With over twenty thousand students, Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka tauira boast a massive range of backgrounds and lived experiences. In order to reflect this range, the team behind the library has a new project: Diversify the Library (DTL). They’re working hard to have their (already expansive) catalogue be more reflective of students’ lived experiences, especially those students who are part of the University’s recognised equity groups. They’re here for so much more than watching you cry over exam time lock-ins.
Critic Te Ārohi had the chance to sit down with a few friendly staff members of the library to learn about the kaupapa – Megan Vaughan (Engagement Librarian), Sela Pole-Fehoko (Advisor Pacific Engagement), Scott Venning (Divisional Manager, Commerce and Humanities) and Jacob Weston (Library Engagement Assistant).
The initiative is focused on expanding the selection of books on offer to better represent certain groups of students. These equity groups include those living with disabilities, those who have been the first in family to attend uni, LGBTQ+ tauira, students from low-sociocomic backgrounds or refugee backgrounds, those with English as a second language, and women who have faced barriers to access or success. The initiative kicked off in October 2023, and has gained traction with hundreds of books now acquired – 278 at the time of writing.
The team Critic with a list of their most borrowed titles, which was described as “underscoring the initiative’s success in connecting with users”. The three books with the most loans were Matariki: the Star of the Year (Rangi Matamua), A Māori Phrase a Day: 365 Phrases to Kickstart Your Reo (Hēmi Kelly) and Gideon the Ninth (Tasmyn Muir). Library staff did confirm to Critic a high amount of requests for Heated Rivalry as part of the programme, which is expected to become one of the most in-demand books once it arrives.
Any staff or student can request a book simply by filling out a book request form online – just chuck ‘DTL’ in the notes, completely for free! Once a request is in, the librarians will try and source for the University catalogue, and can even place a hold on it so you can snag first dibs.
Megan explained to Critic that the initiative is something that has been done “overseas, at other libraries and universities”, and while some libraries have called this initiative “Liberate our Library”, Otago settled on “Diversify the Library”.
Another project stemmed from these efforts: the Koloa mei Moana initiative. This allows Pacific students to each choose a book to add to the University’s collection. These books capture the (tumultuous) effort of a PhD, and Sele described that they’ve “sprinkled in a bit of Pacific flavour” to the collection. This allows a physical legacy to be left for other tauira to discover – expanding the collection of books that reflect Pacific experiences in the process. The initiative first debuted at a Pacific Graduation Breakfast, which Sele said was “almost like a cherry on the top at the end of the Pacific graduation”. There are hopes to expand the initiative to tauira Māori in the future too.
Megan wanted to emphasise the programme is for all types of books, not just for those related to your papers. “It might be fiction, or poetry, or art or something that doesn't necessarily reflect what somebody's studying, but something that they're definitely interested in.” While a trip to Central is usually associated with an impending deadline of caffeine-induced exam stress, it’s nice to know that fiction books are available to help you rediscover the fun of reading before classes ruined that feeling for you.
The library kaimahi wants to reduce as many barriers to checking out books as possible, so overdue fines have been abolished. “We realise that not everyone can afford fines, that's added pressure on people's bank accounts,” Megan explained to Critic. If a book doesn’t have a hold on it, it can be renewed enough to last you for most of a semester. So, there’s no need to stress about finishing your book quickly.
Book requests for the Diversify the Library initiative can be made on the Library Website, or you can talk to a staff member in person at the green help desk on the ground floor of Central Library. Megan reminded Critic that students “do have a bit of a break coming up”, so now’s the perfect chance to request a book that represents you, and get back on the GoodReads grind.
