October 2004

In this aliaPUBNEWS broadcast:

Conference report
Are you ready for the information challenge?; Winds of change: German public libraries; Public libraries fostering literacy and reading; Cultural diversity and libraries in four countries; What do politicians think about libraries?; The power of your influence; A tribute to past leaders

News from ALIA
ALIA Biennial Conference 2004

States and territories
New State librarian in WA; Award-winners

International
Standards for New Zealand public libraries; Long-term statistics for US public libraries; Content not containers: information format trends

Conference report

Are you ready for the information challenge?
[by Jan Richards, Central West Libraries, Orange, NSW] Described in the program simply as 'Challenge Session', many delegates arrived at the 4:00pm timeslot on Wednesday 22 September still deep in conversation from afternoon tea and the first-day excitement of 'catching up', unaware of the program that awaited them. They were brought short. A closer examination of the program and the question 'Are you ready for the information challenge?' may have seen some of them remain in the trade display. The handing out of a (not inconspicuous) voting card on arrival indicated that there would be no skulking in the back stalls at this event! A panel of New Generation librarians (aka the 'Bright Young Things' – Kate Watson, Rowan Salt and Bernadette Rosbrook) facilitated by Dagmar Schmidmaier, chair of the Aurora Foundation and state librarian, State Library of New South Wales, lost no time in presenting a series of vignettes followed by some penetrating questions. Delegates were asked to vote on the 'hot' issues facing our profession and, through the clever use of technology, possible scenarios and choices were explored. This led to some lively discussion that extended beyond the session close, particularly pertaining to the employment of young professionals. Whether this was because (the mainly middle-aged) audience felt that they were being criticised, or that their sense of security was threatened, the resulting conversations were honest and long overdue. While I didn't concur with all the BYT's thinking (I sincerely believe that our profession has an image problem and I don't think that 'getting over it' is the solution), their fresh approach and enthusiasm made me re-think many key areas of library life.

Winds of change: German public libraries
Taking the theme 'Only what changes continuously can last', Barbara Lison, director of the Stadtbibliothek Bremen, vividly described the far-reaching changes experienced by German public libraries over the past twenty years. She used the expression 'sputnik shock' to describe Germany's reaction to an OECD study which found that 42 per cent of fifteen-year olds in Germany do not read for pleasure (compared with 30 per cent in Australia). This adverse finding led to a high priority for funding for education, but little attention was paid to the potential for libraries to deliver reading and literacy benefits. Recent developments include the deutsche internet bibliotech, a co-operative of 72 German public libraries, and a voluntary ranking system using a national ranking tool for public libraries.

Public libraries fostering literacy and reading
In her paper 'Towards a literate Australia: the role of public libraries in supporting reading', Gaynor Eyre focused on the importance of literacy for being able to participate fully in everyday life in the information society. Literacy campaigns such as Proliteracy Worldwide, founded in New York, and the UK Vital Link project, are based on promoting and encouraging literacy through programs aimed at families. Research by the Australia Council has shown that the family environment has the biggest influence on whether children become readers. Public libraries are natural allies of the literacy movement and we need greater recognition by government at federal and state level of the existing and potential role of public libraries in advancing literacy.

Cultural diversity and libraries in four countries
The twin themes of Ton van Vlimmeren's paper, 'Cultural diversity: how public libraries can serve the diversity in the community', were that immigration and cultural diversity is everywhere and that if you reach out to the community you can be sure that your library will be well-used. From observations of good practices in Australia, Denmark, Canada and the United States, Ton concludes that public libraries can and do make a difference in serving diverse communities. Keys to realising their potential include taking leadership, seeking political approval, supporting dedicated staff, focusing on local information needs, seeking collaboratin with users groups, mainstreaming services and learning from and working with others.

What do politicians think about libraries?
Kerry Smith's paper, 'The political perception of the public library: the Australian view', reported on the Australian component of an IFLA research project seeking to find out what politicians world-wide think about libraries. State, territory and local government politicians as well as library administrators and representatives of professional associations were interviewed. Among the findings: the influence of individual professionals can be higher than that of professional associations; the biggest influence on politicians regarding public libraries is public opinion; in general politicians think highly of public libraries as a public good; and their biggest fear is that funding will not be sustained. The research gives some markers for more-effective advocacy for public libraries and for ways to encourage politicians, especially at local and state levels, to get involved.

