TravelStream™ news feed for member jsiess on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/jsiess en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 01 May 2008 20:07:18 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/5/1094429100/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/5/1094429100/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/5/1094429100/tpod.html Thu, 01 May 2008 20:07:18 -0400 Library Tour of North Island of New Zealand

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Auckland, New Zealand

The conference began on Sunday, 5 September with a Powhiri (welcome ceremony) at Orakei Marae,
the ceremonial center of the local Maori group. The Maori are descendants of the original settlers of New
Zealand, or Aotearoa in their native language. The entire group of over 200 delegates approached the gates
of the Marae as a group, where we were challenged with a mock war dance. Our leaders responded as
instructed and we were allowed to enter the courtyard. We removed out shoes and entered the marae. It was
a large building that reminded me of the Tlingit meeting hall I saw in Alaska. What followed was a long
ceremonial welcome conducted entirely in Te Reo Maori-the Maori language. After the ceremony we
were invited to greet the Maori elders with a handshake and the touching of noses (not the Eskimo rubbing
of noses). We then proceeded to another hall where the mayors of the Auckland area welcomed us and we
partook of the huge feast prepared by the Maori people. This welcome ceremony was just one of the signs
that the native Maori are a completely integrated and respected part of the New Zealand scene. At all
sessions of the conference there was some Maori content and all speakers, even the pakehas (Europeans),
began their presentations with a traditional Maori greeting.
The formal part of the conference began with the usual speeches. Takutai Wikiriwhi, an elder of the
local Maori, welcomed us and Dame Silvia Cartwright, Governor-General of New Zealand (the Queen's
representative) opened the proceedings. The first keynote speaker was the president of IFLA (International
Federation of Library Associations), Kay Raseroka of Botswana. She greeted us in both of her native
languages, Botswana and Zulu (she was born in Kwaza Zulu, Natal, South Africa). Raseroka is the first
president of IFLA to visit New Zealand. "You are lucky that libraries exist," she said, despite the
challenges we face. Most of Africa has no libraries and IFLA needs to deal with those places; social equity
and information literacy is important, but content is more important. We need to communicate in
indigenous languages rather than the few Western languages that dominate world economies (e.g., English,
French, Portuguese). In addition, she reminded us that billions of people are illiterate in their own
languages. We must empower them, teach them information skills so they can keep up, and nurture and
teach young people in areas where there are no school libraries and children's librarians.
Stephen Lulich, incoming LIANZA president, announced two new fellows of the association. One
was Chris Szekely, City Librarian of Manukau, whom I met when we visited his library on the tour. He
reflected on how far Maori librarians have come and how proud he was "to be a part of this profession at a
time when we've never been more relevant." The other new fellow was Sheryl Morgan, a former librarian
at a polytechnic institution and now a project manager dealing with change management and
communication.
Introductions of two important groups of librarians were next on the agenda. Ainsley Dewe is the chair
of the newly established Library and Information Advisory Commission. The seven members of the
Commission advise the Minister for the National Library on all issues relating to information and the
economic and cultural life of New Zealand. Their current plan is to analyze what is and isn't happening in
the information landscape, imagine what could happen, and inform the country how it will happen. The
other members told what they bring to the Commission: Brian Pauling, a former bookseller and now a
broadcaster, represents the audiovisual sector; Chris Szekely is an advocate for public libraries and the
Maori heritage; Evelyn Tobin represents schools, people living in rural areas, and a bilingual and biliterate
citizenry; Karl du Fresne is a free-lance journalist who is interested in freedom of information, freedom of
expression and right of access; Paul Reynolds represents the interests of digital and private companies; and
Penny Carnaby, the National Librarian, is an ex-officio member who advises the Commission on
government policy. I was surprised to find out that I had met four of the seven members: Pauling and du
Fresne on the bus to the Marae, and Szekely and Carnaby on the tour.
The second group was the Kaitaki, or Guardians of the Alexander Turnbull Library. The Turnbull is an
archive that was merged into the National Library. The Guardians, under the leadership of Lydia Wevers,
assure that it continues to be a library within a library and held in perpetuity as a national treasure with its
character maintained. The other members are: James Ng, representing the Asia viewpoint; Peter Hohepa,
a Maori; Judith Binney, a researcher and historian; and Teresa Graham interested in preservation and
access.
The conference ended much as it began, with a Maori ceremony. The Poroporaki, or Farewell, featured
speeches and prayers by Takutai Wikiriwhi, an elder of the local Maori Marae, the conference convenor,
Sue Cooper {Auckland City Library), and new president, Stephen Lulich. Of course all was not lectures
and discussions. There was a wonderful Welcome Cocktail Party at the unbelievably futuristic and
beautiful Britomart Railway Station; a Newcomers' lunch where we learned all about LIANZA; a
wonderful address by Margaret Mahy, New Zealand author of children's books, who told us how she
comes up with her stories; breakfast with the Special Libraries Interest Section and the inauguration of a
new scholarship in memory of long-time member Paul .....; a short and very business-like Annual General
Meeting of the Association; presentation of many awards; delicious and generous tea breaks and lunches in
the exhibit hall; networking in the halls and final drinks with new friends. I also could have partaken in
other social activities: breakfast at the top of the Sky Tower (the tallest building in the Southern
Hemisphere), and a dinner dance with a Sixties theme, but I only have so much energy.
The entire conference was well-done, educational, and challenging. However, the best parts were
putting faces to the names that I had known on the Web or electronic lists and making new friends in this
lovely island paradise called New Zealand. I can't wait to come back!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/5/1094774340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/5/1094774340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/5/1094774340/tpod.html Thu, 01 May 2008 20:05:08 -0400 Library Tour of North Island of New Zealand

