Author: trailfinder

Book Guardians Advisory member David Young wrote to The Post newspaper last week and his letter was published in the newspaper on 25 May this year. We reproduce the letter here with David's permission, and Christine Dann has written a response to this, on the theme of the fate of the nation's copy of the … Continue reading Punching below our weight

By Book Guardians Executive Officers Christine Dann and Michael Pringle The National Library (NL) began a process of consultation on its current draft removal and disposals policy in April, which concluded on May 12. Book Guardians Aotearoa (BGA) was invited to meet with the Director of Content Services, Mark Crookston, to discuss the policy. Four … Continue reading Protecting and enhancing a national research library for all New Zealanders – next steps

Is the National Library’s current consultation on a draft removal and diposals policy for real? That’s the first question the Book Guardians (BGA) will be asking when we meet with National Library (NL) representatives on April 28. BGA is currently working on developing some succinct questions under the headings: Status of the consultation Scope of … Continue reading Consulting on removing and disposing of what’s left of the nation’s books NOW

At the end of November 2022 Book Guardians Aotearoa (BGA) wrote an Open Letter to the National Librarian of New Zealand setting out what we believe needs to happen to improve the National Library's current collection and disposal policies. On 16 January 2023 the National Librarian responded with her own letter, which we have published … Continue reading Open letter to the National Librarian re book retention and disposal process

Ask Vladimir Putin. The current destruction of Ukraine’s electricity grid by Russian missiles is literally a war crime, as it will badly damage the lives of millions of Ukrainian civilians, and lead to many deaths. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s video message on Holodomor Memorial Day 2022 drew comparisons with the millions of deaths from starvation … Continue reading Why destroy a library?

Providing sound advice to the nation’s library Three years ago the former Minister of Internal Affairs, Tracy Martin, made a decision which since then has been causing nothing but trouble for the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), the National Library (NL) and – much more importantly – for the researchers, writers, scholars and citizens of … Continue reading Open Letter to the National Librarian of New Zealand

If it did, then it would have put the minutes of its meetings for the past ten years on its webpage. Check it out now – Library-Information-Advisory-Commission – and see if you can find any minutes at all, or any annual reports after 2012.  Is this acceptable for a government-established and supported organisation which is … Continue reading This is the information that the Library and Information Advisory Commission doesn’t want you to have.

Just how competent is management at New Zealand's Department of Internal Affairs? Christine Dann has been digging, and has some answers: When Book Guardians Aotearoa (BGA) started questioning the National Library of New Zealand’s (NLNZ)  plan to completely dispose of over 600,000 books (which make up most of the oddly-named Overseas Published Collections/OPC) we were … Continue reading Smooth operators? DIA incompetence exposed

It’s a topical question. I found out the answer in the National Library. Christine Dann digs into the records... The peoples of the islands first named Te Wai Pounamu and Te Ika a Maui became connected with the states currently known as Ukraine and Russia as soon as the first Europeans began arriving to settle … Continue reading How long have Ukraine and New Zealand been connected?