Wai-te-ata Press, in collaboration with the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand and Victoria’s School of Geography, hosted the 10th anniversary Australasian Rare Books Summer School at the end of January.

Ruth Lightbourne, Julie Sweetkind-Singer, and Mark Bagnall (left to right) discuss rare maps

Twenty-two students from around New Zealand, Australia, and as far away as the Yukon participated in one of three courses: History of Maps and Cartography; Geographic Information Systems for Digital Humanities; and Artistic Printing. Some were professionals, looking to develop specialist skills, others were keen to learn more about the topics on offer.

Guest tutors were Julie Sweetkind-Singer, Geospatial Librarian at Stanford University, United States; Ian Gregory, Professor of Digital Humanities, Lancaster University, United Kingdom; and Whanganui-based printmaker and papermaker, Marty Vreede.

"Rare Books School provides an unprecedented opportunity for students to gain training that directly equips them for the workplace using the varied cultural resources of Wellington. It also showcases the riches of Victoria University of Wellington and demonstrates our commitment to building digital capability as well as a deep understanding of our heritage," says Dr Sydney Shep, Reader in Book History and Director of Wai-te-ata Press, who was one of the tutors in the Artistic Printing course.

The antipodean Rare Books Summer School was established in 2005 and cycles between Otago University, the State Library in Melbourne and Wellington. It offers professional development training and continuing education opportunities for students from all disciplines and levels to study the history of written, printed, and digital materials with leading international scholars and professionals in the field.

While in Wellington, Ms Sweetkind-Singer and Professor Gregory also delivered the biennial D.F. McKenzie Lectures, named in honour of the late Professor Emeritus Don McKenzie, an internationally renowned scholar and declared one of Victoria's 100 best teachers as part of Victoria’s centenary celebrations.

To hear about Julie Sweetkind-Singer's visit and her love of all things mapping, listen to This Way Up on Radio New Zealand National.

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