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Auckland, North Island, New Zealand

On to our last stop, Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, with approximately one-third of the
country's population. We visited three of the 21 branches of the Manukau City Library, one of the
suburbs of Auckland. It is the third largest city in NZ (over 300,000 people) and the fastest growing. It is
very diverse, with over 100 ethnicities are represented in the city. First met at the Manakere branch where
we met the Director, Chris Szekely. He is a native of Manukau and his mother was Maori. The system has
a budget of NZ$16 million budget. This high budget is justified by high use-three million issues and
2.5million visitors per year. Seventy percent of the citizens have used the library in the last year. It is the
most used resource of the council. They are building new libraries at the rate of one every eighteen months.
Szekeley told us that the five largest local libraries in Auckland have formed a consortium to buy a new
library management system and they will then combine their catalogs in the first such shared system in NZ.
Manukau is the first public library to used RFID chips. We saw one of their twelve computer-based
learning centers, @learn.net. These learning center are not in the library, but adjacent to it and accessible
both from the library and from outside.
The highlight of the visit was the Tupu Youth Library. "Tupu was a name chosen by the community
itself. It means 'new growth' in Maori." It is the first library in New Zealand dedicated to Maori and Pacific
Islands youth. In 1996 the council saw the need. Half of the area was unemployed. Half of the residents had
no access to computers. Over 10,000 people attended the library opening. It cost NZ$1.5 million to build
and equip. The main focus is on the facilities and the computers, so there are only about 17,000 books. The
mix of resources is half digital and half print. The building incorporates very bright Maori and Pacific
Island designs and images and from the outside looks like a Samoan house. It is a very popular library and
is used by the entire community for study, recreational reading, and as a meeting place. There is a spacious
reading area, very welcoming. This area can be seen from the road through the floor to ceiling windows.
Eating is allowed in this part of the library. They just celebrated their third birthday (with a party, the press,
and guest speakers). They have only one shelf of books for adults-parents who bring their children in. The
main focus is on the facilities and the computers. We again find industrial grey shelving, but the rest of the
library is in bright colors and patterns. We met the Library Manager, Rosetta Reti Simanu. She told us that
the library has about 3000 users and had 120,00 visits in the first three years. How is this library different?
It is designed to increase educational opportunities for the young adults. They do a lot of outreach. There is
a special club for teens, meeting monthly. The homework centre is staffed by a local teacher and university
students. There is a monthly newsletter sent to managers and politicians. They are open seven days a week.
The librarian is a member of the local community organization. There is a very focused acquisitions policy;
items are either school-related or such as graphic novels (for those who won't read books).
Our final stop in Manukau was at the still-unfinished Botany Library in Botany Downs Shopping
Centre. It should be finished by the time you read this, but in early September it was still a construction
site. The architect, Andrew Tu'Inukuafe, who is from the Pacific Island nation of Tongan showed us
around the construction site. The cost for the facility is NZ$1-2 million, with another NZ$700,000 for
books and NZ$300,00 for information technology. The plan has no central desk; there will be several
service points throughout the facility-just like a modern retail store. There will also be a café, which will
offer wine and tapas in the evening; food and drink will be allowed in the entire library. In the summer the
library will be open 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., seven days a week. The artwork reflects the theme of a journey,
growth, and understanding. A combination of bold colors and graphics and words will decorate nearly
every surface. The mezzanine will be a teen hangout. There is a very large staff work area. It is located
right next to a movie theater complex, which should make for a high profile and high use.
Our final two visits were to parts of the Auckland City Library. First we went to the Remuera
Community Library, an "old library" by New Zealand standards, built in 1927. Both the original design
and the recent refurbishment received architectural awards. It was a stark contrast to the other libraries,
with warm wood on the walls and end caps on the shelves. Most of us felt very comfortable in this
library-like the libraries we grew up in. The library receives about 600-800 visits per day and has a staff
of ten (four full timers), with about seven on duty per day. It still needs some bigger and brighter signage,
but it is fits into its up-scale neighborhood and is surprisingly busy. We especially like the cozy and light
children's section located in an enclosed porch. Everything is placed low in one line, drawing the eye down
from the high ceilings. System-wide they are introducing new services with a cute zebra theme. One of the
new services is free renewals on the web.
The Central Library has some recreational reading resources, but is primarily a research library, with
a research centre and the city archives. The ground floor is the reading and relaxation area, with an
extensive music collection, videos, CDs, a donated collection of records, fiction, art travel, history, sport,
maps, literature, and world languages and literature. Magazines appropriate to these subjects are held here
(with current issues behind the desk). Upstairs has a split personality-business and science on one side
(also with appropriate magazines) and the children's and teen areas on the other. All through the library is a
very busy and bright carpet, commemorating the Maori arrival in New Zealand. It might be less distracting
if the library colors were taken from the carpet, but they are not. Each floor has an employee hired to work
on the look of the floor. There is a small library store, located near the exit, with its own manager. There is
a nice area on the first floor that is used for promotional programs, such as the celebration of New Zealand
Music Month with live music or the reading of Joyce's Ulysses on Bloomsbury Day. There is a big screen
on which they project event-appropriate items or information about the library. The librarian, Kay
Forrester, is originally from California, USA. On the retail side, Pauline McCann was hired just to
manage the library store, located near the exit. I thought it was too crowded, which would discourage
customers from coming in. The stock is varied and of widely divergent quality. I would think there should
be a consistent level of quality. They need to sell the books featured elsewhere in the library, and plan to do
so.
What did we get from this tour?
During the end-of-tour roundup, we all talked about lessons learned. Here are some of them.
! An academic library can look like a public library. She likes the idea of study space in the book
stacks.
! An enthusiastic staff is critical.
! Interested in applying the living room concept.
! You must start with a customer focus and reinvent everything.
! From our Councillor: This has been a real education. She spends little time in libraries. She found
she must get out in the library more, build a relationship with the staff. I suggest inviting council (or
your management) into the library-often, until they really get it.
! South Australia is way ahead of New Zealand on some things, but they need to work on staff
training and passion.
! One hopes to go back and revive the main floor of her library to make it more welcoming.
! You need to match your design to the clientele, being inclusive. Also, get the substance right, before
painting pretty colors.
And my impressions...
Libraries, including OPLs, can and should take inspiration from retail stores to jazz up their facilities.
This does not have to be a difficult or expensive project. You can do a lot with bright colored paint, large
and colorful signs, and imaginative displays. Just as customers enter the library, stack three tables to feature
new books, new journals, or new and underused services. Arrange book shelves at unexpected angles to
attract the attention of the user. Place comfortable chairs where clients can relax and read. Use task lighting
to improve readability and highlight special displays. In short, make your library attractive and inviting-
break out of the ordinary and into the extraordinary
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Hamilton, North Island, New Zealand

