Why I support Life Saving NZ

I live at Waitarere Beach, a lovely spot on the western seaboard of the lower half of the North Island, New Zealand. This beach is not considered a dangerous beach by any means, has no big surf waves or Bondi Rescue type activities, but twice now a very good family friend who is a life guard at the Waitarere Surf Club has saved lives. This is the report from the Club Captain about yesterday's rescue:

"Big rescue 3pm approx, swell 1m, strong North Westerly, choppy seas. 5 people total, 2 adults 3 teenagers, caught in a hole (trench) out the back and could not get in due to rip.

This was an awkward moment as only two Lifeguards were on the beach and one was at the Clubhouse/equipment shed. So with calm heads, one Lifeguard swam out with rescue tube and kept patients afloat (4 hanging on tube and one on him). They were panicking, screaming and in distress. While second Lifeguard radioed for third to return to beach and also getting IRB into water with help from public.

Third lifeguard arrived to help man IRB and sped to aid of patients and their fellow Lifeguard who had his hands full keeping 5 heads afloat.They put 4 weakest in IRB (as IRB was maxed out) and one was towed to shore by First Lifeguard. First Aid treatment was given for mild shock and monitoring for signs of secondary drowning.

Our Lifeguards acted cooly and calmly to this dangerous situation, their training has shown them all to be first rate Lifeguards. The club is very proud of them. On occasions like this it shows the true value of the service. As the moto says Surf Lifeguards are "In It For Life". Lifeguards were Nathan Berry, Levi Tate and Mathew Duff."

The club is funded through club memberships, active or support, grants and fundraising. So if you ever have the chance to donate to a surf life saving club please do because they save lives.

Te Takere Plans get Green Light

At the Horowhenua District Council meeting on 8 December 2010 Council gave the green light for revised Levin Community Centre plans to go out for public consultation.

The plans show a multi-functional $7 million facility which will be located in the old Countdown building as well as utilising the existing library adjacent. It’s hoped the facility will become a ‘heart and hub’ for the Horowhenua community. The building, designed by Architect Brian Elliott of Designgroup Stapleton Elliott, takes its inspiration from a waka and a ‘fly through’ of the building was presented at the meeting.

Five submitters spoke in support of the proposal – although some with caveats around the cost.

Cr Peter Keenan also announced the donation of a collection of rare bird prints by artists Bill Howard, Elaine Power and Russell Jackson on behalf of the Keenan family to the project. It is anticipated that the prints may be displayed within the new facility.

What is the proposed name and what does it mean?

Te Takeretanga o Kura-Hau-Po (or Te Takere as it will be known for for short) is the proposed name for the new facility and offers many different layers of meaning. Te Takeretanga means ‘dispersion of knowledge’ while the word ‘Te Takere’ means ‘hull’ – the place in the waka where taonga (treasures) are kept for safety. The bottom of Lake Punahou (Horowhenua) is also said to be the shape of a hull. Kurahaupo is the name of the Muaupoko waka.

What's included in Te Takere

Te Takere’s design, services and resources will appeal to all age groups. It will be free to visit, have good parking and be conveniently located to shops and other recreational facilities. Te Takere will be an ideal venue for performances, events, markets and fairs. Inside, it will be well equipped with services such as the café, toilets and baby changing facilities – all of which will encourage people to stay longer and enjoy their visit.

The plans show an exciting array of different spaces within the floor space of 4,080 square metres. These include:

§ The Takere –a large 500m² public exhibition, performance, function and social gathering space located in the heart of the facility and effectively connected to the outdoor civic space

§ Well equipped meeting rooms (of differing sizes and with several accessible outside of normal opening hours) which will offer meeting space and storage for local clubs and organisations, privacy for business meetings, and quiet areas for seminars and study

§ A Youth Area of approximately 250m² which includes spaces for social and recreational activity, group and individual study, mentoring and support

§ A safe, exciting and well resourced Children’s Area (of approximately 320m²) adjacent to an enclosed outdoor area

