LIANZA honoured with International Innovation Award

LIANZA (the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa) has been awarded a Presidential Citation for International Innovation in the Year 2008 by American Library Association (ALA) President, Dr Loriene Roy.

The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 65,000 members.

LIANZA has been awarded this important citation for actualising the intention of the Treaty of Waitangi by continuing a formal partnership agreement with Te Rōpū Whakahau, Māori in Libraries and Information Management, committing to biculturalism and supporting Māori language initiatives by, among other efforts, providing bilingual text on the official LIANZA website.

This citation also recognises that LIANZA has successfully planned a national registration scheme for information professionals and a continuing professional development program and has recently formalised a reciprocal relationship agreement with ALIA, the Australian Library and Information Association.

LIANZA President Glen Walker says “We are extremely honoured to receive this award which recognises LIANZA’s commitment to our partnership with Te Rōpū Whakahau and the bicultural development of librarianship in this country”.

“We are deeply committed to supporting information professionals in Aotearoa and building relationships between different libraries, sectors, interests and even countries, is a big part of our role. Receiving this award from Dr Loriene Roy is especially meaningful because of her own record of achievement.”

The Award was presented on Monday 30 June at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, California attended by around 22,000 librarians. The citation was collected on behalf of LIANZA by Te Rōpū Whakahau President Haki Tahana.

Te Ropu Whakahau receives International Innovation Award

The American Library Association will present a Presidential Citation for International Innovation in the Year 2008 to Te Rōpū Whakahau - Māori in Libraries and Information Management

The award will be presented on Monday 30 June for:
- Planning and hosting the first International Indigenous Librarians Forum in 1999;
- Collaborating with other indigenous librarians around the world to insure that the Forum continues to take place every other year;
- Serving as an energetic, creative, and lively international model for how to navigate and negotiate an indigenous presence at the national library level;
- Supporting the recruitment, education, and placement of Māori into the fields of librarianship;
- Creating and extending bilingual services to Māori library patrons and staff.