The power of your influence
[by Christine Mackenzie, Yarra Plenty Regional Library, Bundoora, Vic] Feedback from the biennial conference has been very positive, and a tribute to the two years of planning put in by the organising committee, especially Vicki McDonald, who had the challenging role of chair of the Program Committee. The highlight for me was 'The power of your influence: a personal prescription for leadership' presented by Glyn Davis AC, vice-chancellor, Griffith University. He linked leadership back to a sociological book written in the 1920s about gangs in Chicago. His hypothesis was based on the notion that gangs chose their leaders for their particular needs at the time, and whether the various types of leaders (whether the Brains, the Tough or the Smart) are effective or not is dependent on the gang’s requirements of the time. And just because they led one gang successfully is not a guarantee that they would go on and be chosen to lead another. Great stuff!

A tribute to past leaders
In a moving and inspiring session, ALIA president, Imogen Garner, paid tribute to six past leaders of our profession who have died in the past two years: Margaret Trask, Ena Nöel, Jean Whyte, Warren Horton, Allan Horton and Ali Sharr. All began their careers in the public library system, except for Ena Nöel, teacher and advocate for children's literature and library services to children and young adults. Through their passion for excellence, their advocacy for the profession and for freedom of information and expression, their nurturing and mentoring of library professionals and their commitment to building a professional association they have left a rich heritage for us all. The full text of the address is published in the November 2004 inCite.
http://alia.org.au/publishing/speeches/garner.html

News from ALIA

ALIA Biennial Conference 2004
In this issue we cover some of the papers and other highlights of the ALIA Biennial Conference held at the Gold Coast, 21-24 September 2004. The public library sector was well-represented at the conference. The strong presence from NSW public libraries was geatly assisted by subsidies provided by the State Library of New South Wales. Tasmanians were also assisted by their State Library. As it was local, many Queensland public librarians took the opportunity to attend and the Queensland Public Libraries Association put off their conference so that there would be only the one in the financial year - a great help for libraries with limited budgets for conference attendance. Free conference attendance was the prize won by Melissa Hardman, community services librarian at Mackay, for her winning story in the State Library of Queensland's Online Database Challenge. From the Northern Territory, Alice Springs Town Council and the Northern Territory Library and Information Service supported staff attendance. For links to the conference program and some of the papers:
http://conferences.alia.org.au/alia2004/

States and territories

New State librarian in WA
Margaret Allan has been appointed as chief executive officer and State librarian of the State Library of Western Australia. She will take up her position on 1 November 2004.

Award-winners
The holistic management approach at Tenterfield Public Library (NSW) has won for the Tenterfield Shire Council a national award for information services in the 2004 National Local Government Awards. The award will be presented at the National Awards for Local Government dinner in Canberra in November. (Tenterfield Star, 21 September 2004, p1) Kerang's (Vic) newly-built Sir John Gorton Library has been named as the favourite place in the Shire of Gannawarra in Victoria's 'My favourite place' competition. The competition was conducted by the Victorian Government and the Building Commission to celebrate the 2004 Year of the Built Environment. (Northern Times, 17 September 2004, p4)

International

Standards for New Zealand public libraries
'Standards for New Zealand public libraries 2004' was launched at the 2004 LIANZA Conference. The 2004 edition adds new standards for a range of topics not previously covered including: information literacy, reference and local history, mobile libraries, technology, English for speakers of other languages services, services to people with a disability, and services to Maori. Print copies can be ordered by from the LIANZA Office for NZ$30.00 plus postage. They will supply an invoice with filled orders [office@lianza.org.nz.nospam].
http://www.lianza.org.nz/

Long-term statistics for US public libraries
The US National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) has announced the beginning of an examination of trends affecting their public libraries, using data recently recompiled by NCLIS. The recompilation of data from public libraries into longitudinal files allows the trends across years to be examined. Variables analysed so far indicate that the years 1990-2002 were good ones for most US public libraries. Expenditure, staff and expenditures per capita increased in this period. 'Results of analysis of trends in public libraries, 1990-2002'
http://www.nclis.gov/statsurv/NCES/plu/trends/trendresults.html

Content not containers: information format trends
A new report from OCLC examines the extensive changes in the past 18 months in the 'unbundling' of content from traditional containers such as books and journals. Information trends and format innovations are requiring libraries to manage a much more complex world of resources. There is a growing phenomenon of content being created, published and shared outside of the traditional structure of the library. The report suggests that the top trends for the next five years will include the legitimacy of open-source publishing, rapidly-expanding economics of e-learning, repurposing of content for new media, and multimedia content as a service for an array of devices. '2004 information format trends: content, not containers'
http://www.oclc.org/info/2004trends/nl

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