test result from one of our staff, who has been self-isolating since Monday when this person became a household contact.   They worked at Macmillan Brown on Monday, and last worked at PJH on Wednesday 23 February.

While at work they were following our Health and Safety precautions such as mask wearing.

Please note that we have decided not to release names at this time to the wider library as this is medical information.   Managers will talk to staff who were potential close contacts.

Due to the changes in government response, the University is no longer contact tracing or recording close or casual contacts, however as per the Ministry of Health advice, please continue to self-monitor for symptoms and if you feel at all unwell, please self-isolate and get a test. 

We wish a safe and successful recovery to our colleague, and we will be working to ensure they receive good support. 

I would also like to acknowledge that this news could cause us to experience a range of responses and that this is ok. Looking after our health and wellbeing as best we can is really important at this time. If you need support please speak with your manager,  Aurelia, Helen, or me  if you wish to talk through any concerns or feel you may need some support at this time.

Take care and look after each other.

Ngā mihi nui
Anne