News « LIANZA Centennial Conference 2010 Blog

Did you know that the first National Librarian was an All Black?

October 26, 2010 by troyofhelen Leave a comment

This was how Julia Millen was introduced today on Good Morning – there to promote her new book A Century of Library Life in Aotearoa: Te Rau Herenga 1910-2010. Written to celebrate 100 years of The Libraries Association of NZ (also known as The NZ Library Association and of course LIANZA), Julia has traced the organisation from its inception in 1910 in Dunedin to its current status as a vibrant and professional voice in the new millennium.

At its centennial in 2010, the Association can celebrate many pioneering achievements, notably the interloan networks, establishment of the Country and School Library Services, the Library School and training courses for librarians, and the National Library which came into being after 2 decades of bitter and hard-fought battles. LIANZA has also faced serious financial and other internal problems which have threatened its very existence.

The launch of the book is an integral part of the 2010 centennial celebrations, and will be held on Monday 29 November in the Link (an area just outside the Central Library at the University of Otago). It is sponsored by the Otago Southland Region of LIANZA.

And for those who must know: ISBN 978-0-473-17579-5

Filed under Interviews, News, Programme

Carol Tenopir’s swan song

October 18, 2010 by troyofhelen Leave a comment

After 28 years, 264 columns, 15 annual database marketplace surveys, and nearly half a million words Carol Tenopir is calling it quits on her Library Journal column Online Databases. Carol’s final column Swan Song & Issues Unresolved appears in the 12 October 2010 issue of the Library Journal.

The article also includes a Considered Perspective on the role of the end user and searching over the past 28 years:
In March 1983 (column #2), Carol Tenopir wrote, “I have no doubt that end user searching will someday replace searching by a trained intermediary.”

In December 1996, nearly halfway through her Online Databases run, she reconsidered: “Today I would have to say ‘coexist with,’ not ‘replace.’”

Now, after 28 years of contemplating the market and evaluating the impact of interfaces on the end user, Tenopir has reached a new, broader conclusion. She told LJ, “‘End user searching’ seems a quaint expression considering the state of online research today—finding answers and information online today is a part of everyday life, an expectation, something fundamental to the way most people operate at school and work. So, yes, ‘end users’ (aka real people) did take over searching for the most part and librarians play more of an educator or trouble-shooter role. But in some areas, intermediaries are still (or again) relevant—particularly in corporate or government agencies where search experts are an important part of research teams, competitive intelligence operations, patent searching, and so forth.”

Carol Tenopir’s session on Sharpening the value edge of academic libraries is scheduled for Sunday 28 November 4:30pm

Filed under Keynote Speakers, News