Weeded CDs are available for staff to take, in the breakout space (next to the tearoom) on level 5.

Ni sa bula vinaka

Our quarterly Project Board meeting was held this morning, which is an important way to track progress and provide governance oversight of our many important Library projects underway.

On a related note, I had a meeting with Facilities Management (FM) colleagues today, to discuss and confirm lines of communication and ways of working in partnership together between the Library and FM.  I look forward to continuing awesome progress on some of our afore-referenced keystone projects that relate to physical facilities and infrastructure, in an ongoing collaborative and communicative way.

Earlier this week, Fiona and I hosted Roger Dawson (University Librarian – Lincoln University) at our Macmillan Brown Library, to learn more about their cultural heritage digitisation work, plans for their 150^th anniversary in 2028, building refurbishment and expansion work across their campus (including the Library), and areas in which we might collaborate more closely, including with our CONZUL colleagues throughout the motu.

Following my message to you all yesterday sharing the Library Review Report, engagement with a number of other key audiences, now commences.  First is Library Committee, who received a copy of the report today, ahead of a planning workshop next Friday 20 October.

Also today, Academic Board has its monthly meeting (and I’ll be sharing the Review Report in that forum in their November meeting).

I had reason to pop into EPS in the evening one day this week, and just want to take this opportunity to do a shout-out to all staff, and how we work together to provide such a consistent, high level of warmth, welcome and manaaki to our library users (in-person and online) – all through the week, day and night.  It’s a testament to your individual and collective focus on doing our best for our UC community, and I know it makes a huge difference. Ka pai!

Finally, I’d like to endorse the UC Pacific Talanoa Day for Library staff, coming up on Monday 13 November.  This will be an interactive and fun opportunity for us all to enhance and strengthen our cultural responsiveness to Pacific students, families and communities.  Please RSVP to the invitation that came out earlier this week, and please feel welcome to contact Caroline Syddall if you’d like any further information.

Bula vinaka,
Kat

Kia ora koutou

As you’ll recall, earlier this year we (UC Library) embarked on an external peer review process.  In June, we hosted a review panel onsite here at UC, comprising:

• Margie Jantti, Director Library Services – University of Wollongong (Chair)
• Andy Priestner, International Library UX Consultant
• Paula Rigby, Senior Advisor and Pouwhakahaere at Te Puni Kōkiri – Te Waipounamu

I’d like to take this opportunity to express gratitude on behalf of the Library Leadership Team for the time, consideration, thought and energy you all offered to the process.  The panel have reflected that they felt well ‘embedded’ in the UC environment, and could contextualise their findings well as a result. This speaks to the manaaki they experienced in their short – but clearly valuable – time with us.

The panel’s interviews, insights and observations have now been synthesised into a final report, comprising a series of their findings and recommendations.
The report has been saved on Teams in the Files section (Key Documents folder) of the Library All Staff channel.

You’ll see the panel makes 19 recommendations across 10 themes, with 5 priority recommendations identified.  There are also a number of commendations for the Library team.

We (Library Leadership Team) encourage you to read, share and discuss the report, and would welcome the chance to do this together, as we concurrently consider and work through our responses to it.

To this end, we’ll offer a series of Q&A sessions with all staff in small groups, to talk through the report contents, kōrero on findings, and – as we can – answer any questions that may arise.  Calendar invitations will be issued in the next day or so, and we encourage you to come along to whichever session/s you can.

Through the remainder of this month and into November, we will share this report with a number of stakeholders, including panel interviewees, the University’s Senior Leadership Team (SLT), Library Committee, the PFRC (Planning, Finance and Resources Committee) and Academic Board. For each of these audiences, we’ll be seeking endorsement of the recommendations, with focus on the 5 priority recommendations.

As you’ll see, the recommendations are wide-ranging and entail a long-term and multi-year commitment. We are dedicated to offering opportunities for ongoing kōrero as we work together bring these recommendations to bear.

I’d also like to signal that our 2023 Ops Plan will ‘hold’ in place through to 2024 as we:

• keep going with a number of keystone projects and initiatives (as incorporated already in the 2023 Ops Plan)
• put focus on the report recommendations
• prioritise co-creating a strategic vision for the Library (priority recommendation #1 in the report), and
• then develop the roadmap and our updated Ops Plan, once the strategic vision is in place

Again, we’re keen for ongoing kōrero through this process, and encourage you to share your responses, input and ideas.  Feel free to talk with you manager, me, other members of the Library Leadership Team, and look out for calendar invitations for small group Q&A sessions, coming shortly.

Ngā mihi,
Kat

I was asked about this today, and thought I would send out a message to the LLOs and Library Committee along these lines:

Now is an ideal time to inform the Library about any book orders you require for Semester 1, 2024. We anticipate closing the 2023 book ordering process in November for a few reasons:

• To allow the Library team time to process invoices and acquire as many items as possible within this year’s budget
• To complete financial reporting requirements in time for year end
• To minimise the volume of pending orders that would need to be transferred to the 2024 budget, and to our new library management system.