A short distance north was the city of Hamilton, population 120,000. We were welcomed to Hamilton
City Library with a traditional Maori welcome ritual. The staff has been working on being more aware of
Maori culture friendly. The library's theme is a journey to knowledge, with signs in format of airline tags.
It would have been more effective if they had announced the theme at the entrance-"The journey to
knowledge starts here" or "Journey to knowledge@the library." The color scheme on the ground floor is
teal (blue) and orange. It is very striking, but somewhat intimidating to me. Are the Maori and Kiwis more
attuned to bright contrasting colors? However, this was not carried through on the other two floors; I
thought the lighter colors were much more relaxing, but the rest of the group thought it was too oldfashioned
and boring. Branches use the same color scheme. Again we found the familiar grey industriallooking
shelving. I'm told the shelving is manufactured in New Zealand. The library outsources most of
their acquisitions, including selection-which surprised (and dismayed) us even though the vendors were
given well-developed and thought out selection guidelines created by librarians. They use three different
vendors: one for New Zealand materials, one for foreign, one for large-print books. All items come preprocessed.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/5/1209686040/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/5/1209686040/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/5/1209686040/tpod.html Thu, 01 May 2008 20:03:36 -0400 Library Tour of North Island of New Zealand

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New Plymouth, New Zealand

A driving rainstorm greeted us when we arrived in the oceanside town New Plymouth to see its brand
new cultural jewel, Puke Ariki, "Taranaki's new heritage and information centre [that] harnesses the state
of the art museum and library technologies to convey the spirit of [the] Taranaki [region]." The complex
also contains an art gallery, visitor information service, gift shop and restaurant. There are museum artifacts
included in the library (I couldn't tell if they were linked to the books around them; this could be a missed
opportunity and "infopods" in the museum with links to library resources. The children's area was
especially well done. They used projectors to place shapes such as planets, Maori images, and animals on
the floor-right at child level. The shelving and fittings were again grey and industrial-looking, but nicer,
classier, and seemingly of better quality. The complex is open 364 days per year. They have recruited
commercial and governmental sponsors for various areas, with prominent displays by them. It was all very
beautiful, but not quite the seamless cultural heritage center that I hope it will become with time. While in
New Plymouth I visited the Taranaki District Health Library and its OPL, Frances Pentelow. It is a
small library in an aging health institution, but effective.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/5/1095724320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/5/1095724320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/5/1095724320/tpod.html Thu, 01 May 2008 20:02:29 -0400 Library Tour of North Island of New Zealand

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Palmerston North, North Island, New Zealand

Our next stop was Palmerston North, where we visited Massey University, the second largest
university in the country, with 39,000 students, twelve percent of whom are Maori. Library director John
Redmayne called it "a standard New Zealand university library." In a country of only four million, the
eight universities compete for about 157,000 students, most of whom commute. Since New Zealand now
has one of the world's lowest rates of unemployment, there is a scramble for students. They now actively
recruit foreign students (mainly from Southeast Asia and China) which now make up now make up twelve
percent of student body at Massey. They are the largest provider of distance materials in the country,
lending over 228,000 items last year. It also serves branches in Auckland and Wellington. The library has
about one million volumes, a budget of NZ$13.7 million, and 110 staff (75 of whom are in Palmerston
North). . I like the sign I saw in this library: "Save time, save stress...ask a librarian." I'm sure they
wouldn't mind if we used this in our own libraries.
Palmerston North Central Library is "housed in a skillfully refurbished heritage building" that used
to be a department store. Strikingly modern, the architect won a national award for its design. It calls itself
the "Living Room of the City." The director, Anthony Lewis, traveled to the USA and Scandinavia to get
ideas for the design. It is larger than would be expected for a town of 70,000 plus since the living room
arrangement uses more space. Each subject area has U-shaped sub-areas called living rooms, with study
space and appropriate design. I found it confusing, but it could be gotten used to. There is a lot of artwork
and bright colors, but the shelving is again in industrial gray. The library seemed quite noisy to me. They
loan 1.5 million items per year with 53 FTE staff and spend nearly NZ$60 per citizen. Lewis said that the
library is quite a bargain compared to other costs in New Zealand: daily newspaper NZ$301, fish and chips
every week NZ$260, gym membership NZ$540 or gasoline (20 liters per week, about 5 gallons) NZ$1123.
The library is required to generate seven percent of its budget. They don't like to charge, but do so for CDs,
DVDs, computer time, printing, and some best sellers (NZ$5 per week). The users don't seem to mind
since New Zealand has a tradition of user charges.
OPL ALERT! The Roslyn Community Library (part of the Palmerston North Public Library) is
located in a space no bigger than most OPLs. A tiny storefront was transformed into a vibrant, welcoming,
and well-used library branch. It was painted with bright colors and furniture that echoes those of the main
library Comfortable seating was located right in the front, so that passersby could see people enjoying the
library and be encouraged to come in. A horizontal line painted about two-third of the way up the walls
drew the eye down from the high ceiling and concentrated their gaze on the bookshelves. All signage was
bright and kept at the same level. These are all ideas that we can implement. We also saw the library's
bookmobile. It makes stops in neighborhoods and schools six days a week; two mornings are reserved for
special events. It is wrapped in graphics in the same bright colors as the library.
The next day we had morning tea at Woodsy's Garden Centre in Hawera. (I found out that morning
and afternoon teas are a mainstay of New Zealand life and include pastry as well as tea and coffee. To skip
a tea break is unheard of.) Woodsy's is one of John Stanley's clients. It is very attractive, which is quite
necessary due to its poor location at the edge of town. The café has been a great addition, drawing people
into the store. However, we were disappointed to see no cross-selling between café and garden. This and
other items showed that the staff has good ideas, but the execution needs work and follow through. I
thought that gifts, wrap, and fresh flower bouquets would be good additions to the offerings. I saw a sign
saying that help can be hired for one's gardening, but this should be featured more prominently, perhaps on
wheelbarrow or at checkout (where one might wonder, "how will I even get all this planted?"). Also, high
margin items should be the first things seen and at checkout, not the pest control products there now, which
have low margins and are not "sexy." There is a sign outside with their mascot, Woodsy the dog, but he is
not used inside. He should be all over, with suggestions for purchases, such as, "Woodsy says...time to
plant your roses" or "Woodsy says...did you remember fertilizer?"
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/5/1093823400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/5/1093823400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/5/1093823400/tpod.html Thu, 01 May 2008 19:52:24 -0400 Library Tour of North Island of New Zealand

