waiho i te toipoto, kaua i te toiroa - Te Ropu Whakahau

States and the people of other countries bymeans of educational and cultural exchange.In my report to the Foundation, I had to explainhow my activities and travel had metthose aims and this is what I wrote.I believe that the activities and presentationsthat I participated in while in theUSA were well within the spirit ofSenator Fulbright’s vision. I wanted tolearn and understand what the state ofNative American librarians, librariesand library users was and through theactivities in Bozeman, Seattle and NewOrleans I was able to get firsthandknowledge from those involved at thecoalface of professional practice andresearch. At the same time I was ableto educate and exchange informationwith Americans of all ethnicities aboutthe role that Māori play in the NewZealand library and information sector.As a Māori, I was able to share aspectsof my language, culture and my researchand professional practice withthose I engaged with. From my perspective,I believe the information Ishared demonstrated that although thetwo countries are vastly different interms of geography and demographics,there are many similar issues sharedand that there is great value in not onlybeing aware of the issues, but alsoworking together to find solutions thatcan be utilised successfully regardlessof the size of the scale they are beingapplied to. The contacts I made in eachof the four cities I visited will allow meto continue these conversations viatechnology and hopefully in person atsome time in the future.In conclusion, I feel very privileged to havebeen awarded the Fulbright-Ngā Pae o teMāramatanga Travel Award and to have hadthe opportunity to meet and engage with librariansand academics across the four locationsI visited. Those in the library and informationcommunity in the United States arevery interested in New Zealand and Māori particularly.I would encourage other membersof Te Rōpū Whakahau to seek out similar opportunitiesin the future and I am willing totalk to anyone interested in making an applicationto any funding agency for this purpose.nā Dr Spencer LilleyKaihautū MāoriMassey University LibraryOn a personal noteI have been appointed to an academic positionin Te Uru Māraurau / School of Māori & MulticulturalEducation at Massey University. I willtake up this position in early September. AlthoughI am sad to be leaving my position inthe library I am intending to remain active inthe library and information community asmost of my research focus will continue to beon how Māori engage with information.13