Banned Books Week (27 September – 3 October)

This week is Banned Books week, started in 1982 in response to calls to remove books from libraries, schools, and bookstores. It highlights the importance of information and our ability to access it freely. See these pages for more information about the history of Banned Books Week.

Banned Books in New Zealand

“James Courage’s plaque” by Christchurch City Libraries is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Books have been banned, challenged, and censored around the world and in New Zealand. James Courage came from Christchurch and wrote A Way of Love in 1959, and the book was banned for it’s depiction of a homosexual relationship. The book has since been unbanned and is celebrated as one of the first books to explore gay relationships by a New Zealand writer.

Another, much more recent, book to be banned – well, restricted – is Into the River by Ted Dawe. The book was subject to a temporary classification of R14 by the NZ Classification Office due to its depiction of sex, drugs, and offensive language. This was eventually overturned, after outcry from librarians and others. You can check out and read Into the River at the Ara Library. Have a go and see for yourself!

Finally, a fun one that is still banned to this day – Why Was He Born So Beautiful And Other Rugby Songs. The book was banned in 1968 due to “indecent” and “bawdy” content. Even if you can’t read it, you can listen on Spotify!

Below are some links with more information. Go forth and read books, especially banned, challenged, and restricted ones!

• Courage Day – Christchurch City Libraries
• So what’s all the fuss about Ted Dawe’s book Into the River? – stuff.co.nz
• What to do about restricted books – NZ Classification Office

 

Looking for a place to use te reo Māori on campus?

Kōrero mai, kōrero atu ki te Whare Pukapuka ki Ara

To acknowledge the Māori Language Moment on September 14^th at 12 noon the Ara Academic Support team (Library, Disability and Learning Services) will all be using Te Reo Māori to greet students and staff. This will also signify the launch of the Ara Libraries as Māori Talk Zones.

Due to New Zealand being at COVID-19 Alert Level 2, many of the traditional celebrations for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori have been cancelled for 2020. Today at noon, our nation is coming together for a Māori Language Moment. This is to honour the presentation of a petition to parliament on this day, 30 years ago, asking for Te Reo Māori to be taught in Aotearoa New Zealand schools.

There are many ways for you to participate in the Māori Language Moment. Click on this link to find out how https://www.tewikiotereoMāori.co.nz/ and also remember to register online, so that we can reach our national goal of one million people engaging with Te Reo Māori during our Māori Language Moment.

When:             from Monday 14^th September

Time:              12.00pm (midday)

Location:        Madras Library

Cost:               Free

On Monday 14^th September

Greetings:           Ata marie – Good morning

Ahiahi marie – Good afternoon

Pō mārie – Good evening

Phrase:                 He āwhina māu Can I help?

Phrase:                 Ka pai! Well done

On Monday 21^st September

Phrase:                 Kei te pai? Are you ok?

Phrase:                 Tino pai That’s great

There will be resources in the library to support staff and students, also on My Ara there is a link to the pronunciation of our 2019 Kupu Kards.

Our Ara Academic Support team are planning to have their Māori Language Moment last a whole year, and to add new greetings and phrases each year.

Group Study Room Bookings

Great news! We have a new booking system for our library group study rooms.

We have listened to all your feedback, and after much trial and error have finally put in place LibCal:

https://araacnz.libcal.com/reserve

You can book any of the group study rooms in the library, at either the City or Timaru campuses, from anywhere, on any device.

It is live for bookings from Monday 14 September – for bookings before then, you can still use the existing Outlook system, or contact the library.

Disclaimer: picture does not represent actual Ara Library group study rooms…

Some tips:

• Book using your Ara email address

• Each member of your group can book for one hour per day

• You can make up to three bookings per week across all the study rooms (not per room)

• These rooms are for use by groups, and individuals may be asked to leave – individual quiet study is available elsewhere in both the City and Timaru libraries

We hope this system will be easier to use than our old one. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Happy booking.

Festival of Adult Learning

What do Zoom meetings and the NZ Sharemarket have in common? These are two things I’ve learnt a lot more about in 2020.

What do kimchi and quilting have in common? Well, they are two things you can learn more about during this year’s Festival of Adult Learning!

The Festival of Adult Learning Ahurei Ākonga (formerly Adult Learners’ Week/He Tangata Mātauranga) runs from 7-13 September, 2020. It celebrates the endless possibilities and opportunities to take part in adult learning in Aotearoa New Zealand, which don’t necessarily take place in classrooms, require enrolment, assignments or assessments.

The Festival of Adult Learning also celebrates the achievements of everyone participating in Adult Community Education (ACE), both providers/educators and learners. With around half a million adult New Zealanders participating in community learning programmes each year, there is much to celebrate.

This year the Festival marks the culmination of a year-long celebration of Lifelong Learning. The Year of Lifelong Learning has included a symposium and other regular events to raise awareness of the benefits and outcomes of lifelong learning. Some key messages that resonate with me include:

• Lifelong learning is one of four pillars identified as vital for wellbeing and positive ageing
• Lifelong learning empowers adults by giving them the knowledge and skills to better their lives, their families and communities

So, would you like to learn how to quilt or make kimchi? They are just two of the 16 learning events taking place in Canterbury during the Festival of Adult Learning. Pop  into the Ara Madras campus Library for more information, or check out the Festival of Adult Learning website at https://www.aceaotearoa.org.nz/events/festival-adult-learning

One final message about lifelong learning: Me ako inaianei – Learn Now!

Tongan Language Week 2020

Mālō e lelei! New Zealand celebrates Uike Kātoanga’i ‘o e Lea Faka-Tonga – Tonga Language Week this year from Sunday 6 September – Saturday 12 September. It’s an opportunity for us to connect with the language and culture of more than 80,000 people of Tongan heritage who live in Aotearoa.

This year’s theme is “Fakakoloa ‘o Aotearoa aki ‘a e Lotu Mo’oni – Enriching Aotearoa New Zealand through prayer and faith.” This theme is particularly timely as it drives our Tongan community’s response to the challenges of Covid19, with faith the foundation of much of the work occurring to persevere through these changing times. Our belief systems are helping us to connect and support one another in new ways, and churches are leading much of the recovery efforts, including creating and distributing masks, and addressing urgent food and housing needs.

The Pacific Island Students of Ara (PISA https://en-gb.facebook.com/PacificIslandStudentsOfAra/) are marking Uike Kātoanga’i ‘o e Lea Faka-Tonga with a performance for students and staff by the Canterbury University Tongan Student Association. To join the celebrations, head to the Rakaia Centre at City Campus on Monday 7^th September 12noon.

‘Oua lau e kafo kae lau e lava – Stay positive and count your blessings

IEEE Xplore – A database for computing, technology and engineering

Introducing a new trial database for engineering, computing and technology topics which you can access from the Library A-Z Databases list by clicking IEEE Xplore. Access is available until 10 September 2020 for this trial.

A quick tip when searching IEEE Xplore to get only full text articles that are up-to-date is to limit your search to My Subscribed Content and limit by Year.