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Wellington, North Island, New Zealand

We visited twelve libraries in six days, traveling up the west coast of the North Island from Wellington
to Auckland. New Zealand has four million people, nearly forty million sheep, and nine million cattle. This
country the size of the US state of Colorado has won more Olympic gold medals, per capita, than any other
country. It also has almost every climate zone on earth, lacking only a dry desert. Its capital, Wellington,
has more cafes and restaurants per capita than New York. Our first stop was the National Library where
we met with Penny Carnaby, the National Librarian, who had just returned from the annual meeting of the
International Federation of Library Associations. The Maori name of the National Library is Te Puna
Matauranga o Aotearoa, means wellspring of knowledge. Its mission is to preserve indigenous knowledge
and to support the curriculum of all New Zealand schools. It constitutes its own government department,
with its own minister. Perhaps the Library's most important achievement is epic (electronic periodicals in
collaboration), a collection of over 16,000 full-text e-journals from Ebsco and Gale that are being made
available to all of New Zealand at no cost and with no barriers such as passwords. Ninety percent of the
public libraries in the country are participating, as are all of the academic libraries. Diane Wyber, Director
of Policy and Strategy Development, told us that because of the Libraries Act of 2003 digitization will be
their focus for the next four years. They have NZ$24 million to develop a scalable program. Steve Knight
told us more about the digitization process. The Library is a Sun Microsystems Center of Excellence, in
partnership with Endeavor Systems. Rights management is a big issue. We also visited the Alexander
Turnbull Library-a library within the National Library. It was created by a donation of books,
pamphlets, engravings, charts, manuscripts, sketches, maps, photographs, plans and pictures from Mr.
Turnbull. It is primarily made up of materials by and about the native Maori people. Before colonization by
the Europeans, the Maori were very literate thanks to the teaching of the missionaries. Unfortunately, this is
no longer true.
Next up was the Wellington City Library. This brand-new library (only one year old) is very modern
and, as we were to see in many libraries, had shelving and fittings of industrial grey metal. It is in the city
center and one enters right from the street. Its focus is youth and business customers (which seem at odds to
me). Nearly three million people come through the door each year and 87 percent of the 171,000 residents
are members (have library cards). Although the percentage of residents who have library cards seems high
by US standards, it is quite consistent with the numbers we saw in other New Zealand libraries. Their
catalog is available in Maori, Samoan, and a children's version (Kids Cat Web). The AV area had look and
feel of a record store, which was deliberate. I thought the library was noisy. Although it was said to be easy
to navigate, I found it confusing and difficult to find materials. Some are on the shelf in call number order,
others on new book shelves in no apparent order, and (too) many others on trolleys (book trucks) awaiting
shelving. Much of the stock is shelved not by call number but by subject. A major factor in hiring and
staffing is a customer service orientation; to quote Hill, "the customer is completely A-1." Partnership and
teams are highly encouraged, in fact, almost required. The management style has transitioned from
supervisory management to empowerment; the staff is expected to make decisions. This is a very flat
organization: Jane at the top, then team leaders, coaches, and everyone else. Key values are proactivity,
energy, enthusiasm, and a high work output.
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Melbourne, Australia

I was taken to my hotel. I had an interesting room. All windows (with shades, of course). There was a nice bed, a tiny desk, and a tiny bathroom (with shower only-all glass). About 11 p.m. I started to hear a lot of shouting in the halls. It seems that mine was the only standard room in the wing-the others were all dorm-type rooms, now occupied by a tour group from China. (Steve and I have found that the Chinese are the worst travelers.) I did get to sleep, but was wakened about 5:30 a.m. by the tour group, noisily getting ready for breakfast. I complained at the desk, but they said that telling the group to be quiet wouldn't help-and it didn't. The next night was the same. The last night saw the end of the Chinese, but they were replaced by a noisier (and drunker) Greek tour group.
On to my teaching venue-a $20 cab ride away on the campus of Latrobe University. There were eight students in my first class. They were a very quiet bunch, but the workshop went fairly well. We had a nice catered lunch-all kinds of sandwiches. I especially liked the egg salad sandwiches with shredded cabbage in them. Richard, who made the arrangements (and whom I met in Brisbane, his home), suggested I go to Lygon Street for dinner. This was the highlight of my stay in Melbourne. Lygon Street is lined with Italian restaurants. While checking them all out, I stopped at The Original Lolly Store. Lolly is the Australian word for a small, usually hard, candy. Every bus tour we took offered them, as did the airplanes. I bought some Jelly Bellies for the trip home. Following the advice of Rachael Ray on her travel show, $40 a Day, I asked a local (the clerk in the candy shop) for a dinner recommendation. She suggested Café Corretto a bit down the block. Boy was this a find! It didn't look like much, but the food was perfect. I had spaghetti with oil and garlic that was done just right, four delicious slices of toasty garlic bread, and for dessert, the piece de resistance-crème caramel. The plate came with crème caramel (flan for those who've been to Mexico or a Mexican restaurant), a nice mound of whipped cream, and one scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream. I didn't know which to eat first. All this for only $18 Australian-including tip (about $14.50 US).
The next day I had only two students. We had a good session, but it was still disappointing. After class I and Sue Henczel (who invited me) and another member of the staff went to the library of a theological college for a meeting of the new Australia/New Zealand chapter of SLA (the Special Libraries Association). Only about eight people came-another small crowd, but they seemed interested in what I had to say. The chapter now has about 100 members, half in NZ and half in Australia (and most of those in Sydney). On to dinner. I suggested that we (Sue and her business and life partner) go back to the same restaurant as I had been to the night before. No sense in trying to beat perfection. I wanted to try the veal. I had veal in white wine and it was just perfect. So was the garlic bread and crème caramel. Sue had not been to that restaurant before, though they dine at Lygon Street almost every week.
My final class in Melbourne had only three students. Two were colleagues of students in my second class and the other was the head of information services for Coles Meyer, a large conglomerate that operates both grocery stores and department stores all over Australia (he didn't really need to learn much about marketing). It was an interesting mix and the class went fine.
Now things began to fall apart. Since there were only three people signed up for my workshops in Auckland, and only four signed up for the SLA meeting where I was to speak, "we" decided to cancel that leg of the trip. Had I known the problems and cost that would cause, I never would have agreed-but no one explained things. They said that I could go home "tomorrow" (Friday), which sounded good. Well, Friday became Monday and an additional $3000 Australian. At this writing I don't know who is paying what. At one point they said I could just use my regular ticket, go to Adelaide and Auckland. Not knowing about the extra cost, I chose not to go. If I'd known about this before we cancelled the workshops, I would have gone ahead and done them. Everyone would have been better off. CAVAL would have made something, no extra airfare would have been incurred, and the Kiwis would not have been disappointed.
They moved me downtown (which is where Sue said I should have been in the first place) to a very nice hotel, the Mercure Grand on Swanston Street. My room was huge. A lovely queen-sized bed, easy chair with ottoman, large desk, good sized closet, big TV, and large bathroom with the longest tub I've ever seen. I could stretch out in it. No view, but very comfy.
I went out to look for a restaurant for dinner (the one in the hotel was very expensive, and CAVAL was only paying for the hotel, not food). For several blocks around there were only Japanese and Thai places-not what I wanted. After walking around for maybe 15 minutes, I got very tired, my legs and back began to hurt, and I was out of breath. I hobbled along to the hotel. I was nearly in tears and could take only one or two steps before having to stop and rest, which made my back hurt more. The "friendly" Aussies just walked past me-no one offered any help. Finally, a lady came over and helped me to a bench. It turned out she was Canadian. My savior called the hotel manager over. Justine (the manager) was an angel. She talked to me (or listened to my litany of complaints and frustrations) and helped me to my room. She even got me something to eat from the café next door. I don't know what I would have done without her and wrote a glowing "atta girl" to the management.
The next morning I felt much better. I don't know if it was frustration at not getting to go home that day, hunger, skipping my physical therapy exercises for a day, or what, but I had recovered. After a little lunch, I took a tram (streetcar-which Melbourne uses instead of busses) to the Crown Casino. It was huge-larger than most in Las Vegas. Unlike Vegas, there are snack bars and cafes about every 100 feet around the casino, and some expensive restaurants too. There's also a food court with mostly Asian food-which makes sense because almost every other person there was Asian. I guess they have the money. I walked the whole place (slowly), with stops to chat with locals, which was fascinating. I donated $40 Australian to the economy (for a total of $51 Australian or just under my limit of US$20 per day over the two days). I had a light dinner of a sub sandwich and chips (fries) for about $6 at the casino. You can have spaghetti for $2 or free if you've played enough. Not like Vegas's expensive casino meals.
On Saturday I took a tour down The Great Ocean Road. The road goes south, then west of Melbourne along what is called the Shipwreck Coast. The cliffs rise steeply right from the Southern Ocean and there are jagged rocks in the shallows. We saw only one lighthouse. Over 100 ships were wrecked along the coast, up to the 1920s. The road was built (actually, blasted out of the rock) from 1918 to 1932 by hand by unemployed WW I. veterans. It was very twisty in places, more of a roller coaster than a road. But the scenery was wonderful-if not as "spectacular" as our guide kept saying. Some of the rock formations are very famous: the Twelve Apostles (really 14); there used to be 18 but four fell into the ocean. We also saw the one named London Bridge because of the two arches in the rock that reminded people of a bridge in London. However, we saw only one arch since the other collapsed into the ocean without warning in 1990. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but a couple were trapped on the remaining piece of rock for about seven hours until help could arrive from Melbourne. The highlight for me, however, was seeing koalas in the wild. We saw about five of them, sitting very high up in very tall trees. Several were even climbing. They seemed much larger than the ones in the zoos. The trip was long, but I got a lot of pictures. Oh yes, I took a 10-minute ride in a small (four-person) helicopter. Yes, Judy who is not happy with heights actually went up in a helicopter. It was only $70 Australian (under US$55) and a beautiful clear sunny day, so I figured I'd regret it if I didn't. We flew over all the rock formations we'd seen and it was wonderful. My father wouldn't like my cockeyed horizons (the helicopter kept turning and dipping for a better view), but the pictures are great. We got back about 8 p.m. and I had a bit to eat and went to bed.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/3/1117668900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/3/1117668900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/3/1117668900/tpod.html Thu, 01 May 2008 19:36:02 -0400 Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne, Australia

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Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Brisbane is wonderful. Denise Cadman, one of my subscribers (who works for Catholic Education), met me at the plane and she and her husband took me to the Rendezvous hotel. What a surprise I found there! I didn't have a room-I had an apartment! The hotel used to be apartments and there was a living area, with couch and chair, table and chairs, and a full kitchen (two burners, fridge, microwave, and dishes and pots).There was a separate bedroom, with a folding door. In the bathroom, to my amazement, was a washer-dryer combo. I could get my laundry done without paying hotel prices. I asked how much the room cost and found that it was only $140 Australian (that's under $110 US). Amazing.
Saturday, Denise picked me up about 9 a.m. and we drove to Mt. Cooth-tha, one of the highest places in Brisbane. We met five other librarians (Richard Sayers, CAVAL's new training manager; Denise, Kay Phillips; Queensland Studies Authority; Robyn Sanders, Dept of Corrective Services; Ian Maddox, United Grand Lodge of Queensland-Masons; and Margaret Mowberry, DRUG ARM Resource Center) and had morning tea; the tea or coffee break is a sacred institution in Australia-just try to not schedule one and see how upset they get. I talked a bit about the situation in the USA and some marketing concepts, then answered questions-all this outside on a deck with a lovely view of the botanical garden. Then we went to the top of the mountain where there was a wonderful view of the city-all the way out to the sea (Pacific Ocean).
Then we went to lunch at a nice restaurant where we were joined by Susan Nelles of Queensland Health.We all ate on the patio and they had to turn on a heater, everyone was so cold (except me, of course-I thought it was delightful). I guess I should say something about the weather in Australia. It was winter, but we should have such winters! Everyone complained about the cold; highs were 50-60° F (a little higher in Brisbane, a bit lower in Melbourne) with lows in the 40s, though it did get below freezing overnight in Melbourne. No snow, of course, except in the mountains. It was very dry-they're in a six-year drought.
After lunch I went back to the hotel for a rest, then Denise's husband, John, picked me up for dinner at their house with friends (a fellow librarian and her husband). John works where Denise does three days a week and two days a week somewhere else as a materials receiving officer. Their house was very nice, somewhat sixties in tone, with a wonderful garden (yard) outside with a huge patio. The weather is wonderful in Brisbane except for three very hot months (over 100°). We had a nice dinner: pork medallions with a sauce, roasted vegetables (carrots, pumpkin, potatoes, cauliflower), rice, and a Pavlova for dessert (a New Zealand meringue specialty, which is VERY good). I took my laptop and showed them some pictures of our trips. We had such a nice time that it was midnight by the time I got back to the hotel.
Today I went out for a walk about 8 a.m. I managed to find the casino and played for a while; I made $4. I also found an outdoor crafts market and got some earrings and a print of a turtle. One the way back to the hotel I bought some flowers for Denise from a street vendor. I also picked up breakfast for the next morning. Nearly every morning I had the same thing-a muffin and apple juice, purchased at one of the many, many 7-11 convenience stores I found (even on opposite street corners). Denise picked me up at 1:30 and we drove to Surfers Paradise. It is a town about 45 miles south of Brisbane, on the Gold Coast. It looks much like Miami Beach with fancy high-rise hotels and apartment buildings, plus the tacky souvenir shops found in tourist meccas around the world. The beach is miles and miles long and gorgeous; they say it's not crowded even at the height of the season. It was raining but still nice. Our destination was the Hard Rock Café, for a shot glass for Ken. Of course they were sold out. I bought a pin with a Koala and surfboard for myself so the trip wouldn't be a total waste.
Then we went to the casino. It is very nice. Denise did very well; I lost $15, but I had a great time. She dropped me at the hotel about 6 p.m. I had dinner in the restaurant and packed.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/3/1117668780/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/3/1117668780/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/3/1117668780/tpod.html Thu, 01 May 2008 19:34:41 -0400 Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne, Australia

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Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

I had an uneventful trip to Sydney. I was upgraded to first class from Dallas to LA. Wonderful seat, with footrests and the ability to recline almost all the way back. If I'd only had this on the flight to Sydney, but, alas, I was in coach. However, it was fine. I even got some sleep.
I went directly to the hotel, where I slept from 9 am to 3 pm. I should have stayed up to get over jet lag, but my body wasn't willing. The hotel was fairly nice, a bit old, but nothing special. I realized that I didn't know when the workshop started Tuesday morning, and tried to reach one of the arrangers to ask, but no luck. So, I went to the workshop site at about 8:00 a.m. Tuesday morning. Of course the workshop didn't start until 9:30 a.m., so I had plenty of time to get organized and even to check my email.
I had nine students the first day, but only a disappointing three over the next two days. The workshops went well and the evaluations were good, but there should have been more people there.. We were given vouchers for lunch and went to local cafes. Australian food is different from what I'm used to (more Asia dishes and some very interesting sandwich and wrap combinations), but good. I had enough left over from lunch to make a nice dinner in my room. (I hate eating out by myself.)
Monday night I went to the Hard Rock Café for dinner and to get a shot glass for a friend who collects them. Unfortunately, I must have left the glass at the Café. I'll have to try again next time I come-it wasn't worth $20 in cab fare to go back.
Tuesday evening I walked about 10 blocks up to the Kumfs shoe store. I bought a beautiful pair of shoes-pink for spring. I'd bought a pair in Auckland last year and they are very comfortable. The pink ones went well with the clothes I brought.
Thursday evening I met with about ten members of a local online users' group. I made a short presentation on what's going on in the USA, then answered questions. Eight of us went on to dinner afterwards. It was very nice.
Friday morning I took a cab to the Queen Victoria Building. It is a beautiful old building that's been turned into a shopping arcade; Australia has saved many historic buildings this way. Here I found the other item on my shopping list-a paperback edition of The Da Vinci Code. It isn't out in paper in the USA yet. Then I went to a meeting with the OPALs (One Person Australian Librarians) and the ASSIST (mostly solos) groups. There were about 25 people there. I again answered questions. We had a light supper and then I went back to the hotel to take a short nap and pack. Then off to the airport to go to Brisbane.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/4/1209683460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/4/1209683460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jsiess/4/1209683460/tpod.html Thu, 01 May 2008 19:24:52 -0400 Genealogy Research, Alsace and Southern Germany

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Lembach, Alsace, France

Today was a holiday (Armistice Day) so Daniel didn't have to work. After breakfast (French bread with honey and leftover quiche lorraine), Daniel and Carol went over what they had found and still need to find, I labeled photos and played on my laptop, and we listened to Jonathan practicing his bass violin (he's very good-and plays piano and guitar as well). We watched Daniel and Denise make lunch-in a pressure cooker. Choucroute (homemade sauerkraut, salted pork and sausages-very good, and I don't like sauerkraut or sausages).
After lunch we went to Bouxwiller (about 40 km southwest) to the Judeo-Alsatian Museum. It is in the old synagogue and is very well done. The caretaker is a retired professor and he spoke English, he and I talked a bit. He had relatives who went to New Orleans, so Carol gave him her name and he gave her the names of his relatives (Weils) and she will research them for him. On the way back we stopped at the Jewish cemetery at Ettendorf, a tiny town but with a huge Jewish cemetery, covering 26 communities.. The book I bought at the museum said there were over 1400 graves dating from the 16th century. However, they were in pretty bad shape and only the Hebrew inscriptions were legible and we don't read Hebrew. We also stopped to see the synagogue at Pfaffenhoffen-it is just a two-story house that was used as a synagogue, nothing interesting.
Dinner was a delicious onion tart-flaky crust, sliced onion, light cheese and eggs. With it we had radishes (not round, but oval) with salt, bread, of course, and the end of Bettina's birthday cake. We were all tired and retired to our rooms about 9 p.m.

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