§ A comfortable and accessible 200m² Seniors Area (for relaxing, socialising, reading, meeting and participating in community activities and forums) which will include comfortable furniture, a TV lounge, news area and computers located near the Takere and the sheltered enclosed garden

§ A Te Ao Maori space (of approximately 150m²) which will located close to the entrance to Te Takere will reflect the heritage and history of all local iwi in Horowhenua and provide performance and exhibition space to showcase Maori arts and culture

§ A local history area (of approximately 100m²) which will provide information about the history of the district and promote local activities and achievements

§ Heritage and genealogy storage and research facilities (approximately 300m²)

§ A designated practice, content creation and recording facility (approximately 50m²) - designed and resourced to encourage people of all ages to record, preserve, share and showcase local stories, music and talent

§ A formal learning area of 200m² which will be used for local and at-distance education programmes (accessible outside of normal opening hours)

§ Exhibition and performance spaces located in the Takere (and including a small stage and associated equipment) as well as throughout the wider facility and the adjoin outdoor areas

§ A café (located within the Takere)

§ The main library collection (approximately 750m² to allow for improved access and effective display)

§ Reception, service and transition areas (which may also include areas for clubs and organisations to provide services and advice)

§ Public toilets

§ Work and storage areas

Who is behind the project?

The project is being developed by the Horowhenua District Council and the Horowhenua Library Trust in consultation with Muaupoko Tribal Authority.

Why does Horowhenua need this facility?

There are many reasons that a facility like this is needed in the Horowhenua District. These include:

§ The development of literacy skills – through the provision of accessible resources, mentoring and support for learning.

§ The Deprivation Index shows that Horowhenua District is more socio-economically deprived than New Zealand as a whole.

§ There is a higher proportion of teen parents; children and young people account for a greater percentage of crime in the District and a higher than average proportion of young people leave school without any formal qualifications.

§ Access to telecommunications is inconsistent and in many cases, unaffordable.

§ There is a desire to improve involvement and engagement between Council, Iwi and Hapu.

§ There is a need for an improved understanding of the Maori world view and a greater awareness of local history.

§ Publicly accessible space for cultural exhibitions and activities is needed.

§ Many community groups require support and improved networking between groups and volunteers are valued by the community.

§ The District would like to increase tourist numbers and encourage new business and industry.

This building is being developed in the context of a wider town plan for Levin and it’s hoped that the new facility will become a catalyst for revitalising the town’s centre.

Te Takere supports the strategic goals identified in many of the District’s key planning documents including Horowhenua District Council’s Long Term Council Community Plan, Muaupoko 2020 strategy, Council strategies on positive ageing, youth, education, arts, heritage & culture, disability and development and the Horowhenua Library Trust strategy.

How much will it cost and where will the money come from?

§ Building Te Takere is expected to cost $7 million. This is made up of the $1.8 million spent on purchasing the Countdown building in 2006, plus building costs of an estimated $5.2 million. The building costs are lower than they would be for a complete new build of this size, as it utilises existing buildings.

§ Because the project incorporates a significant Community Centre, it has been able to attract external funding. Over $600,000 in funding has so far been secured from various community grants and additional funding applications are planned.

§ Horowhenua District Council will contribute $2.4 million in total towards Te Takere – (this figure includes the $1.8 million spent on purchasing the Countdown building in 2006).

§ At Horowhenua District Council’s November meeting, the project received a massive boost with the announcement of a $500,000 contribution from a deceased estate, taking the total funding secured so far to an impressive $1.1 million. (made up of $600,000 in community grants plus $500,000 donation)

§ The shortfall in funding needs to be found through additional community grants, business sponsorship and community fundraising efforts. A public fundraising campaign will be launched early in 2011, following the public consultation process.

Project Timeline

2006 – The Levin Library expansion is first mooted and put into the Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP)

2006 – Council purchases the old Countdown building with the intention of extending the current library and creating a community centre. Another company agrees to purchase the other half of the building, but negotiations stall.

