11 September 2007: National Library of New Zealand appoints Director, National Digital Library

John Truesdale will fill the role of Director, National Digital Library, leading a  talented team whose focus is on access to and preservation of New Zealand digital content.

Through his background in secondary teaching, as Manager of Digital Library Services at Christchurch City Libraries and as an independent consultant to libraries, he has established relationships with many libraries and educational communities. Mr Truesdale is a member of the Digital Strategy Advisory Group set up by the Minister of Information Technology to provide advice on the implementation of New Zealand’s Digital Strategy.

Penny Carnaby, National Librarian and Chief Executive of the National Library of New Zealand, said his appointment would allow the National Library to become an even stronger leader in its field.

“The digital dimension calls for us to adopt and explore new knowledge creation paradigms and for the National Library to be customer centric and responsive to our users, both present and future. The role requires someone with the ability to lead a team with vision and energy and who is committed to partnering with the libraries of New Zealand in delivering knowledge frameworks and services that benefit all New Zealanders.”

The New Generation National Library will be one that never sleeps, a place for all New Zealanders to connect with and create stories wherever they are. Just as New Zealand will be online and available to the world, so too will global networks bring the world’s knowledge banks to New Zealand.

Mr Truesdale said he saw an opportunity to make a difference in his new role, which he will take up in October. “New Zealand is on a new track, hopefully a fast track, towards carving out a digital future. My aim is to position the National Digital Library as a key knowledge-building and learning for life resource for New Zealand.”

The National Library is recognised for its strong collaborative relationships with other libraries and organisations worldwide.  Digital archiving in perpetuity preserves the world’s knowledge and New Zealand is respected globally as one of the key links in the network of trusted archival repositories.


For more information, please contact:

Serene Ambler
Communications Adviser
Phone +64 4 474 3092
Fax     +64 4 474 3011
Serene.ambler@natlib.govt.nz