Massey librarian to be LIANZA president

Massey librarian Heather Lamond says modernising the image of libraries will be one of her goals when she becomes president of the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa (LIANZA).

Mrs Lamond will become president on July 1 for a 12-month term. LIANZA is the professional body for libraries and has more than 2000 members.

Mrs Lamond heads the distance library service at Massey and has worked in libraries for 18 years.  She has been on the LIANZA council for four years and is excited about taking on the leadership role.

She says LIANZA advocates for library staff and libraries in the wider community, administers the registration scheme for professional librarians and supports training for staff. As president she is passionate about strengthening the association and profession and is looking to the future.

“Libraries have an image of perhaps being a little bit last century, and librarians as well. One of my personal aims in the presidency is to update that image and demonstrate we are relevant in the 21st century, we know about information technology, ebooks and social media for example, and we use all those tools,” Mrs Lamond says.

The key role of libraries has always been connecting their customers with the information they need or desire, and she does not believe that has changed with new technology, rather, libraries are embracing the change.

Mrs Lamond will continue at Massey as she takes on the voluntary presidency role and says she is grateful to Massey for the support.