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E nga mana, e nga reo, e nga iwi o Te Aroha, o te motu, hou e wha

Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa!

It is a great pleasure to be here today in this remarkable new building, in stunning Rotorua. It's particularly pleasing to see such a strong audience from all corners of the library and information industries

I'd like to start by thanking Vye and Glen and the entire team behind this event

I'd like to welcome all delegates, particularly Michelle Brennand who joins us from Australia, and Lorraine Bhan from the Fiji Library Association.

I'd also like to acknowledge and thank outgoing LIANZA National Council President Moira Fraser. Judging by the turnout here today your time at the helm was a great success.

Thank you Penny – it was great to get such a positive and progressive outlook for New Zealand libraries, and it's very reassuring that the National Library, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, is staying at the forefront of this industry during this exciting shift to a digital age.

Congratulations again to Barabara Garriock and Judith Bright. It's always inspiring to hear about and from people at the top of their professions. I'd also like to extend my congratulations to the other award recipients who will be recognised tomorrow.

Penny took you on a journey through the knowledge landscape as and outlined some of the exciting opportunities this sector has to look forward to, particularly as the digital world really starts to explode.

I’d like to take a step back a few years to 1999, when this newly elected Government took office. The 1990s were not an entirely positive time for the National Library. Around that time there was a document sitting on my desk from LIANZA which some of you may recall. It was titled “Watch Our Lips” – LIPS of course stood for the LIANZA Information Policy Summit.

As you can imagine, any incoming government has a plethora of paper to deal with, but this stood out – probably because ot the great title. It essentially outlined some significant changes that you wanted to see this Labour Government drive.

One of them was a request to reform the National Library Act; another to develop a National Information Strategy for New Zealand. I recall it also included a variation of the three C's which we know today as content, confidence and connection. These were farsighted ideas at the time, but it was a vision that this Government totally got and something we actively wanted to engage in.

The National Library Act was not just reformed, it was completely overhauled to meet the future needs of this sector. It built new relationships and advisory bodies, such as LIAC and the Guardians of Alexander Turnbull Library, which continue to be effective today.

And of course it paved the way for this country to be one of the first to deliver a world leading piece of legislation in bringing legal deposit for electronic publication, which we did in 2003. We were at the front of a small group of countries to do this and have built on this with the Digital Strategy and now the Digital Content Strategy.

Another defining moment for the Government was our presence at the World Summit on Information Society in Geneva in 2003, and then Tunisia in 2005. The National Library was the lead government agency and my colleague David Cunliffe was lead Minister

From there we really started to appreciate the vital role libraries needed to play in the digital space and I see that Summit as the forerunner to the New Zealand Digital Strategy.

From there we’ve seen some really great initiatives develop. First is the investment of around 24 million dollars that’s going into building the National Digital Heritage Archives. In a few years there’ll be a whole generation of young adults who have grown up digital. They’re the Text message YouTube, FaceBook and Second Life kids. They search for information and connect with each through the bleeding edge of digital technology.

The number of digital records that these and all users create on a daily or even hourly basis, is astounding. We need good systems to make sure these records are looked after so that they are useable now and in the future. This is a critical project in preserving digital content for future generations, and we expect it to be fully up and running around 2009.

The Digital Content Strategy will help complete this work. It will do this through the Aoetaroa People’s Network and the Digital New Zealand strategy which will begin to connect New Zealand content all corners of our nation. Archives New Zealand is also working on the protection of the government's digital records, a vital component of our democratic accountability, and our digital future.

I know Penny has talked about the Digital Content Strategy and that this will be a major topic of discussion at your conference. I don’t want to spend a lot of time on it, but will say it really is a defining strategy for this Government. Our vision is to move towards a knowledge economy, and beyond that, a knowledge society. The Digital Content Strategy represents our commitment to investing not only in New Zealand's future, but also into the infrastructure we need for that future, so that all our communities are supported with services that meet their needs now and in the future.

And it doesn’t stop there. Together with the Minister for Information Technology we’ll update the Strategy with new initiatives to ensure we retain a leading position in the digital age.

As part of that journey we look forward now to the Digital Future Summit 2.0 in Auckland in November. This will be an opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made, and develop a plan to take full advantage of digital technology and our skills and abilities in this area.

What all this says and should confirm is that this sector has a huge future and it's just got better with the foundations that are being laid through the Digital Content Strategy.

The launch last week at the Beehive was very well attended. It obviously touches so many parts of our community - businesses, government agencies, and community organisations. I would like to thank Penny, Sue Sutherland and her team at the National Library for such a sterling job of bringing this strategy to life.

Let’s take a step forward now. But first I’d like you to think about this. What other sector touches so many people, so many communities and has such a strong brand – a brand with values based around heritage, integrity, knowledge and now connections. New connections that will drive the resurgence of our libraries as incredibly valued partners in our communities and society, as partners that contribute not just to our culture and heritage but to the economic transformation of this country.

A very real example of this will be the People’s Network. Walter Nash said that a test of a good government is how it treats people standing in the shadows of life, not just those in the sun.

And so this government is a strong advocate of inclusion – making sure all New Zealanders benefit from the policies we develop and put in place.

One of the issues we face in the digital era is exclusion. Connecting the digital “haves” and “have nots” is the challenge. How are we going to ensure every New Zealander can benefit from technology, has access to great broadband, and of course has a safe place to go?

That’s fundamentally what the Aotearoa New Zealand People’s Network addresses. We want to provide broadband Internet services across libraries so that web basics can be taught to all New Zealanders, and a safe and trusted place to learn is available. We want all New Zealanders to benefit from creating, accessing and experiencing digital content.

Having received its funding through the Community Partnership Fund, I’m delighted that we’ve been able to fund the continued development of the network. And once again it’s another very visible demonstration of how we can get this country connected, globally and locally.

Everyone here today has a key role to play in transforming our country into a true knowledge economy. The Labour-led Government has played its part in investing in your sector’s future – we’ve done that because we see such a bright and strong role for our libraries in New Zealand's future.

From seven years ago when we first took office, I was given a vision for where we needed to head, in that interestingly named document “Watch Our Lips”, and through other documents and briefings. And when I look at what we’ve achieved since then, I see that we're well on the way to making that vision a reality, and that's something you as an industry can take a lot of pride in.

I know there is a lot more work ahead and the Digital Content Strategy certainly sets a busy roadmap, but the building blocks are in place and next steps are hugely exciting and will continue to be hugely rewarding for all who take its path.

I'd like to close by congratulating everyone here, and those who are keeping the doors open and unable to be here this week, on the professionalism and openness with which librarians are embracing the opportunities, and the challenges, of the digital world. Your willingness to learn, retrain, invent and share what you know is inspirational.

I wish you a great conference in this 98th year since the first LIANZA conference.

 

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