22 March 2005

In this aliaNEWS broadcast:

2005 Board elections

Access to government publications lobbying campaign

Library and Information Week 2005 [23-29 May]

The dilemma of superannuation choice

Staffing changes at ALIA National Office

Digital amnesia - challenges of government online

Museums Australia 2005 conference

...and what happened to ALIAnet?

Access to members-only content

Feedback

2005 Board elections
Ballot papers have been distributed in the March issue of inCite for the upcoming election of members to the Board of Directors, and the election of an ALIA vice-president 2005 [president-elect]. Information about each candidate, and voting rules, are available online (and have been distributed with the ballot packs). The closing date for ballot papers to be returned is 11 April 2005. If you didn't receive a ballot paper kit, or would like further copies, please contact ALIA National Office via ph 02 6215 8222, fx 02 6282 2249, or enquiry@alia.org.au.
http://alia.org.au/governance/elections/2005/

Access to government publications lobbying campaign
The library sector is increasingly concerned that, due to policy changes about how government information is delivered, the Australian public no longer has easy and effective access to Australian government publications. ALIA, together with other library and information sector organisations, will be campaigning in 2005 to raise the awareness of politicians and government about this issue. ALIA members are encouraged to take part in this campaign by writing to Members of Parliament. A letter which you can adapt to your own library's experiences by including examples of the difficulties of accessing government publications for your users is available at:
http://alia.org.au/advocacy/government.publications.html

Library and Information Week 2005 [23-29 May]
A new model has been developed for LIW 2005 by the ALIA Library and Information Week Planning and Advisory Group. Rather than developing a particular theme for LIW year by year, ALIA will instead focus on building a strong program of events and activities aimed at raising awareness of the value of libraries, information services and information professionals across the sector. As in previous years, ALIA National Office will distribute promotional posters and bookmarks for Library and Information Week. This merchandise will be available for order from ALIA's website from early April 2005.
http://alia.org.au/advocacy/alw/

The dilemma of superannuation choice
From 1 July 2005, employees will be able to choose which super fund their superannuation contributions are paid into. The changes aim to promote competition and efficiency within the superannuation industry to boost returns and lower fees and charges for all fund members. Choice will particularly appeal to those with several superannuation accounts who will be able to direct all their superannuation contributions into one fund. People with a self-managed fund will be able to direct employer contributions into their own fund. ALIA has produced a member guide to the new proposals focussing on both employee and employer issues.
http://alia.org.au/members-only/employment/superannuation.html

Staffing changes at ALIA National Office
Two staff left ALIA National Office in early February to pursue academic qualifications: Adam Steer, our network support and web developer; and Madeleine Snedden, our events assistant and receptionist. Emma Davis, inCite editor, who first began with ALIA in 1992, departed in early March. Replacements for both publishing positions are being sought through local and online media. Renee Kirkham was recently appointed to the position of events assistant and receptionist.
http://alia.org.au/employment/vacancies/

Digital amnesia - challenges of government online
A one-day seminar to discuss the issues relating to access to government publications online. Thursday 21 April 2005, National Library of Australia, Canberra. Presented by the ALIA and sponsored by the National Library of Australia and the National Archives of Australia. The seminar is targeted at those who are responsible for high-level policy regarding publications in governments, both Commonwealth and state/territory. Presented by ALIA and sponsored by the National Library of Australia and the National Archives of Australia. Registration: $100.00 ALIA members, $135.00 non-members.
http://alia.org.au/events/moreinfo.html?933

Museums Australia 2005 conference
ALIA members are eligible to receive the Museums Australia membership rate for the Museums Australia national conference, Politics and Positioning. The conference will be held in Sydney on 1-4 May 2005 and will explore the opportunities and challenges facing museums as they seek to reinvent and revitalise the sector in a time of contradiction and change.
http://www.museumsaustralia.org.au/conference2005/

...and what happened to ALIAnet?
A hacker inserted malicious code which repeatedly caused our primary server to crash, with an increasing frequency. The server was immediately taken offline to repair, and precipitated the biggest overhaul of our security since ALIAnet began. We were planning a server upgrade, but this planning had to be brought forward, with some haste. Whilst no personal, financial, or other data was compromised in any way, the rebuild process has taken longer than anticipated (and is continuing). We apologise for the inconvenience that this outage has caused: it is no way to celebrate 10 years of ALIAnet services. For daily updates:
http://alia.org.au/alianet/services.html

Access to members-only content
Members wishing to gain access to members-only content on the ALIAnet website should contact ALIA National Office to obtain a temporary set of credentials. Note that access to *personal* details is not affected, and your normal username/password combination will still operate. Thank you for your patience: we are still attempting to recompile the necessary software.
http://alia.org.au/members-only.html

Feedback
We offer aliaNEWS in a multitude of formats (e-mail, html, xml, rss), yet we want to know what you would like to see in this broadcast. Check the aliaNEWS FAQ: http://alia.org.au/alianet/e-lists/alianews/guidelines.html

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