“The matters of language and historical records touch my professional and thus personal responsibility. Language lies at the heart of our humanity and is the core of culture: its preservation is vital; in addition, two living languages are richer than one.

As an institution devoted to culture as expressed in language, the Library can promote the value of the Māori language and the need to preserve it by using it itself where appropriate.”

Dorothea Brown, Librarian.

Biculturalism: a Memorandum. For staff of the Canterbury Public Library, 1989.

“The Māori language cannot be isolated from the beliefs and culture of the people. It is the very soul of the people you want to show respect for.

It is not a matter of learning a language, but of showing respect to people you love and care for.

A matter of the heart and not the tongue.”

p. 9

Fisher, T. (2007). Learning Māori as a Pākehā. Lower Hutt, NZ: Tony Fisher, 2006.

Kia ora, koutou.

 The latest draft of the Library Values is up on the K Drive.

K:\LIBR-Library\Management\Planning\Libr-Values-2015-2016\Values-Final-Revision-2016-08-DRAFT.docx

 In the feedback sessions, there were some questions about who the ‘we’ in the drafts refers to. The we in this document is us collectively as a library, but as the values can only be enacted by individuals, the aim is that each of us can change the we to I  and enact the behaviours within the values.

 The values team is meeting with Ripeka next week to discuss this draft, before taking it to a meeting with Anne and Joan.

We still welcome your feedback, so if you have any comments or questions please do not hesitate to get in touch with me, Fiona Tyson or Caroline Syddall.

 Ngā mihi,

 Lisa.

“I found one little gem that was real valuable information for us and really only meant something for people that came from [xxxxx] Marae. I found it in a book at the Turnball Library…. I found the explanation for the name of our marae there…. Now I wouldn’t have known that if that library wasn’t there and there wasn’t anyone at home that could have told me that. There is nobody left on our marae to tell me that. There are a few of our kaumātua that are still alive. But there are not so many. They are very, very few. We can count them on one hand. That’s why that information to me is really, really important….many of my children, our mokopuna don’t know their own history, and we don’t have easy access to that knowledge because we haven’t got kaumātua left who know it all and can teach us. We are trying very hard to recapture what we have left. It’s really important, that information.”

• Wellington, p. 13.

Szekely, C. (1997). Te ara tika: Guiding voices: Māori opinion on libraries and information needs. New Zealand Library and Information Association and Te Rōpū Whakahau, Wellington : New Zealand.

Tēnā koutou katoa.

The Central Library Workroom has a ‘Kupu o te Wiki’ board up for anyone trying to improve on or learn a little bit of te reo Māori. We change the kupu, ia wiki, ia wiki (every week) and choose a kupu that relates to customer service, librarianship, supportive sayings, and office work.

Also on the board, is a section with a whakaaro (thought) on library work and te reo Māori. I change this part of the board every month or so, with a quote or piece of writing that I’ve come across in my studies that I find thought-provoking or inspiring, and that reminds me why te reo me tikanga Māori is such an important part of New Zealand library work.

I thought I’d post each whakaaro on Counterculture for anyone looking for some inspiration, and if anyone has anything they’ve come across and would like to share on our Kupu board, please feel free to get in touch.

Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katao,

Lisa.

“Libraries are repositories of literature, enabling the thoughts of people to soar like a bird in flight, now gliding, now hovering, now swooping and eventually coming to rest.

However, for such thoughts to be fully realised, one must know the language in which the thought is couched. Therefore, we, who work in libraries, let us make greater endeavours to learn the language, because there is a wealth of material written in Māori, and who better than you, should be seeking out and researching that material?”

Tīmoti Kāretu, Māori Language Commissioner,  National Library Trustee, 1995

Kia ora, koutou.

Tomorrow there will be a waiata and shared kai session at Macmillan Brown, Room PS 208 from 1pm – 2.30pm.

You are all welcome to attend, and you don’t even have to know the words to the waiata!

So haere mai, come along and bring a plate to share.

Ngā mihi nui,

Lisa.

Kia ora, koutou!

One of the activities happening for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori is a waiata session. For those of you who would like to practice, we have put together a lyrics sheet, along with links to YouTube  or an MP3 of the songs.

We will sing waiata before the Wharewhare and Team Quiz events as well, so you will get a chance to practice then too.

Enjoy! Kia manawanui!

Lisa.

Waiata mō Te Wiki 2016