August 2005

In this aliaPUBNEWS broadcast:

States and territories
Aurora Leadership Institute 2006; Simply the Best: Women's collections in libraries, archives and museums; Public Libraries Australia conference; Reading Rulz summer reading club; Scholarship to study library responses to 'sea changers' and 'baby boomers'

International
Gates Foundation Access to learning award; Measuring the impact of public libraries; How Norwegian politicians view public libraries

Policy and advocacy
Public libraries and the National Broadband Strategy; Children and internet access; Community ICT transformations; National Simultaneous Storytime

News from ALIA
Purchasing, publishing and printing seminar; Report on government online publications seminar; 3rd International Evidence-based Librarianship Conference; Australia's library labour market

States and territories

Aurora Leadership Institute 2006
Nominations are invited for the 9th Aurora Library Leadership Institute, to be held at the Thredbo Alpine Village, NSW from 16 to 21 February 2006. The Institute's mission is to assist future leaders in the library and associated cultural and information industry to maximise their leadership skills and potential. This is done through a combination of experiential learning, group and individual exercises, and by working with a strong team of senior and experienced Australian and New Zealand mentors. The Institute program explores leadership concepts including vision, risk taking, creativity, communication, and styles of leadership. Nominations are sought from individuals with leadership potential and an ability to share with others their vision and enthusiasm. The Institute accepts 32 participants, and it is expected that there will be strong competition for places. Nominations close on 30 September 2005.
http://alia.org.au/aurora/aurora.html

Simply the Best: Women's collections in libraries, archives and museums
The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Library 3rd National Conference in Adelaide on 28-30 September will focus on the collective memory of women, where are our female collections nationally and internationally and what are the issues of research and privacy in relation to these collections? Keynote speaker, Dr Katie Holmes, is a writer, historian and lecturer from La Trobe University, Melbourne. Katie has studied Australian women's diaries from which she wrote her book 'Spaces in her Day: Australian women's diaries of the 1920s and 1930s'. Other presentations will include Jessie Street National Women's Library, Australian Women's Archive Project, Public Record Office of Victoria's First Ladies website, Women's Museums of the World and the archives and research collections of women in wine, nursing and architecture, prime-ministerial wives and much more. A pre-conference workshop will also be held on the topic of Friends and Volunteer Programs: success and benefits.
http://www.hawkecentre.unisa.edu.au/library

Public Libraries Australia conference
Registration is now open for the Public Libraries Australia Inaugural Conference, 9-11 November 2005 at Albury. Early-bird registration for the conference has been extended to 30 September 2005.
http://www.pla.org.au

Reading Rulz summer reading club
In the previous December-January school holidays, the Reading Rulz summer reading club was run in public libraries in six states. A report prepared by the Policy and Research and Community Programs Branches of the State Library of NSW on this very successful program is now available. Please contact Val Noake, State Library of NSW, for a copy of the report (ph 02 9273 1689, vnoake@sl.nsw.gov.au.nospam).

Scholarship to study library responses to 'sea changers' and 'baby boomers'
Congratulations to Janice Biggin, manager of library services for the Bega Valley Shire Council (NSW) who has won the Country Public Library Associations's (NSW) 2005 Colin Mills Scholarship. Janice will travel to the United States to study the challenges facing libraries that are in 'sea change' and 'baby boomer' areas where there is rapid demographic change. She will research programs in California, Arizona and Colorado that specifically target lifelong learning and community engagement of their older populations through public libraries. Her findings will be published by the State Library of NSW and she will also present them at the 2006 CPLA conference.
http://www.begavalley.nsw.gov.au/Home/Latest_News/Latest_News.htm

International

Gates Foundation Access to learning award
The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) invites public libraries from outside the USA to apply for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Access to Learning Award for 2006. Each year the program presents an award of up to US$1 million to a public library or similar organisation outside the United States that has an innovative program offering to the public free access to information technology. Preference will be given to organisations that reach out to underserved populations. A library's programs are considered innovative if they provide access to information servcies and technology that were previously unavailable to the community. The programs may be relatively new, small ones or long-term, larger initiatives. The deadline for applications is 28 February 2006. Program guidelines, an application form and a list of previous recipients are available at:
http://www.clir.org/

Measuring the impact of public libraries
The UK Laser Foundation's 'Libraries impact project' proposes methodologies and measures for quantifying the impacts of publc libraries in relation to four UK government priority areas: children, education, health and older people. The report argues that libraries make a clear and measurable contribution to government policy priorities at both the local and national level. The research also supports the argument that book borrowing indicators should not be used as the prime measure of how libraries contribute and that more complex measures and methodologies are needed to capture the social benefits of library services. The detailed methodologies developed in the project are intended as practical tools for library management and staff to measure the impact of their work and to support service improvement. The study was commissioned by the Laser Foundation and conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP.
http://www.bl.uk/about/cooperation/laser.html

How Norwegian politicians view public libraries
Ragnar Audunson, Professor in Library and Information Science at Oslo University College reports in a recent 'IFLA journal' on his qualitative research into the perceptions of public libraries by members of the Norwegian Parliament and other central decision-makers. Public libraries are viewed very positively by politicians; however they tend to perceive the role of libraries as restricted to promoting the literary canon and cultural heritage through book lending and to supporting education. Despite the interviews being conducted shortly before the IFLA conference was to take place in Oslo, the members of parliament had no awareness of IFLA. [Audunson, Ragnar. How do politicians and central decision-makers view public libraries? The case of Norway. 'IFLA journal', Vol 31 (2) 2005, p.174-182]