2007 – Levin Community Centre Development Issues and Options Report is prepared by Opus International Consultants for Horowhenua District Council

2010 – An independent advisor, Nicki Moen is contracted to advise Council and the Horowhenua Library Trust on the design of the new facility.

August 2010 –Council agrees to utilise entire space of the Countdown building rather than half of the space as originally planned.

November 2010 – An anonymous $500,000 donation towards the project is received on behalf of a deceased estate.

December 2010 – Building designs and costings go to Council and are approved to go out for public consultation. Cr Peter Keenan announces the donation on behalf of the Keenan family of a number of rare bird prints by renowned artists

December 2010 – mid February 2011 – Council to undertake public consultation on the plans

For comment about the project, please contact:

§ Horowhenua District Council Mayor Brendan Duffy – Mob 0274 433 516

§ Muaupoko Tribal Authority Chief Executive Steve Hirini – Mob 021 651 958

§ Horowhenua Library Trust Chair Sharon Crosbie – ph 06 362 6551

For further background information about the project please contact:

Horowhenua District Council Strategic & Corporate Services Manager David Clapperton, Ph (06) 366 0980

Robin Hood-ing our way to $500k

Several years ago Horowhenua Library Trust launched a bequest programme encouraging people to remember us in their wills. Now don't go all funny on me and throw your hands up in horror: this is not ghoulish.

We need to raise 15% of our revenue from sources other than rates - thats about $180,000 a year. The more we can raise in sponsorship and donations from those who can afford to 'give' the less we have to charge in rental fees and user charges. Unlike Robin's victims ours seem quite happy with this approach.

A fair few people have significant wealth tied up in assets and while they may not have the ready cash to donate generously to the library during their lifetime they are very pleased to 'give' on their demise. In the scale of an entire estate a $20k donation to the library is often seen as peanuts and I have witnessed the pride exhibited by family members when they discovered that their Dad had left money to the library. It was only $3,000 but it felt really good to them when they delivered it - in person - and it gave us a warm feeling to know that he appreciated us in his lifetime.

Of course some do have the wherewithal to donate in their lifetime and we have 1 lovely person who brings us in a $15,000 or $20,000 cheques every July - just to help us out a bit. The old adage 'don't give until it hurts - give until it feels good' springs to mind whenever I see the monthly automatic payments showing up on our bank statement from a woman wanting to say thank you because we are so kind to her housebound Mum. This 'thank you' sentiment strikes a cord with a good many of our Seniors because every year we manage to raise about $3,000 in $20 donations - in fact people start asking when the promotion will be running because they don't want to miss out!

We receive donations of $1,000 - $5,000 reasonably often, but we have had two $20,000 donations this year and last week we were given a staggering $500,000 towards our new library building. The donor had no children and wanted her money to benefit the kids of the town ... we can do that :)

This approach works for us so don't be shy to try it.

PS If you would to donate to our building project we'd love your support :)

The power of a good Annual Report 09/10

I am delighted to present the 2009 - 2010 Annual Report for Horowhenua Library Trust.

Open publication - Free publishing - More trust

This year, I wanted use the Annual Report to paint a picture in order to have a useful tool for the coming year. We are about to embark on fundraising the remaining $2m required for our new libraries. We are a Council controlled organisation and elected councillors have to choose how much of the rate-take will come to us in operational funding and also how much capital to invest in our new facilities. I have tried to make a number of points to help make that decision making easier:

• we are a professional organisation not some 'bake sale committee',
• we are a team of many - not a one pony show,
• we think strategically about what we do and why,
• we provide an extremely good return on investment,
• we are truly a 'community' organisation
• the 'book' loss in the financial accounts doesn't tell the whole story.
  

