Upto
A thank you to my PLN friends
May 3rd
I remember at a conference dinner a few years back in Perth, Kathryn Greenhill and another librarian (can’t remember who) left the dinner table to talk enthusiastically about PLN’s (or was it PLE’s?).
Over the years since, I have come to understand what PLN’s are – Personal Learning Networks. I have also come to dearly appreciate the individuals and friendships and connections I’ve made within mine.
This here is a post dedicated to them.
Recently, I have taken part in a secret stork project, initiated by Penny Dugmore (@greengecko29). The project came about as a secret santa type thing for all the women on Twitter that were expecting in the near future. So far, I’ve just been the recipient of gifts from secret storks but it will be my turn soon to post something to a soon-to-be Mum in Australia.
The following I have received in the post from some wonderful women in the New Zealand and Australian library community.
Thank you ladies.
Two banana boxes full of baby clothes from Sabine (@BeezilBeard) in the Far North District.
I’ve met Sabine once in-person.
Thank you so much Sabine.
A knitted starfish man.
This one is part of the Secret Stork project from Kate F in Melbourne (@katejf), a not-so-secret Stork.
Thank you Kate, it’s gorgeous.
Bib and newborn and small size cloth nappies from Penny (@greengecko29) of West Auckland.
Thank you Penny.
A crotched Peanut from Julia (@jaygee35) in Perth.
I think you’d classify this as a rabbit, but I think this one really looks like a Peanut type character. Perfect. Love it. Thank you.
A crotched kiwi from a librarian in Melbourne? It could only be the beautiful Kim Tairi (@haikugirlOz).
Thank you Kim.
Saving the best for last, this is a requested one from the lovely and passionate Naomi (@NaomiDoessel) in Brisbane.
I saw her divvying these up to other fellow Australian PLN’ers at NLS5 and cheekily requested one 
The time crunch
Jan 29th
Some of you may know that I am expecting my first child in the near future. I will be taking some time out to devote myself fully to this important role of raising a small human being.
Over the past few years I have been heavily involved in my own personal professional development, and generally trying to contribute positively towards the profession in New Zealand and moving us forward. I thoroughly enjoy where I am at the moment in my career, and the collaborations and relationships that I have established and continue to nurture. I also revel in my day-to-day experiences and learnings from my volunteer roles with LIANZA, and my role at my place of employment.
However, I’m nearly at a cross-roads, and it’s crunch time. Something, sooner or later will have to give.
(Mums, Dads – does it? Will it?)
Over the past 6 months or so, my musings here have definitely subsided with the occasional squirt of a thought making it to “publish”, along with tweets and other miscellaneous tools for social interaction, including the odd coffee or yumcha lunch date.
It’s getting to the crunch time and I’m a wee bit nervous.
Years later, I’m probably going to look back over this and think, aahhh those were the days, when I worried about retaining my professional identity while raising some kiddiewinkles. Well yeah, I can’t wait for that day when I look back. But right now I have to look forward into wholly unfamiliar territory. People tell me your world changes.
Don’t get me wrong, I will make it clear now, that I am really looking forward to this new journey in my life. I’m excited about that new world.
I have read, talked, asked, enquired, read, chatted, laughed and mused about what it will be like post-children. I am now getting to wonder what it is like specifically as a “new-generation” Librarian, who aspires to be LIANZA president one day and possibly even an LJ Mover and Shaker.
What spurred me to draft this post was reading Bobbi Newman’s (LibrarianbyDay) tweet for a request to an article about how Movers and Shakers were treated after getting the award. Someone found it and Bobbi said she’d seriously like to see a follow-up article.
This is what I learned from reading that article:
Time is the most valuable possession. If you don’t have time, then you can’t do these things.
I am very much looking forward to this new phase in my life and I look forward to the journey and where it will take me.
I will find time to explore, experiment and think.
Hana is on the internets. again.
May 24th
Just a little something I have done on the side…
(I did not write it, I was interviewed for it)
One day I am going to have to evaluate my presence on the web and whether or not I should (should’ve – past tense) go about it in a different, slightly more thoughtful and professional way.
In the meantime, isn’t this lovely?
Does this make you want to start studying library and information science and get more involved in the profession?
Heads up!
Apr 12th
Just letting you know that I am currently doing a children’s literature paper with the Open Polytechnic that requires me to write reviews of children’s fiction and non-fiction books. I don’t anticipate I’ll be doing many (!) but just letting you know in slight advance of upcoming content here that you may or may not be interested in reading.
Churs,
H
Library Day in the Life of an association volunteer
Jan 31st
Round six is upon us. Here’s where you can read about where and who this originated from and here’s my post from round 4, this time last year.
nb: I started this post on the day, then continued it 6 days later, apologies for the changes in tense.
I think I’d like to share two day’s with you this time around to give you some perspective on what I do.
Tuesday 25th January 2011
Hana Whaanga
Librarylife Editor
7 something am Get out of bed
7.45′ish am Leave home to drive partner into the city to work
9′ish am Get back home and make some tomatoes on toast with the Vogels bread that I have just bought
9.18 am Ring work asking for a colleague, have forgotten that it’s a team meeting this morning and I’ve disturbed them, plus, possibly could’ve been there too
9.19 am First e-mail of the day sent. It is my day off and I am wearing my [LIANZA] association volunteer hat
The following activity was conducted entirely by e-mail.
9.53 am E-mail Communications advisor of SLANZA, a sister organisation of school librarians in New Zealand, checking something about her feature update in today’s Librarylife
10.13 am Enquire with Communications Manager about the time of our meeting we have today. It’s postponed
11.33 am Send feature content for today’s Librarylife to Comms Manager. This fortnight we have four, which I’m quite happy about
12.18 pm Enquire with friend asking if she knows anything in depth about the Library closures in the UK. Ask her if she can write a brief blurb about it for the newsletter as I am linking to this article from the Guardian.co.uk and don’t know much about the political background to the situation
12.21 pm Respond to committee chair’s (same person) worry at providing food for our yearly planning meeting tonight. I offer to join her with my nibble buying skills in a pre-meeting spin at the supermarket
I think I go and get lunch at some point here, I distinctly remember it was a curry – Malai Kofta from Little India
2.26 pm Send full content for Librarylife off to Comms Manager and let him know that I’m working on my editorial. Ask him if we can have guest editorials as I can’t keep up the pace of writing something thoughtful and topical!
3.22 pm Note a spelling mistake to be fixed in earlier content sent and send my editorial through to Comms Manager for publication by the end of the day
4.26 pm Comms Manager lets me know that Librarylife is running behind schedule and will have to be sent the following morning
Straight after this juggernaught of electronic communication (my Twitter activity has not been included here), I zoomed off to meet my friend at the city Railway station to buy nibbles for our committee meeting at 5pm.
Waited with a bag of food outside the VUW entrance in the Railway building for our newest committee member whom I’ve never met before. Did some introductions when another committee member arrived as I was standing between the two former newest members whom she hadn’t met yet.
5.30 pm – 7.30ish pm Committee Meeting.
Try to plan events for the year for the region but we’re all a bit frazzled to coherently record our thoughts, and none of us remembered a sizable piece of blank paper to write on either. Speaking of.. there’s some notes that I have to put onto google docs and share with the group….
Drop friend home afterwards and drive home.
Can’t remember what I did the rest of that day but this is a captured moment sometime during the day when I was at home and also features as my photo of the day for the Daily Image Challenge 2011:
Tuesday the 25th of January 2011
You say: