The disposal of books by the National Library of New Zealand
Mary E Davenport made this Official Information request to Ministry of Education
Ministry of Education did not have the information requested.
From: Mary E Davenport
Dear Ministry of Education,
I refer to recent articles by The Guardian, relating to the disposal of "overseas" books by our National Library of New Zealand.
I make this request under s12 of the Official Information Act 1982. I am a valid person pursuant to ss(1)(a) of the Act to make a request.
The Article
I refer to the article in The Guardian dated 11 September 2020. This sets out the National Library's position on the culling of 600,000 books currently held at the Library. The proposed culling of the library books includes 2,200 first editions, and an "overseas collection" including first edition of Richard Neville's "Play Power", and a 1912 Edition of Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility", among other important collections.
The Library states that it's rationale is to cull the "foreign books" in order to make space for "New Zealand" works. The Library's head Librarian, Bill McNaught, suggests that there are 80-90,000 additional books to store per annum, and that the "overseas collection" would now "spark joy" in other places. Mr McNaught also sites the cost of holding such books as a reason for the cull.
Mr McNaught has appeared on a promotional video, undertaken by a wellington PR company, who's bill has been paid by the Department of Internal Affairs.
The Request
Please provide all relevant information relating to the decision-making process in this matter as follows:
1. All information held by the Ministry of Education, National Library of New Zealand, and Department of Internal Affairs relating to the proposal to cull the books, and the decision-making process undertaken by the National Library.
2. Please provide confirmation of the cost of the PR exercise including the payment of any invoices to Double Denim Agency.
3. Please provide a copy of any/all Costs and Benefit analysis undertaken by the NLNZ on the costs of holding the books, and prior to the decision being made by Mr McNaught.
4. Please provide any reports/file notes/meeting records or emails between NLNZ (including from and to Mr McNaught, but not limited to Mr McNaught) /Ministry of Education/Department of Internal Affairs/ Minister/ Double Denim Agency and with any relevant Minister including Tracey Martin, and Chris Hipkins, or any other relevant minister, demonstrating how the decision was made, and what information that decision was based on.
5. Copies of any sign-off of the proposal and the timeframe for the cull.
6. A list of all books removed, or to be removed from the Library, and a list of where these books have been removed to.
7. A list of any books removed and destroyed.
I look forward to your response in accordance with s15 of the Act, and in accordance with the timeframes set out at s15(1).
Yours faithfully,
Mary Davenport
From: Enquiries National
Ministry of Education
Tēnā koe mō tō īmēra mai ki te Tāhuhu o Thank you for your email to the
te Mātauranga. Ministry of Education.
He urupare aunoa tēnei hei whakaatu kua This is an auto generated response
tae mai tō īmēra confirming your email has been
ki a mātou. Kaua noa e whakautu i tēnei received. Please do not respond to this
karere. message.
Mea ake nei ka urupare tonu atu mātou ki We will respond to your email as soon
tō īmēra. as possible.
Ngā mihi, nā
Tīma Whakaui ā-Motu / Enquiries National Team
Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga / Ministry of Education
Mātauranga House
33 Bowen St, Wellington
[1]education.govt.nz | Follow us on Twitter: @EducationGovtNZ
[2]https://twitter.com/mineducationnz
He mea tārai e mātou te mātauranga kia rangatira ai, kia mana taurite ai ōna
huanga
We shape an education system that delivers equitable and excellent outcomes
[3]cid:image001.png@01D5EBBB.56CA2E00
show quoted sections
From: Enquiries National
Ministry of Education
Dear Mary Davenport
Thank you for your request for information below. The Ministry will
consider and respond to your request in accordance with the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act).
The Act allows up to 20 working days for a response, making 9 October 2020
the latest date for our response to you. If more than 20 working days are
needed due to the potential workload involved in answering your request,
we will notify you accordingly.
Please note, the Ministry may publicly release on our website the response
to your request five days after you have received it. Any personal
information will be removed.
In the interim, if you have any questions about your request, please email
[1][email address].
Thanks
Enquiries National Team | Ministry of Education | TW
33 Bowen St, Wellington
[2]education.govt.nz | [3]Follow us on Twitter: @EducationGovtNZ
[4]cid:image001.jpg@01D13D76.52897370
We get the job done Ka oti i a mātou ngā mahi
We are respectful, we listen, we learn He rōpū manaaki, he rōpū
whakarongo, he rōpū ako mātou
We back ourselves and others to win Ka manawanui ki a mātou, me ētahi ake
kia wikitoria
show quoted sections
From: Enquiries National
Ministry of Education
Tēnā koe Mary
Thank you for your email of 12 September 2020 to the Ministry of Education
requesting the following information:
1. All information held by the Ministry of Education, National Library of
New Zealand, and Department of Internal Affairs relating to the
proposal to cull the books, and the decision-making process undertaken
by the National Library.
2. Please provide confirmation of the cost of the PR exercise including
the payment of any invoices to Double Denim Agency.
3. Please provide a copy of any/all Costs and Benefit analysis undertaken
by the NLNZ on the costs of holding the books, and prior to the
decision being made by Mr McNaught.
4. Please provide any reports/file notes/meeting records or emails
between NLNZ (including from and to Mr McNaught, but not limited to Mr
McNaught) /Ministry of Education/Department of Internal Affairs/
Minister/ Double Denim Agency and with any relevant Minister including
Tracey Martin, and Chris Hipkins, or any other relevant minister,
demonstrating how the decision was made, and what information that
decision was based on.
5. Copies of any sign-off of the proposal and the timeframe for the cull.
6. A list of all books removed, or to be removed from the Library, and a
list of where these books have been removed to.
7. A list of any books removed and destroyed.
Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982
(the Act).
After extensive consideration across the Ministry, we can confirm that we
do not hold any of the information you have requested and so I am refusing
your request in full under section 18(e) of the Act, as the information
does not exist. However, we understand that you have made an identical
request of the Department of Internal Affairs as the parent agency of the
National Library of New Zealand. You can therefore expect to receive a
response from them directly.
Thank you again for your letter. You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to
review this decision. You can do this by writing to
[1][email address] or Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152,
Wellington 6143.
Nāku noa, nā
Enquiries National Team | Ministry of Education | TW
33 Bowen St, Wellington
[2]education.govt.nz | [3]Follow us on Twitter: @EducationGovtNZ
[4]cid:image001.jpg@01D13D76.52897370
We get the job done Ka oti i a mātou ngā mahi
We are respectful, we listen, we learn He rōpū manaaki, he rōpū
whakarongo, he rōpū ako mātou
We back ourselves and others to win Ka manawanui ki a mātou, me ētahi ake
kia wikitoria
We work together for maximum impact Ka mahi ngātahi mō te tukinga nui
tonu
Great results are our bottom line Ko ngā huanga tino pai ā mātou whāinga
mutunga
[5]Ministry of Education logo
show quoted sections
Things to do with this request
- Add an annotation (to help the requester or others)
- Download a zip file of all correspondence (note: this contains the same information already available above).
Offensive? Unsuitable?
Requests for personal information and vexatious requests are not considered valid requests for Official Information (read more).
If you believe this request is not suitable, you can report it for attention by the site administrators
Report this request
Mr Rodgers left an annotation ()
I'm not sure why you are asking the Ministry of Education when the National Library falls under the mantle of DIA. Your request will be delayed while they transfer it to DIA.
Link to this