We have printed a small number of hard copies but have also produced an online version for the first time. The printer was able to supply us with a high grade pdf file which was easily and quickly loaded to issuu, an award-winning free online publishing platform. This means that we can spread our story far wider than our cheque book would have allowed through traditional print media.

School yard bullying is alive and well

Remember the schoolyard bullies of childhood?

Two groups of kids playing similar games on adjacent courts. One group, slightly nerdy maybe and certainly not the 'in' jocks of the other group, seem to be having heaps fun. Laughing, loads of kids on each side, all playing together, really friendly, with rules tweaked as the game progressed to even things up a bit so everyone can play.

The other court has a small team of uber-jocks playing hard and fast 'properly', right number of players on each side, referee, complicated rules, lots of people standing on the sidelines just watching. Slowly, one by one, the onlookers start drifting away from the jocks to the nerds; just watching at first then joining in to play as well.

The jocks look around and realise that they aren't the centre of attention anymore because of this 'mad' inclusive game on the other court which anyone can play because it doesn't need expensive gear, or insider knowledge or years of training.

So the jocks barge onto the court and take the ball, claim they own the court and the rules of the game are xyz. The nerds cry foul but the teacher just nods and says oh thats ok - they don't mean any harm.

The game carries on for a bit but the bullies don't get the nerd game, keep trying to bring in the old rules - not remembering that the nerds had already walked away from the old rules to play their own game.

The nerds try to play nicely but dont get a lookin with the bullies, they eventually wander off, find another place to play, a grassy paddock, another ball and carry on. The grassy paddock is pretty good actually, heaps softer to fall on, makes the game even better. Heaps more people join in. People still come to the courts to find a game, but its not the one they heard about. Their ears pick up the happy noises over in the paddock where the 'real' game is being played and they wander over and start playing too.

The jocks don't get it ... they took the ball, got the court - why havn't the nerds just given up?

Koha bullying
Well this is not dissimilar to the situation the Koha community finds itself in with LibLime / PTFS.

The game was library management systems. Some of us couldn't play - couldn't afford the gear and didn't really like the game that much anyway. So we started a new game, Koha, and pretty soon heaps of people were playing it to. Soon the 'real' library management systems started noticing that people were moving over to Koha. Funding issues just made Koha seem even more attractive, and of course the game was one anyone could play and it evolved really fast because everyone has influence.

So LibLime PTFS grabbed a piece of Koha. They took the ball, the code, and played with it a while cutting out the orginal players by not pasing it back in the way of bug-fixes and enhancements. They got the court too, koha.org.

After a while, the koha community realised that it just wasn't getting a look in and decided to go get its own court to play on, koha-community.org and they have another ball, the code. Everyone is welcome to join in and the community is strong.

PTFS just dont get it.

They keep calling their forks Koha - but they are not. Its a different game. LEK and Harley are Koha forks because they were both built on the Koha open source code at some point in the past. They are not Koha now. PTFS have just released a new LibLime website where they still call their forks Koha and have invented a new logo for Koha. This is provocative, aggressive and just not on.

I was told off in Twitter today for swearing - and yes, sometimes I feel so angry and so helpless against such bullying that I do resort to swearing. I am so annoyed that our philosophically beautiful Koha is getting sullied through association with such ratbags as LibLime and PTFS who think nothing of lying in order to 'win' the game.

What is the game we are playing folks? What will a win look like to PTFS? Total domination of Koha by a single vendor? That will not be a win for anyone.

Powhiri at Kawiu Marae

Koha Conference attendees are invited to Levin on the 28th October for a very special event.

The Library Trust is honoured that Muaupoko, the tangata whenua or people of the land, are hosting us at Kawiu Marae following the Mayoral reception in Council chambers. This is a first for the Library Trust and the purpose of this post is to encourage Conference attendees to join us for what will be a very special evening.

We will be welcomed onto the Marae in a traditional manner. This will include the karanga where we are called on the Marae, a wero or taiaha challenge (to see if we come in peace), the laying down of koha, speeches, waiata (songs) a hakari or meal and kapa haka entertainment (singing, poi, haka). Information about the various components of the powhiri and what to expect can be found here.