Email address for submitting orders: acquisitions@libr.canterbury.ac.nz (or your subject librarian). There is also our online request form.

Tim Stedman

The Springer and Wiley prepay open access agreements are on track to reach cap by approximately early November.  Once a prepay open access agreement has reached cap, this means that authors have three choices:

1. pay the APC to publish their article open access
2. publish their article closed access
3. make an application for support for funds from the Library’s open access fund

CAUL strongly prefers to enter into uncapped agreements with publishers wherever possible for this reason.

Tim Stedman

In previous episodes of LTR’s list of completed work (here, for e.g…), I’ve included a brief description explaining what the mahi was. This time I haven’t provided much detail: If you want further information about the item you can contact the person who did it.

You must understand, dear reader, that this work is the projecty, temporary, one-offy, infrequent, irregular tasks that we do alongside our regular day-to-day activities. And please note that some of these things were done as part of a larger Library effort.

PowerBI: basic publications and citations dashboard
May
Kiera, Anton

PowerBI: update most popular journals dashboard
May
Kiera

Standards for Engineering Drawing
June
Discover and support standards for teaching engineering drawing within the school of engineering.
Dave L

Science 100 Level Success Hui for Course Coordinators
June
The Library, along with many other UC support services, will be presenting to first year course coordinators and other interested academics from the Faculty of Science.
John, Lani, Margaret, Nick, Sara, Theresa, Tiresa

External panel review of the library
June
Sara, Stuart

Visualise Your Thesis
July
Rachel, Kiera, Brian, Roman

QS Stars & QS Sustainability Rankings
July
Kiera

EndNote subject guide review
August
Dave L, John, Margaret

Research support Subject Guides review
September
Anton, Dave L, Kerry, Nick, Stuart

Tai Chi for Student services Wellness month
September
Dave L

Open Day 8 Sept 2023
Kerry

Chocolate Cake Judging for Student Services
September
Dave L

Get Overton
October
Stuart

LLB Review
October
The LLB is to be reviewed in 2023. The Library fed into this…
John, Theresa, Sara

Kia ora koutou

I’m delighted to share the wonderful news that Lisa is being awarded a University of Canterbury Hapori Community of Practice Award for 2023.

Professor Catherine Moran noted in her letter to Lisa that the assessment subcommittee for this award were:

“…particularly impressed with the care you take to proactively meet students and form relationships with them kanohi-ki-te-kanohi – especially those students in the Master of Māori and Indigenous Leadership programme. Your support for these students has eased their transition to postgraduate study and enabled them to make greater contributions to their communities. I have no doubt that the intellect, compassion, and understanding which staff and students highlighted in recommending you for this award will continue to inspire students in future.”

This significant achievement is a well-deserved testament to Lisa’s compassionate and focussed teaching with our ākonga.

Lisa – you are an inspiration for us all!  Ka pai!

Nāku iti nei, nā
Kat

Kia ora Koutou,

The following information came to managers via an email from (ultimately) Paul O’Flaherty’s office. It regards the drilling works that have been going on for most of this year (and last year) as part of converting the university’s heating systems. Key body of the text below….

[Update on] the on-going central campus drilling works…

Please note that while all works are continuing on-site, there will be noise and some minimal vibration with the balance of the drilling/civil works, but this will not a be a constant and will have intermittent breaks with every effort being made to keep any and all adverse effects on your daily life to an absolute minimum. Please share this information with your teams.

Ngā Mihi, Simon.

Swim-Shady

The fish has been named! A student’s submission: Swim Shady, has been officially chosen by the student poll on Tuesday. Swim Shady narrowly beat out Fin Diesel, by a mere 2 votes! It was neck and neck for most the voting period. 

The winner received a watercolour of Swim Shady on a tote bag, painted by our very own Zina Swanson, and a $20 UBS voucher.

For those of you familiar with the artist known as Slim Shady, Chat GPT has crafted some lyrics to the rhythm of his song: ‘The Real Slim Shady’. I present a taste for you here:

Y’all act like you’ve never seen a fish before

Jaws all on the floor like you can’t swim no more

It’s just a fish with fins, y’all, it’s not a bore

Unless you’ve seen a fish that rocks the ocean floor

I’m Swim Shady, yes, I’m the real fishy

All you other fishies are just so fishy

So won’t the real Swim Shady please come and greet me?

Please come and greet me? Please come and greet me?

Kia ora koutou

With regret, I’ve accepted the resignation of Jaz Crowther from the role of Library Tautāwhi | Administrator.  Jaz’s last day will be 30th October.

Jaz has been a total delight to work with, coming on board and getting up to speed in a flash, graciously and adeptly supporting managers and our wider team with all range of mahi.

We’ll miss you so much Jaz, and wish you all the very best with your future adventures.

More details on a farewell for Jaz will be forthcoming soon.

Ngā mihi
Kat