15 November 2002

In this aliaNEWS broadcast...

NSW librarians test case completed

ALIA National Policy Congress 1-2 Nov 2002

Inquiry into the role of libraries in the online environment

ALIA forum on purchasing agreements

Endorsement of the Association's draft statement

New Librarians Symposium 6-7 Dec 2002

inCite Events deadline change

Townsville Online

The 11th Information Online Conference and Exhibition 21-23 Jan 2003

The IFLA Internet Manifesto Workshop 23-24 Jan 2003

Looking for a web-based mail account?

Redmond Barry Award

ALIAnet activity

Feedback

NSW librarians test case completed
On 12 November, the Full Bench of the New South Wales Industrial Relations Commission adjourned for the last time in the landmark pay equity test case for library workers and archivists. The Bench has now fully-ratified the new Crown employees [librarians, library assistants, library technicians and archivists] award 2002. The award rescinds the interim award ordered in March this year to give effect to the hefty pay increases granted then by the Bench but, of course, incorporates those rates. Readers will recall that they are the largest pay rises ever won by a significant section of the Australian library workforce, ranging up to 26 per cent per annum.
More comment at http://www.alia.org.au/employment/nsw.test.case.update.html

ALIA National Policy Congress 1-2 Nov 2002
The ALIA National Policy Congress (NPC) was held at ALIA House. Delegates at the Congress included representatives from regional NPC meetings and ALIA interest groups, and representatives from related peak bodies. The Congress was split into two sessions. The first concerned itself with internal ALIA business: ALIA's new membership database, new ALIA Excellence Awards, the one-umbrella conference model, and Groups. The second session included representatives from related peak bodies, and discussed 'big picture' issues: the Information Agenda and ALIA's role, and the LISEKA project. The congress concluded with discussion of the draft ALIA 2003-2004 plan.

Inquiry into the role of libraries in the online environment
As reported in inCite, August 2002, the Senate Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Reference Committee is conducting an Inquiry into the Role of Libraries in the Online Environment. The inquiry has received over 150 submissions from library sector organisations, libraries, individuals and other organisations. Many submissions call for improved bandwidth capacity for reliable high-speed internet access for the public library network, improved access to Australian content, a national approach to information literacy and development of policy and co-ordination of online information initiatives. ALIA will be giving evidence to the inquiry on 27 November 2002.
http://www.alia.org.au/advocacy/submissions/online.environment.html

ALIA forum on purchasing agreements
On 14 October, ALIA convened a cross-sectoral forum to discuss critical issues relating to licences and consortia. The forum was asked to consider what is already underway or operating; what are the issues to address; who has responsibilities in what areas; and what outcomes are desirable and how can they be achieved. ALIA will establish an advisory group with cross-sectoral representation to assist the ALIA Board of Directors in the development of the program, in accordance with the Association's 2003-2004 plan [ALIA: making the difference].
http://archive.alia.org.au/governance/forum/

Endorsement of the Association's draft statement
On 14 October, ALIA convened a cross-sectoral forum to discuss critical issues relating to licences and consortia. The forum was asked to consider what is already underway or operating; what are the issues to address; who has responsibilities in what areas; and what outcomes are desirable and how can they be achieved. ALIA will establish an advisory group with cross-sectoral representation to assist the ALIA Board of Directors in the development of the program, in accordance with the Association's 2003-2004 plan [ALIA: making the difference].
http://www.alia.org.au/policies/

New Librarians Symposium 6-7 Dec 2002
Last chance to register for the New Librarians Symposium at the Carlton Crest Hotel, Brisbane. This two-day seminar/workshop is aimed at new librarians in the Australia-Pacific Region. Topics covered include: Your career - career planning; Success stories; Managing upwards; Current trends and issues in the profession.
http://conferences.alia.org.au/newlibrarian2002/

inCite Events deadline change
Please make sure you submit your events listings for the Jan/Feb 2003 issue of inCite by 13 January 2003. This is due to printer's requirements over the New Year period.

Townsville Online
The Townsville branch of the Information Specialists Group of ALIA, in association with the national Information Specialists Group and the steering committee of Information Online 2003 have created a one-day seminar entitled 'Power searching from the experts: how to make the most of web and online research' to be held at the Townsville Hospital on Friday 17 January. Librarians, library technicians, teachers, teacher librarians - anyone who has the responsibility of guiding students, library clients or members of the public on how to use the internet effectively for information gathering - are encouraged to attend.
http://www.alia.org.au/groups//infospec/activities/

The 11th Information Online Conference and Exhibition 21-23 Jan 2003
Come and exchange information, explore new developments and major issues concerning online and multimedia information and communications. Come and socialise with librarians, information professionals and others in the region interested in online information. The registration brochure is now available.
http://conferences.alia.org.au/online2003/

The IFLA Internet Manifesto Workshop 23-24 Jan 2003
Participants in the IFLA Internet Manifesto Workshop will explore the challenges of implementing the Manifesto [http://www.ifla.org/III/misc/im-e.htm] in their own libraries and information services and of promoting its ideals in the wider community. Library directors and managers, information services professionals and library association officers will work together to highlight strategies to ensure that the internet remains a freely-available means of accessing the information we need to live, work and play. Venue: University of Technology, Sydney Building 10. Registration information: ph 02 6215 8235, enquiry@alia.org.au.nospam (please remove the '.nospam' from address)

Looking for a web-based mail account?
I am seeking ALIA volunteers to take part in a trial of a new web-based e-mail service that we hope to deploy in 2003. The pilot trial will take place in the first quarter of the new year. If the trial is successful, ALIA personal members will be able to apply for an e-mail account which they may access through a web-based interface (like Hotmail or Yahoo etc). The service will be accessible around the clock, and around the world, and offers a calendar and appointments interface to allow account holders to create their own personal on-line calendars and schedule appointments. If you are interested in participating in this trial, please contact me directly, at ivan.trundle@alia.org.au.nospam (please remove the '.nospam' from address).

Redmond Barry Award
The ALIA Redmond Barry Award 2002 has been awarded to Mr Ian Renard for his outstanding contribution to the profession.
http://www.alia.org.au/awards/

ALIAnet activity
In October, ALIAnet was hacked by an unknown external assailant. The break-in did not compromise any of the information that we maintain on ALIAnet (and there was no direct security implication for users of ALIAnet) but nonetheless, we had to act - and act quickly. ALIA National Office systems staff have in place an extensive contingency plan for such events, and this came into force immediately. The deployment of a backup server allowed us to resume almost all of our normal activities, but some components required extensive work to bring things back to life. The entire process of recovery is still on-going, even now. We anticipate that the situation will return to normal in the New Year.

A casualty in the process was Listproc, our list server, which had to be replaced with Mailman, an alternative package that we were actually reviewing for future use. Mailman has presented us with some serious headaches, but overall there is a distinct net benefit is to users (subscribers). We trust that subscribers to aliaNEWS and all other ALIAnet e-lists are coming to grips with the new software.

Feedback
We have been thrilled by the response to aliaNEWS from subscribers. It is gratifying to know that we are providing a useful and timely information, and in a format that is easy to read. We now have countless supportive and constructive compliments (but are always eager for more!). As always, though, we would like to know your thoughts on what you would like to see in this broadcast, and how you would like to see it.

Send your comments to Ivan Trundle, manager, communications and publishing (please remove the '.nospam' from address).

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