There are also a few basic rules or tikanga which visitors will need to beaware of:

1. Do not sit on the tables ANYWHERE,
2. Do not smoke or drink alcohol,
3. Do not throw food AT ALL,
4. Do not pass food over anyones head.

The cost of the trip is $75 per person which includes return travel between Wellington and Levin, plus koha for our hosts and the entertainers. Partners and children are very welcome to join us (no charge for kids). Prepayment and bookings are essential so we can confirm arrangements with our hosts. To book and pay online click here.

KohaCon10 : the World comes down under

Our baby is grown up and out there doing its thing in the world, so it is with real pleasure that HLT welcome the 3rd International Koha Conference to NZ this October.

Koha is now used by hundreds of libraries around the world and supported by many international vendors. This year, to mark the 10th anniversary of its release, the conference is will be held in Wellington from Monday 25th October - Wednesday 27th October. Previous conferences have been in Marseilles and Texas.

The conference speakers are a veritable United Nations: UK, France, Nigeria, Taiwan, Pakistan, Malaysia, USA, Australia and NZ - and conference attendees hail from more countries than I care to list. The full programme can be found here.

This is an amazing opportunity for NZ librarians to see what all the fuss around Koha is about and mix with a truly international bunch of people who love Koha and have made it so successful overseas. It is somewhat odd that NZ, its country of origin, has been so reluctant to support this home grown product. A prophet is indeed a stranger in is own land.

The conference is free so there really is no excuse not to come and find out more. Registrations are open now on the conference website.

Personal highlights for me are:

George Oates - Integration with Open Library
A big success at NDF where she talked about her work with Flickr, George now works with Open Library team. She was responsible for creating the Flickr Commons (flickr.com/commons) and was the award-winning lead designer of Flickr itself.

Nicole Engard - How you can help
Nicole is a human dynamo and I have no idea how she squeezes so much into her life. She is the Director of Open Source Education at ByWater Solutions in the States, she is a prolific writer being published in several library journals and keeps the library community up to date on web technologies via her website "What I Learned Today...". In 2007, Nicole was named one of Library Journal's Movers & Shakers and in 2009 she was the editor of “Library Mashups,” a book published by Information Today, Inc. and in 2010 she will publish “Practical Open Source Software for Libraries” with Chandos Inc.

Mark Osborne - Koha in schools
Albany Senior High School is New Zealand's first open source high school, and Koha is one their key online environments. This session will be about how Albany is using Koha to promote literacy, community and high achievement.

Lee Phillips - Ask a librarian : Why I love Koha
Lee is the director of the Butte Silver Bow Public Library (BSB) in Montana, the first open source public library in Montana. The library runs Ubuntu OS on the public PCs and Open Office suite on both the public and staff client servers.

As an alumna of the University of Washington's Information School, Lee's MLIS focus was on human and computer interface, consortia culture and open source applications in public libraries. Her collection development plan was featured in the Spring 2010 OCLC newsletter.

Currently Lee is serving as a Montana State Library Commissioner by appointment of the governor of Montana. In the past year she has secured 150,000 dollars in grant funding for her library to develop programming that puts technology in the hands of library patrons.

Francois Marier - Freedom in the library: Convincing your boss that sharing is good
I hear "We can't use Koha because Council IT dept won't let us" far too often and this presentation is just for those people. Francois will show how the concepts of sharing, freedom and public domain are embodied by the FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) community. After describing what is meant by FOSS, we will look at how fairness is promoted through the choice of copyright licenses. Then we will examine the benefits of this freedom and of the related communities (for example, Creative Commons) it has inspired.

Mark Piper - Risk, considerations and realities of running a public access network
Mark is an independent hacker and will talk at the bigger picture of providing network & end-user systems for library membership to access Koha & the internet. He will explore the risks & mitigations of real world attacks.