With earthquake damage worse than first, gallery staff are thinking laterally, and this weekend sees the beginning of the Rolling Maul Exhibition. Director Jenny Harper gives us an update.
A Christchurch city council manager has told the Royal Commission there was an element of chaos after the first earthquake in September 2010 as staff sought to get systems in place.
4th September 2010 a 7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes near Christchurch, New Zealand’s second largest city of approximately 370,000 people. This is followed by a 6.3 magnitude quake on 22nd February 2011 and a 6.4 on 13th June. In February 181 people died and a state of national emergency was declared from 23 February to 30th April. Urban Search and Rescue teams with 150 personnel from New Zealand and 429 from overseas worked tirelessly in addition to Army, Police and Fire services. Within the central business district 1,000 buildings (of 4,000) are expected to be demolished. An estimated 10,000 houses require demolition and over 100,000 were damaged. Meanwhile the over 7,000 aftershocks have become part of the “new normal” for us all. During this time how have libraries supported their staff? What changes have been made to services? What are the resourcing opportunities? This presentation will provide a personal view from Lincoln University, Te Whare Wanaka o Aoraki, Library Teaching and Learning. Lincoln is New Zealand's third oldest university having been founded in 1878. Publicly owned and operated it is New Zealand's specialist land-based university. Lincoln is based on the Canterbury Plains, 22 kilometres south of Christchurch. On campus there was mostly minor damage to buildings while in the Library 200,000 volumes were thrown from the shelves. I will focus on the experiences of the Disaster Team and on our experiences with hosting temporarily displaced staff and students from the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology, Library, Learning & Information Services. Experiences from two other institutions will be highlighted: Christchurch City Libraries, Ngā Kete Wānanga-o-Ōtautahi. Focusing on the Māori Services Team and the Ngā Pounamu Māori and Ngāi Tahu collections. The Central library located within the red zone cordon has been closed since February, the Central library held the Ngā Pounamu Māori and Ngai Tahu collections, the largest Māori collections in the Christchurch public library network. The lack of access to these collections changed the way the Māori Services Team, part of the larger Programmes, Events and Learning Team at Christchurch City Libraries were able to provide services to their community resulting in new innovative outreach programmes and a focus on promotion of online resources. On 19th December the “temporary” new and smaller Central library Peterborough opened. The retrieved Ngā Pounamu Māori and Ngai Tahu collections "Ngā rakau teitei e iwa”, have since been re-housed and are once again available for use by the public. Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. This organisation, established by the Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Act 1996, services the statutory rights for the people of Ngāi Tahu descent and ensures that the benefits of their Treaty Claim Settlement are enjoyed by Ngāi Tahu now and in the future. Ngāi Tahu are the indigenous Māori people of the southern islands of New Zealand - Te Waipounamu. The iwi (people) hold the rangatiratanga or tribal authority to over 80 per cent of the South Island. With their headquarters based in the central business they have also had to be relocated to temporary facilities. This included their library/archive collection of print resources, art works and taonga (cultural treasures).
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. Patients queue at the 24 hour surgery on Colombo Street. Reception staff member Deborah Cherry on the job".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. Patients queue at the 24 hour surgery on Colombo Street. Reception staff member Deborah Cherry on the job".
An emergency and security staff member is pictured with high-vis and hard hat, preparing to enter the 6th floor of the Registry building to retrieve work from the offices- with attitude.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Emergency Co-ordination Centre in the Christchurch Art Gallery building. Staff at work with paintings in a gallery still on display".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Methodist Mission staff working in storage rooms above the Methodist Church on Harewood Road. Roz Lefay writing on the white board".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Methodist Mission staff working in storage rooms above the Methodist church on Harewood Road. Mary Richardson is second from the right".
An emergency and security staff member is pictured with a walkytalky, safety goggles, and hard hat, preparing to enter the 6th floor of the Registry building to retrieve work from the offices- with attitude.
