November 2005

In this aliaPUBNEWS broadcast:

States and territories
Award for State Library of Victoria redevelopment; Community heritage grants for 2005; Bringing education, training and information services together; A shared vision for WA public libraries; PLA Conference

International
Meeting user needs best practice guide; World Summit on the Information Society; IFLA Public Libraries Section call for papers; Enquire, Discover and Read new online services in England

Policy and advocacy
Regional broadband programs; ALGA launches ageing journal; ALGA's State of the Regions report; Interlibrary Resource Sharing (ILRS) Code review; National licensing product survey; Public libraries and eGovernment; Internet access services and filtering

News from ALIA
ALIA 2006 Biennial conference - call for papers; Library stars: best of the best forum 2006; ALIA's RSS newsfeed service

States and territories

Award for State Library of Victoria redevelopment
The 16-year redevelopment of the State Library of Victoria is the joint winner of the 2005 Lachlan Macquarie Award for Heritage, awarded by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects. The library is accommodated in 17 distinct but integrated buildings over six floors on an entire city block. Collectively the buildings have been a principal cultural centre for the people for Victoria for 150 years. In the award citation. the architects [Ancher Mortlock and Woolley Pty Ltd] are praised for the attention to detail and skilful management of the new and the old which 'has resulted in the harmonious reconfiguration of this Australian icon.'
http://www.architecture.com.au

Community heritage grants for 2005
Seventy-six community organisations have been awarded grants totalling $377 865 in 2005. Libraries, museums, archives, historical societies, art galleries and migrant, Indigenous and religious organisations have received funds under the Community Heritage Grants scheme to assist in the identification and preservation of significant heritage collections. Among the public libraries to receive grants are: Campbelltown City Library (NSW) for a preservation survey of its local studies collection; Caboolture Shire Library Service (Qld) to develop a strategy for collecting culturally significant local resources; Central Highlands Regional Library Corporation (Vic) for a significance assessment and preservation survey of oral history tapes; and City of Armadale (WA) for a preservation survey of the Birtwistle Local Studies Collection.
http://www.nla.gov.au/chg/

Bringing education, training and information services together
The Huon Learning and Information Network Centre (Huon LINC) was officially opened by the Tasmanian Minister for Education, Paula Wreidt, on 1 November 2005. Huon LINC, located in Tasmania's Huon Valley, integrates education and training, information, business development and community services in a single facility. The new Huonville Library and Online Access Centre is part of Huon LINC. Centrelink and Service Tasmania are also located within Huon LINC and the space has the capacity to be used as a court facility when needed.
http://www.huonlinc.education.tas.gov.au/

A shared vision for WA public libraries
On 25 October 2005, the State Library of Western Australia and the Western Australian Local Government Association hosted a Forum to explore best practice in service delivery, investigate resource-sharing and collocation opportunities and stimulate thinking on the future role of public libraries. The Forum is the first step towards developing strategies that will put a newly-created vision for public libraries into practice. Presentations from the forum, 'From Vision to Reality: achieving a shared vision for sustainable and connected public libraries for our state-wide community' are available.
http://www.liswa.wa.gov.au/plvision.html

PLA Conference
Presentations from the inaugural Public Libraries Australia conference, 'Libraries are loud, but who's listening?', held in Albury on 9-11 November 2005, are now available.
http://www.pla.org.au/

International

Meeting user needs best practice guide
The Public Libraries Section of IFLA has put together a resource list of exemplary practices from libraries around the world on consultation, feedback and survey mechanisms for measuring, understanding and meeting user needs. The resource list covers surveys and statistical analysis, friends and user groups, focus groups for users and for staff and suggestions and comments schemes. ['Meeting user needs: a checklist for best practice', Public Libraries Section of IFLA, 2005]
http://www.ifla.org/VII/s8/proj/Meeting-user-needs.htm

World Summit on the Information Society
In his address to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), held in Tunis on 16-18 November 2005, Alex Byrne, president of IFLA, urged national, regional and local governments and international organisations to 'invest in library and information services as vital elements of information society strategies, policies and budgets' and to 'promote open access to information ... and vigorously support strategies to create a literate and skilled population.' He also noted that libraries and information services are essential to the roll-out of the inclusive information society, in particular through their impartial operation, their responsiveness to the questions and needs of individuals and their provision of support and training for effective use of digital and other information resources.
http://www.ifla.org/III/wsis/Byrne-Plenary-Address.html

IFLA Public Libraries Section call for papers
The overall theme of the 2006 ILFA World Library and Information Congress (Seoul, Korea, 20-24 August 2006) is 'Libraries: dynamic engines for the knowledge and information society'. The Public Libraries Section and the Audiovisual and Multimedia Section of IFLA is having its open session focusing on how the digitisation of audio and visual materials can transform public libraries' services. Papers are invited on innovative services already in place and on how digitised servcies can be developed further in future.
http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla72/call-2006-pub-e.htm

Enquire, Discover and Read new online services in England
England's public libraries have joined forces to provide a suite of new online services: Enquire, Discover and Read. The Enquire service gives online public access to library and information staff. Through collaboation with partners in Canada and the United States, questions are answered in real time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Discover brings together resources and links to websites. Read gives access to reading resources and opportunities to meet other readers either face-to-face or online. The new services, launched on 19 October 2005, are available through the People's Network.
http://www.peoplesnetwork.gov.uk

