Kia ora koutou
I found the values session yesterday very interesting and it got me thinking when I was cycling home last night. I think values are a very serious matter and should be considered deeply and discussed widely. I’d love to see some discussion on Counterculture so I’ve put out some of the thoughts I came up with. These are not necessarily original- some of you will see ideas you put forward yesterday- but they are my take on them- from notes I made when I was still thinking about them when I got home)
Context. We are a New Zealand University Library.
All three parts of this should drive our values and may differentiate some of them from the values of other organisations.
OED definition: The principles or moral standards held by a person or social group; the generally accepted or personally held judgement of what is valuable and important in life. Values are a human thing. Values can only be expresses or enacted by people. In an organisational statement, they need to be backed/explained by ‘we’ statements but must be able to be enacted by staff who are prepared to make ‘I’ statements. We have to be prepared to have our actions measured against them and be called to account against them. If we can’t do this we have slogans not values.
Some potential values
Honouring the Treaty We ensure that the voices of both Treaty partners are heard. We support tino rangatiratanga.
Equity We acknowledge that there is not equal access to resources, information or education in New Zealand society and we recognise the value of tertiary education in improving equity. We provide resources and services based on the principle of equity rather than equal treatment.
Diversity We have and apply the cultural, professional and personal skills to serve our diverse communites. We do not ‘tolerate’ others and otherness, we acknowledge and value that we are all unique and that both we and our communities have unique needs and attributes.
Honesty. We communicate openly and transparently. We will not dissemble or tell half-truths. We create an environment where it is safe for people to express their views whether or not these views match current policy, official views or existing norms. We are prepared to be the critic and conscience of the University and the Library as well as of broader society. Integrity We act in good faith. We do what we say we will do. We are open about our intentions and our actions. We do not have hidden agendas.
Accountability
We are accountable to our students, academics, our profession and the wider community as well as to the University management and governance. We are accountable for our actions and clearly own our decision.
Library-specific values. They are not what I would have traditionally called values but they do fit within ‘what is valuable’ within a library (I ran out of oompf to put detail to these)
Collection, care and preservation of resources
Access to information
Learning
Māori/Non-Māori values
I think we need shared values from both Maori and tauiwi world views, not translations of one or the other. If we can’t get shared values then using the partnership model we can acknowledge and accept combined values.
We already have a set of library values stated in the bicultural plan, Ngā Awa e Rua (as it is a bicultural plan they should already be shared values). This is what is says: As a library we value:
- Whakahoahoa – Partnership
- Matauranga Maori – Maori Knowledge as Taonga
- Tikanga Maori – Maori Protocol
- Kotahitanga – Unity, Teamwork
- Manaakitanga – Goodwill
- Kaitiakitanga – Guardianship
- Nga Kohikohinga – Our Collections
If we don’t think these values from Ngā Awa e Rua are our shared values then I think we should address this as part of the process of developing new values.
Looking forward to your comments.
Caroline S
