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National Year of Reading 2012LaunchDear ALIA Members, It was my great pleasure as ALIA President and Chair of the National Year of Reading Founding Partners to greet the Prime Minister yesterday (14th February) for the launch of the National Year of Reading 2012 at the National Library of Australia in Canberra. The launch event at the NLA was a wonderful day and a great success with the Prime Minister and Ministers Crean and Garrett all speaking of their admiration and support for libraries and their personal stories of the enjoyment of reading. As one astute observer remarked yesterday - never before have we had the Prime Minister and two senior Ministers all together so publicly talking about libraries and their value to Australia. National Year of Reading provides an opportunity for ALIA, and for individual members, to continue this conversation at all levels of the political landscape. ALIA has been a driving force behind the National Year of Reading. As the auspicing body and lead founding partner, your membership sees you all as part of this important initiative. I also want to stress that this is not just a public library project - reading and literacy are at the heart of what we do as a profession. Literacy is fundamental to be able to access and use information, so this is an initiative that is for all libraries and our profession. As Jennifer Byrne, our host for the official launch, and Minister Crean reminded us all, it is the workplace literacy initiatives that will also be an important focus for the year. In other celebrations around the country yesterday, Premiers and celebrities alike spoke of their love of libraries, which was so fitting for Library Lovers Day http://www.librarylovers.org.au (another ALIA initiative). Whatever type of library you might be in, it is not too late to be involved. Register your library, receive the monthly newsletter, hold an event and become a partner at http://www.love2read.org.au Take inspiration from the hundreds of events listed on the web site. My thanks to the ALIA Staff, the National Year of Reading project team and our founding partner colleagues for all their hard work so far, and to all Australian libraries that have already taken the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a part of the 2012 National Year of Reading. I also wish to thank the Australian Government for its generous support, both funding and ongoing commitment, to the National Year of Reading. Best Wishes,
Margaret Allen
Margaret Allen |
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