Two weeks after re-opening, the landmark Christchurch department store, Ballantynes has thanked staff, contractors and customers for their hard work and loyalty since the February earthquake forced it to close.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Post-earthquake family fun for Quality Bakers staff at the Horticultural Centre in Hagley Park. City councillor Aaron Keown performing on stage".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Opening 4pm today. It's been stressful and frightening but we are through the worst and looking ahead. Yours Stan and staff'".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Marlborough Lines staff help out in christchurch after the earthquake. L-R. Ben Alexander, Owen Zinsli, Mark Rawlings, Stuart Prattley, Jon Wilson".
Staff and students listen to a speaker during the visit of Governor General Sir Gerry Mataparae to the University of Canterbury to present the ANZAC of the Year Award to the Student Volunteer Army.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Post-earthquake family fun for Quality Bakers staff at the Horticultural Centre in Hagley Park. Nicholas MacLagan aged 6 (AKA Spiderman)".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Despite the troubles staff have had since the September 4th earthquake, donations from others have so far kept their head above water".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Post-earthquake family fun for Quality Bakers staff at the Horticultural Centre in Hagley Park. Mr Whippy drew the crowd in, young and old".
A large sign just outside Christchurch's Red Zone reads 'Christchurch RED ZONE - security staff and celebrities only'. A security guard phones through to Check Point One, saying 'Base to check point one - no shop keepers allowed but the queen, Fidel Castro, Tina Turner and Elvis are coming in'. These four people have formed a queue and are allowed to enter the Red Zone. Context - It is now three months past the earthquake of 19 February and shopkeepers and owners of small businesses are becoming very frustrated by the still limited access to the Red Zone business area. Colour and black and white versions available Quantity: 2 digital cartoon(s).
Following the September 2010 earthquake and the closure of a number of campus libraries, library staff at the University of Canterbury was forced to rethink how they connected with their users. The established virtual reference service now meant library staff could be contacted regardless of their physical location. After the February earthquake, with University library closures ranging from 3 weeks to indefinite, this service came into its own as a vital communication tool. It facilitated contact between the library and both students and academics, as well as proving invaluable as a means for library staff to locate and communicate with each other. Transcripts from our post-earthquake interactions with users were analyzed using NVivo and will be presented in poster format showing the increase in usage of the service following the earthquakes, who used the service most, and the numbers and types of questions received. Our virtual reference tool was well used in the difficult post-earthquake periods and we can see this usage continuing as university life returns to normal.
It’s that time of the year again, carols, Christmas shopping, annual staff parties, parades and backyard barbeques. For many of us, Christmas traditions are passed down through our families, and some of the fare found on our festive tables may … Continue reading →
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Post-earthquake family for Quality Bakers staff at the Horticultural Centre in Hagley Park. City councillor Aaron Keown gets some ice cream from his daughter Lucy, aged 6".
The Government is to provide income support to some workers who've lost earnings because of the earthquake in Canterbury. The support package will be offered to businesses with fewer than 20 employees, which are unable to operate or pay their staff.
This week on the blog we’re sending you over to Pieces of the Past, an online exhibition we’ve curated as part of Beca Heritage Week here in Christchurch. The exhibition features the staff of Underground Overground Archaeology and their favourite … Continue reading →
A photograph of students and staff of Cashmere High School and Linwood College standing at the entrance to Cashmere High School. A sign reads, "Cashmere High School welcomes Linwood College".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Tony Ryall, Minister of Health, visits Christchurch Hospital to get a status report on how it is coping. Pictured with staff at the Emergency Control Centre at the hospital".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Temporary closure: Classic Cafe managers Peter Sharpe and Alana Kerr prepare to lock up while staff cook until the last minute for customers who had already placed their orders".
Since the earthquake in February the university has faced spiralling insurance costs and a decline in student enrolments. Now 24 staff have agreed to voluntary redundancy effective next year and the vice chancellor, Rod Carr, says despite that, it's largely business as usual.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Back in business: I-Site visitor centre manager Gwen Creek and staff member Laura Nelson prepare to open doors in Kaiapoi for the first time after the September 4 earthquake".
Police are investigating the origins of a letter which threatened Earthquake Commission staff and referred to the Christchurch mosque shootings. The Earthquake Commission has heightened security at all its offices in response. Renée Walker is EQC's deputy chief executive. She talks to Susie Ferguson.