The Helen Zwartz Scholarship provides funding to enable a librarian or staff member working in a public library serving one of New Zealand’s smaller communities, to undertake an internship at the National Library of New Zealand. The internship gives the recipient of the Helen Zwartz Scholarship the opportunity to experience working at the National Library and receive mentoring from National Library staff. Applicants must be a staff member working in a New Zealand public library serving one of New Zealand’s small communities. 

The late Helen Zwartz was a librarian who joined the National Library on Waitangi Day 1956 (as Helen Pavitt). She went on to gain her library qualification at Ealing Technical College in London and returned to the Library until January 1965. Later, she returned to library work at Victoria University of Wellington and then the Commission (which became the Ministry) for the Environment until her retirement.

Helen brought to her library work a strong sense of social responsibility and service to the users of the libraries she worked in. During her career, Helen had the opportunity to spend time at the National Library of New Zealand, to further her professional development. She greatly benefited from the experience and in her memory, Helen’s husband David Zwartz, has funded this scholarship, to give other librarians the same professional opportunities that Helen enjoyed.

The internship programme is tailored to the recipient’s professional development requirements and can either be of a general nature, covering the range of work carried out at the library or focused on an area of interest to the recipient such as cataloguing, digitisation, conservation, digital preservation, literacy promotion.

Applicants need to complete the application form, and attach all requested documentation. Details of how to apply can be found here.

Applications close at 5pm on 3 December 2018.

Te Puna Foundation is the fundraising body for the National Library of New Zealand.