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It would have been most interesting to return to New Zealand during my D&W research. However I have been fortunate to contact many people working in the industry and with their assistance am able to present this report. As well as providing a valuable contribution to this project it has been a pleasure to expand my personal network and I thank all those people who have been so generous with their time.
Mary Ronnie (1998) provides an historical overview of library education and training. This begins with a conference in Dunedin in 1910, when the Library Association of New Zealand was formed. During WWII, Edith Jessie Carnell arrived from England under sponsorship of the Carnegie Corporation to plan a system of training for library staff. To assist her in this, a small working party of members of the NZLA was formed. The resulting Certificate course was to:
- "lay the foundation for, and set the level of, courses which have succeeded in varying shapes for some fifty years. It was and is a course without direct parallel elsewhere, since it contained elements of library management beyond what has come to be called "technician" level; a term not used in New Zealand". (Mary Ronnie 1998)
The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand commenced delivering the Diplomas in Library & Information Studies (Level 5 & 6) in 1998. These qualifications superceded the New Zealand Library Certificate.
There seems to be less distinction between the roles of librarians and para-professionals in New Zealand than in any of the other countries I have investigated. People working without a library degree are sometimes referred to as librarians. This may be due to the evolvement of industry qualifications as described above or recognition of experience and capability for those working at the librarian level who were not able for whatever reason to travel to Wellington for extended periods. The need for good staff in rural areas may have given rise to an emphasis on experience and capability being recognized in sometimes equal proportions to qualifications.
In order to promote my research objective I contacted LIANZA (Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa) where Steve Williams assisted me by placing my survey questions on their web page. This was an excellent means of distributing the survey and reached a wide audience in NZ. Prior to this, I wrote an article which was published in Library Life (Newsletter of LIANZA) and the response from this was most encouraging. A number of students and employees responded with ideas on whom to approach regarding information, details about where they had studied and their experiences and an acknowledgment that they wished to be part of the international network.
ACCREDITATION & RECOGNITION
Library technician does not appear on the salary survey conducted by LIANZA in 2002, the preferred terms being library assistant, senior library assistant, assistant librarian and librarian.QUALIFICATIONS
New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA)
- The New Zealand tertiary sector covers private training establishments (PTEs), polytechnics and institutes of technology, wananga, colleges of education, universities and workplace training.
Beyond secondary school, learners can access training and education that lead to a wide range of qualifications. The New Zealand government has put national quality assurance systems in place. All courses, programmes and qualifications offered at state institutions must be approved by a quality assurance body. (NZQA 2003)
National Qualifications Framework NQF
- Since 1990, NZQA has been developing the National Qualifications Framework (NQF), in consultation with specialists from education and industry. Unit and achievement standards, National Certificates and National Diplomas are registered on the Framework. Framework qualifications are quality assured and nationally recognised. An education provider must be registered and accredited by the Authority to be able to award credit for unit standards (NQF 2003)
- A graduate of the [bachelors degrees] majoring in Information & Library Studies will be highly information-literate and adept at problem solving. An understanding of the skills and knowledge of traditional librarianship is combined with contemporary advances in information technology and the rapidly changing management of information services. (Degree Programme Information 2003)
PROGRAMS
The education program I have chosen to highlight in New Zealand is:- Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, Lower Hutt.
They offer undergraduate library education to bachelor's degree level.
Victoria University School of Information Management, Wellington offers this advice on lifelong learning and continuing professional development.
- The Master of Library & Information Studies (MLIS) provides the basis for a career in information and library work. It does not attempt to train people in all the skills they will need in their first professional position. Education for library and information work is a continuing individual responsibility for all information professionals, and it is necessary for these professionals to renew and update their base-level qualifications regularly and systematically.
This can be done by enrolling in 'extra' MLIS courses for Certificates of Proficiency, or in courses organised with the Victoria University Centre for Continuing Education and by the Library & Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa and other professional bodies. Programmes offered by other institutions, some outside the library field may also be valuable.
SUPPORT
LIANZA
- www.lianza.org.nz
And to realize this vision two of their seven value statements are:
- To promote ongoing professional training and development opportunities for the profession.
- To support the training of skilled professionals
I was grateful for the assistance given to me by LIANZA during the period when I was distributing my survey. They made it available on their web page and in doing so provided an excellent means for distribution.
Within LIANZA operate the SIGs (Special Interest Groups). These provide a forum for members with common interests. The one of most value to para-professional staff is LA-SIG (Library Assistants Special Interest Group)>
Electronic lists
http://www.vuw.ac.nz/ssbubl/currawar/ediscgp.htmA variety of electronic lists operating in NZ are available from the link above. I found the Lib-FL e-list very helpful. It is aimed at library staff in non-managerial positions, and is hosted jointly by the staff of the Information and Library Studies section at the Open Polytechnic. The name of the list is a multi-layered one, incorporating 'lib' for both library and librarian and 'FL' for frontline. Frontline is intended to represent the vital hands-on work, which so many library staff in non-managerial positions do. It also implies (as with an army's front line) the stresses, which are often associated with such positions. (Lib-FL 2003)
REFERENCES
Degree Programme Information 2003. [Lower Hutt: The Open Polytechnic, 2002.]An Employers Guide to New Zealand Library Qualifications - 2002 http://www.lianza.org.nz/employers_guide.htm
Salary Survey 2002
http://www.lianza.org.nz/salary2002/ss02resultscontents.shtml
LA-SIG Library Assistants Special Interest Group http://www.lianza.org.nz/sigs/sig-la.shtml
Ronnie, Mary (1998) "Library education in New Zealand: the role of the NZLA", ALJ Vol 47 no 4 November 1998