Policy and advocacy

Public libraries and the National Broadband Strategy
Australia's National Broadband Strategy is the policy framework for broadband development in Australia agreed by all levels of government. Since the 2004 Library and Information Week Forum, ALIA has lobbied for the inclusion of the library and information sector in the work of the National Broadband Strategy Implementation Group (NBSIG). As a result, ALIA was invited to join the NBSIG's Digital Content Working Group. ALIA Vice president, Dagmar Schmidmaier, represents ALIA on the working group. At the request of the Digital Content Working Group, ALIA - in association with Vicnet - will be conducting survey of the current state of bandwidth availability in Australia's public libraries. Through the survey we will be seeking accurate and comprehensive information vital for identifying the needs and appropriate mechanisms to improve bandwidth connectivity in public libraries. Data from the survey will be used in the development of a national business plan for scalable and cost-effective broadband connection for the public library network Australia-wide. The online survey form will be available from mid-September. It will be announced through a special issue of 'aliaPUBNEWS' and through other e-lists relevant to pubilc libraries. For more information please contact Susan Magnay (susan.magnay@alia.org.au.nospam).

Children and internet access
There has been media coverage in several states recently, mainly in local newspapers, about the risks of children viewing pornography through the internet services provided in public libraries. Comment by interest groups and individuals who advocate mandatory use of filtering software has been covered. ALIA does not recommend the use of filters. Filtering has been shown to vary in its effectiveness, blocking some sites with legal and useful information, while not fully-protecting children and others from objectionable or offensive material. ALIA's policy statement on online content regulation says 'Libraries and information services support the right of all users to unhindered access to information of their choice regardless of format. Access to electronic information resources should not be restricted except as required by law and this basic right should not be eroded in the development of regulatory measures for online information.' ALIA supports libraries' work to promote and facilitate responsible access to quality networked information for all their users, including children and to enable library users to learn to use the internet and electronic information effectively. The advocacy area of ALIA's website gives links to ALIA's policy statement on online content regulation, guidelines for ALIA members on internet access services (updated August 2005) and the report of the 2002 survey of internet access in public libraries. There is also a link to NetAlert which released its 'Librarian's guide to internet safety', developed with ALIA's assistance, in Library and Information Week this year.
http://alia.org.au/advocacy/internet.access/

Community ICT transformations
The federal Department of Communciations, Information Technology and the Arts has released a report on its consultations on the role of ICT in building communities and social capital and on ICT transforming the non-profit sector. The report summarises the key issues and main recommendations drawn from the 35 submissions (including a submission from ALIA) on the two discussion papers. The broad picture from the submissions on the role of ICT is building communities is that ICT is now seen as critical community building infrastructure for social and economic development. However, barriers of access, cost, skills and trust act to limit the potenital of using ICT for community building. The report 'Community ICT transformations: the next steps' and a set of community ICT transformation case studies are available at:
http://www.dcita.gov.au/ie/community_connectivity

National Simultaneous Storytime
This yea's National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) at 11:00am (AEST) on Friday 2 September will be the biggest yet, with over 40 000 children in more than 700 locations Australia-wide reading 'Wombat stew'. NSS is an initiative of ALIA and a key event during National Literacy and Numeracy Week (NLNW), a Commonwealth Government initiative. For the first time ever, Schools of the Air will take part in NSS in 2005. Using Interactive Distance Learning technology, the Kimberley, Kalgoorlie and Alice Springs Schools of the Air will read the story together over the airwaves to children in the remote areas of South Australia, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. National Simultaneous Storytime is an event highlight in a calendar of storytime programs taking place in Australia’s public libraries throughout each year.
http://alia.org.au/media.room/2005.08.30.html

News from ALIA

Purchasing, publishing and printing seminar
ALIA Acquisitions National and ASSIG groups present a one-day seminar 'Purchasing, publishing and printing: trade and library developments' on Monday 5 September 2005 in the Theatrette, Parliament House, Sydney. Registration is $88.00 for ALIA members, $110.00 for non-members, including GST, morning and afternoon refreshments and lunch. For program details and to register:
http://alia.org.au/events/moreinfo.html?1124

Report on government online publications seminar
In April 2005, ALIA hosted a very successful seminar on 'Digital Amnesia: the challenge of government online' which focused on the key issues of identifying, providing access to and maintaining online government publications. A summary of the seminar presentations and the key issues to emerge, outcomes for the seminar endorsed by the ALIA Board of Directors and a number of the papers presented are available at:
http://conferences.alia.org.au/seminars/digital.amnesia2005/

3rd International Evidence-based Librarianship Conference
At the Holiday Inn, Brisbane on 16-19 October 2005. Speakers from the UK, Canada, USA, Malaysia and Australia will address the conference theme, 'Global perspectives on linking research with practice' - challenging how we rethink and refine the way in which we work as library and information professionals in the 21st century. The 3rd International EBL Conference is a place for all library and information professionals, regardless of their specialisation, who are interested in learning how to harness evidence to establish best practice and to make informed decisions and in doing so ensure excellence in library and information services.
http://conferences.alia.org.au/ebl2005/

Australia's library labour market
Information about Australia's library labour market including the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Department of Employment is now available.
http://alia.org.au/employment/labour.market/

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