Policy and advocacy

Regional broadband programs
The Federal Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan, has released a discussion paper on the design of Broadband Connect and Clever Networks, two regional broadband programs announced in August 2005 under the $1.1 billion Connect Australia package. Broadband Connect will target 1.6 million homes, small businesses and not-for-profit organisations in regional, rural and remote areas. Clever Networks will support the roll-out of new broadband infrastructure, networks and innovative applications to improve delivery of health, education and other services in regional, rural and remote areas. Submissions to the discussion paper are due by 18 January 2006. The Minister has also invited comment on the Metropolitan Broadband Connect program.
http://www.dcita.gov.au

ALGA launches ageing journal
ALGA will produce a research journal dedicated to local government and ageing issues. The journal, 'Ageing In Place', will offer practitioners and academics a forum to disseminate ideas and information in ageing research relevant to local government and local communities. The first edition will be published online early in 2006. Potential contributors are asked to contact Alley Peck, ALGA's assistant director, health and ageing policy, ph 02 6122 9421 or e-mail alley.peck@alga.asn.au.nospam. [reproduced with permission from ALGA News, 18 November 2005.]
http://www.alga.asn.au

ALGA's State of the Regions report
The 'State of the Regions report: 2005-06' explores the case for the use of telecommunications infrastructure to assist regions to improve their performance. Prepared for the Australian Local Government Association by National Economics and sponsored by Jardine Lloyd Thompson, the report provides a comprehensive stock-take of the economic and social well-being of Australia's 64 regions and their prospects for economic development and employment growth. The report examines the potential of broadband to improve the use of ICT by firms in each region and finds that improving broadband access in regional Australia would significantly boost the nation's export potential. The report can be purchased online. A library licence is $165 and allows unrestricted access to the online version for public-users from public-access computers in a library.
http://www.alga.asn.au/sor/2005/

Interlibrary Resource Sharing (ILRS) Code review
A draft revised ILRS Code, together with a report summarising and explaining the proposed changes, is now available. The ALIA Interlibrary Lending Expert Advisory Group (ILLEAG) has drafted the revised ILRS Code, based on extensive feedback from the Australian library community on the discussion paper issued in July 2005. Forty-nine submissions were received from libraries, sector organisations, KDD user groups, resource sharing interest groups and individuals. The ILLEAG welcomes comments on the draft revised code. Please send comments to Susan Magnay [susan.magnay@alia.org.au.nospam] by 9 December 2005. Following this period for comment, the ILLEAG will present a final revised ILRS Code to ALIA, CASL, CAUL and the National Library for their endorsement on behalf of the library sector.
http://alia.org.au/interlibrary.lending/reviewed.code.html

National licensing product survey
The issue of national licensing of electronic resources has been under discussion for the past year by the National Licensing Forum, convened by the National Library. A reference group set up by the National Licensing Forum at its meeting on 12 October 2005 now wants to find out more about the products already licensed and those wanted by Australian libraries. An online survey is available and responses are needed by 9 December 2005.
http://www.nla.gov.au/initiatives/meetings/sitelicense/survey.html

Public libraries and eGovernment
In 2004, the Library Council of NSW commissioned a research project on the impact of government electronic services on NSW public libraries. The research found that use of government websites by library clients for both information and transactions is growing. While online government services can provide better access for users, factors such as poor web design, changes to websites and inadequate public access to technology are placing extra burdens on public libraries. The report concludes that while Australia has a sophisticated e-government program, is it receiving sub-optimal use due to the low level of inclusion of and support for intermediaries such as public libraries. ['NSW public libraries and egovernment: research report', prepared by Environmetrics for the Library Council of New South Wales, 2005]
http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/pln/projects.cfm

Internet access services and filtering
Public library managers throughout Australia will soon receive information about and an invitiation to contribute to ALIA's 2005 survey of internet access in public libraries. The survey will seek information on internet use policies, community education, use or otherwise of filtering software and the feedback that libraries receive from their users about internet services. There is considerable media and political interest in internet safety, especially for children. It is vital, therefore, that we have an accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date picture of how public library internet services are serving the community. ALIA's advocacy web pages include a report on the 2002 survey of internet access in public libraries and other resources and guidelines.
http://alia.org.au/advocacy/internet.access/

News from ALIA

ALIA 2006 Biennial conference - call for papers
Have you done something fabulous in the library industry over the past two years? Have you been to a conference and heard an amazing speaker? What do you think are the major issues facing libraries across Australia? Is there something you've done, heard or believe that should be shared with your colleagues? CLICK 06 has just launched its call for papers. Conference organisers are looking to create a conference program that will pave the way for future innovation and development of our industry. The call for papers closes on 1 February 2006. All the details are available on the CLICK 06 website.
http://conferences.alia.org.au/alia2006/

Library stars: best of the best forum 2006
Do you have a great project or success to tell the world about? 'Library stars: best of the best' forum will showcase public libraries, their projects, and successes to inspire and recognise public library practitioners. This one-day forum will be held in Perth on 19 September 2006 as a satellite event for the ALIA 2006 Biennial Conference. The ALIA Public Libraries Reference Group invites nominations for. From the nominations, the PLRG will select up to seven presentations that reflect the best of the best across Australia's diverse public library services. Please submit your nomination by 10 February 2006. For more information contact Susan Magnay [susan.magnay@alia.org.au.nospam, ph 02 6215 8225].
http://alia.org.au/governance/committees/public.libraries/stars.html

ALIA's RSS newsfeed service
The web version of aliaPUBNEWS and other ALIA web pages, such as the home page, what's new, LIS vacancies and inquiry watch, are available as RSS newsfeeds. For more information:
http://alia.org.au/rss/

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