Welcome to our first School Librarians of Aotearoa instalment for 2020! Here, we hear from Paul Munnerley, who has the double duty of overseeing the Hurunui College Library and Hawarden Community Library in North Canterbury. Hurunui College Library – also functioning as the Hawarden Community Library – is located in Hurunui College, in the village of Hawarden, 80 kilometres north of Christchurch. We have been a community library since 1982, when the small local public library

For our latest School Librarian of Aotearoa feature, we hear from Kowhai Intermediate's Jude Armstrong, who shares the ins and outs of creating a welcoming environment for all types of readers, engaging staff in library activities and plenty more besides. I’ve been the Library Manager at Kowhai Intermediate School – a decile seven school next to Eden Park in Auckland – for the past eight years. The role is part time and I work on my own. Reading has always been a passion for

For this month's School Librarian of Aotearoa, we are delighted to introduce Esther Casey, who teaches in Te Puna Ngoi, the library at Sylvia Park School. She is a lover of beautiful books, and believes all students should have access to a huge variety of literature. The best job in the the world I teach in Te Puna Ngoi, our library at Sylvia Park School, it’s the best job in the world, and I get to work with the best kids ever. I’ve been working here since we started planni

Lydean Herman is a school librarian at Taita College in Lower Hutt. She has used the HELL reading challenge for the past few years to motivate her students to get books out of the school library, with great success. She tells us about her library and why she thinks her job is the best in this month’s School Librarian of Aotearoa. Kids at Taita College The best job in the entire universe Taita College is nestled between the picturesque hillside and the flowing river of Te Aw

Kristy Wilson has been the School Librarian for Decile 1 Porirua College, three days a week for the past four years. More recently, she has added work at the Decile 10 Adventure School, 10 hours a week. Librarian Kristy Wilson I work 18 hours (three days) as Library Manager at Porirua College. This is a decile 1 co-ed school of 500 predominantly Pasifika and Māori students in Porirua, Wellington. I’ve been here for the last four years. At the start of last year I also took on

Colleen Shipley has been a librarian almost all her working life, but it wasn’t until she returned to work after having children that she discovered the special role of a school librarian. She tells us about her philosophy, her reading programmes and more in this fabulous School Librarian of Aotearoa feature. Colleen Shipley at Marlborough Girls' College I have been the Librarian at Marlborough Girls’ College in Blenheim for 15 years. The role has evolved along with the incre

Theresa Kewish is the librarian for two high-decile rural schools in the Waikato: Tamahere Model Country School for 22 hours a week, and Te Pahu School, a full primary, for six hours a week. Tamahere has around 480 students and Te Pahu around 120. She tells us about how she became a school librarian, and more in this, the final School Librarian of Aotearoa feature for 2018. Theresa Kewish at Tamahere Model Country School I love being a school librarian and I am passionate abo

New Zealand's young library assistants are passionate about reading and love recommending books to their peers. As it is the time of year our young people make decisions about leadership opportunities in the year ahead, we thought it was high time we featured some. Student librarians posing for the 2016 Raroa Normal Intermediate yearbook. Joshua H, Year 7, Raroa Normal Intermediate I wanted to be a school librarian to help people and be around books. I don't know why I lo

Angela Thompson is the Library Lead Teacher at Remarkables Primary School in Queenstown, a school of 600 students. She began working as a literacy lead teacher upon moving to New Zealand, and is particularly passionate about the value of author visits to schools. Some boys reading at Remarkables Primary School I am Library Lead Teacher at Remarkables Primary School in Queenstown; we are a relatively new school having only been open for around 9 years. We cater for Year 1-8 an

Ssahs Eastwood-Bennitt manages the library and teaching resources at Manchester Street School in Feilding, Manawatu. She is also part of the group of literacy experts who arrange the ReaLM professional development programme each year. Sasha Eastwood-Bennitt I manage the library and teaching resources at Manchester Street School (in Feilding, Manawatu) which is a Decile 6 contributing school (Years 0-6), and has a role of 400. I am employed for 20 hours a week during term time

Senga White is the Research and Learning Coordinator at Southland Boys' High School in Invercargill. She has been a school librarian for over a decade. The Readers Cup team - Senga far left I absolutely love working in school libraries! This profession has become the perfect intersection of my love of reading and learning, and my passion for education, particularly of teenagers. My career began as a part time library assistant. Fast forward 18 years and I’m now Research and L

Marama Keyte is the school librarian at Kamo Primary School in Whangarei. She has been a school librarian for five years, after many years in public libraries prior to having children. Balloons in Kamo Primary School library Why I am a librarian I work at the wonderful Kamo Primary School (Whangarei) and have been here for one year. I have always had a great love for books, when I was young I was often told to ‘ go outside, you’ve been reading inside all day”. I have great me

Alison Hewett is the Head of Library Services at Kristin School on Auckland’s North Shore. Kristin is an independent co-educational school of 1620 students ranging in age from Preschool through to Year 13. It offers the International Baccalaureate throughout the school, and NCEA Levels 1-3. Alison Hewett at the front of Kristin School's library About my library Rather than having separate libraries for the three schools, our Library space is shared and is located at the heart

Michelle Simms is the Library Manager and ICT Coordinator at Te Totara Primary School in the north of Hamilton. She also writes the blog Good Keen Librarian, where she talks about her experiences as a school librarian. The Reading Wonderland at Te Totara Primary School I am the Library Manager and ICT Coordinator at Te Totara Primary School, a Year 1-6 school with 745 students in the north of Hamilton. The school opened in 2008, and that is when I started my library career. I

Cathryn Mitchell is our final School Librarian of Aotearoa this year. Her background includes public library work around Auckland, and she was a DHB librarian briefly before moving to the Blind Foundation Youth Library in 2015. Here is what she does, and what she believes in. A view looking across the library. The shelf in the foreground houses the Junior Fiction large print collection and on the other side of the shelf is the collage and twin vision collections. I started in