BOK 7 - Information & Communication Technologies.
BOK 9 - Management of Information Agencies.
There were two reasons why, on Tuesday 12th June, 2012 I attended, as an observer, my first meeting of Te Upoko o Te Ika a Maui LIANZA Committee. Firstly as I have been a member of LIANZA since joining the National Library in 2008, and I have experienced last year's national LIANZA Conference in Wellington, I was interested in finding out more about my local committee. Secondly, and if I'm honest, more importantly, it was a way I could accomplish the first part of Number 6 on my Professional Training Plan (PTP) - Participate in professional networks and activities.
The meetings are held from 5.30pm on every second (although I'm under the impression that this is going to change to every first) Tuesday of the month in the Level 2 Staffroom of the VUW Railway Building at the Wellington Railway Station.
When I arrived I was warmly greeted by Kathryn Oxborrow, the Chair and the rest of the Committee. As with all organisations of this type there were people there I knew, people I had seen at the national conference and people I had never met before. And as we were a group of nine it didn't take long for introductions to be made.
Although my presence had been indicated on the agenda I was still interested to still see a number of 'Why are you here?' expressions flicker across some faces suggesting that what I was doing was considered unusual. And I can see how committees such as these are most often attended by volunteers interested in and desirous of developing the professional opportunities within the library and information management profession both for themselves and their colleagues. There is a level of committment that goes along with this, giving up their own time both to attend meetings and to carry out the various tasks associated with their committee roles. So why would someone want to come along just to observe? You're either in or you're not?
As outlined earlier I wanted to find out more about my local committee - to see what 'orders of business' they actually spent their time on as my initial interaction with their website, and its lack of up-to-date information (e.g., saying Level 3 staff room on the website when it is Level 2), made me wonder where their priorities lay.
What I experienced was a well run meeting, full of fun, which followed an agenda that was basically completed by the end of the hour. Topics covered included finance, Hydestor Award applications, LIANZA Conference sponsorship, a logo, response to a recent speaker event and the upcoming AGM and dinner. All of which fall within what I would expect to be the remit for a Wellington LIANZA committee.
I was particularly interested in the Award applications. I have often read the emails for such Awards, where you apply by writing in with reasons why you should get the Award (usually money towards some sort of professional development), but have never bothered, thinking as I do that there would be too many applications to be worthwhile spending time on it. In this particular instance there were three applications - apparently a reasonable response. Judging by the responses of the committee to each one as it was read out, the rule is to keep them short, succinct and to the point. And with such low application numbers it is definitely worth applying in future!
What wasn't discussed at the meeting, but was on the agenda was committee roles and the drive for new members which explained to me why my enquiry email was at first taken as an interest in joining the committee. As with any committee of this type I have been involved in there is the perrenial issue of both a lack of members and a need for members to step up into official roles. This situation, it seems to me, could be alleviated by the committee encouraging/inviting (as apparently they have in the past) LIANZA members such as myself to come along on occassions to observe without the spectre of being spotlighted for possible committee membership. Once people see the relaxed and friendly processes involved and the type of work the committee does within their roles, decisions to join will be more easily made.
So, of the two initial reasons for my attending of this meeting I now have a better appreciation of what my Wellington committee gets up to and understand the inherent value for me as a member in what they do. And while not all of their professional development offerings appeal to me personally there is nothing stopping me making suggestions. In regards to the second reason I note that I need to attend Wellington region LIANZA meetings, plural, which after attending my first I am genuinely interested in attending another one/more if only to gain a deeper insight into their processes. Would I join? Probably not. As another observer who was interested in joining the committee said at the end - as my contract is coming up for renewal I am uncertain as to my availabilty at the moment. For me it is other priorities.
Finally I want to thank Te Upoko o Te Ika a Maui LIANZA Committee for making me welcome to their meeting and for the work they do, in their own time, to organise professional development opportunities for their members.
Postscript
While it was my intention to return to attend another meeting, I chose not to. This was because I felt that this first meeting had answered all my questions and wonderings regarding LIANZA meetings. I can appreciate and admire the work the committee members do but I did not find myself with any inclination to become involved myself.
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