ALIA submission to the Senate Inquiry into the Role of Libraries in the Online Environment

Introduction

ALIA acknowledges that the commonwealth government has introduced a number of policy initiatives in recent years that have significantly benefited the library sector.

The Australian people look to the federal government to provide leadership in upholding their democratic right to equitable access to information and establishing the key role of information in our society and for our economy. An investment by the federal government in the library and information services sector is an investment in Australia's social, cultural, economic and knowledge future.

A robust, publicly funded library and information sector is essential to ensure equitable access to the full range of human expression. It also assists individuals to develop the skills necessary to access and use information so that they may fully participate in our democratic society. Libraries and information services are central public institutions for the collection and distribution of the historical, cultural and intellectual records. They provide access to the broadest possible range of information and ideas.

The key proposals in this submission are:

Connecting Australians

Bridging the information divide in Australia's community through:

• Specific grant funding to establish the public library as the focal community access point for publicly available electronic information and government interactive electronic resources;
• School grants to support ICT and access to online databases and resources;
• Funding for a national information skills and literacy public education program centres in public libraries; and
• Extending the Corporate Citizenship Arrangements (NOIE) program to support community and information literacy projects.

Investing in information for a better society

• Information skills training, including responsible use of the internet - design and development of online interactive and face-to-face user training programs.
• Consortia support - a national network to assist research and special libraries to achieve economies of scale when accessing online resources.
• Valuing Australian content - supporting the development and maintenance of Australian content databases and services.
• Independent review of public access to resources and information services through public libraries.
• Improved data collection on access to and use of the internet and online resources
• Copyright legislation that ensures effective, well-balanced national copyright laws recognising the rights of copyright owners and the critical purpose of public information, education and research.