# Writers Against National Library Disposals - notes

- [Event Link](https://authors.org.nz/event/writers-against-national-library-disposals-public-meeting/?event_date=2021-11-11)

34 in attendance

### [Denis Welch](https://totowise.co.nz/about-us)

- bad jokes about book burning, burning the library chief executives's contract

- read a letter of support from [Mandy Hager](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandy_Hager)

- there will be 5mins for each author

### [Dolores Janiewski](https://people.wgtn.ac.nz/Dolores.Janiewski)

(somebody who has used a lot of libraries.)
- read a 1600s John Dunn poem with some poorly pronounced Māori words thrown in.
- Claims the library is being Orwellian. Big Kipling fan.

### [Simon Sweetman](https://offthetracks.co.nz/author/simon/) (arrogant music critic, brother-in-law of my friend James so I've already had the pleasure)

- read his own poem about pruning and culling, ends with:

_there's always something magical in a book
just take a look_

### [Mark Pirie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Pirie)

- tells us that he's excited to learn that one of his books is in San Francisco. (guess where the national library books are going?)

### [Michael o'Leary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_O%27Leary_%28writer%29)

- written more than 50 books
- read a poem about being a stone/poet
- showed a nice looking book by Dr Johnson (the rambler)

### [Mary Anne Bourke](https://nz.linkedin.com/in/mary-anne-bourke-8648bb4)
scriptwriter
- read a poem called klaxon:
_wake up NZ, wake up!_

### [Lindsay Rabbitt](https://www.lindsayrabbitt.com/)
- author of _Prayers for the Living and the Dead_, on sale in the lobby
- read a poem called 'the beats'- about thinking Kerouac is cool
- next poem has a Robert Creeley reference.

### [Harry Ricketts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Ricketts), writer on cricket
also a Kipling fan.

- poem about the national library:
_we're just rehoming some books - 600,000 or so_
- poem about a book he found at a local bookstore and the possible backstory of a previous reader

### Chris Bourke
- author of [_Blue Smoke_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Smoke_%28book%29) (NZ music history)
- talked about the Bodleian library at Oxford and how he used to get books out from the national library via interloan many years ago.
- showed some books he got at the trentham jumble sale
- suggests writing to the minister but also to the oopposition

### [Bill Direen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Direen)

- poem about pillaging libraries in Iraq in 2003
- poem about Jonah (of the whale, not the rugby) turning up in wellington and being ignored
- poem about some ancient tablets

### [Fiona Kidman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiona_Kidman)
- talked about her experience guarding the banned books at Rotorua library
- read _The Blue Room_, story describing multiple trips to the same hotel in Paris with with her husband

Bill announces that the anthology of 50 writers in support of this kaupapa is going to print.

### Denis Welch
- also has a book for sale
- read some poems
- poem about how books are cool

question from the audience (Fiona ?):
_the beginning of the end was when books stopped coming to schools in boxes._
_what can we do to help?_
answer:
- _just write_
- _write to mps eg grant Robertson, Jan tonneti_
- _write letters to the editor_

question from Rose Laing, masters student of history _(she's younger than me!)_
_a couple of things in support of the library:_
- _they brought this topic up for discussion_
- _they're not actually **destroying** the books_
- _can we do this in a way where were not treating then like an enemy?_

comment from audience:
- _solar flares will delete the electronic copies_ (apparently there's no backup?)
- _apparently it's also a treaty issue?_ (no further details given)

### Chris Bourke:
_the experts have been pushed back again and again. eg Thomas Merton society.
the books haven't been looked through thoroughly. you can't research anti-semitism online.
there are format issues! DVDs are obsolete now!
what happens when Brewster Kahle is no longer there. it may as well be Peter Thiel or Jeff Bezos_

q from audience: _will internet archive decide which books will be digitized?_
a: _yes_

many mentions of the books being 'destroyed'

### Fiona Kidman
_it's said that this would cost millions of millions of dollars
and yet the government just gave half a million to that bullshit book recommendation startup_

audience member: _I'd like to endorse the idea that there is significant NZ content in the collection_

_also why is the Turnbull library turning down personal papers at the moment?_

### Dolores:

_the minister must give permission for this deal, which she has tacitly done. but the minister has also defined it as an operational matter._

mention of copyright: _internet archive is exploiting low paid workers in the Philippines and breaking copyright law_ (no details)

### Denis
wraps up