February 2006

In this aliaPUBNEWS broadcast:

A free reading pack for every South Australian baby; Launch of public Libraries Australia service; Bangladeshi boat libraries win 2005 Gates Foundation award; American public library ratings; Singapore seeks library book blog partners; Information Online 2007 - call for papers; Broadband Connect and Clever Networks programs; Harmony Day, 21 March 2006; ALIA Board election candidates; Library stars forum: call for nominations closes 28 February; New Librarians' Symposium 2006: Pathways and possibilities; Innovative Ideas forum, Canberra, 3-4 April; Treaties and settlements database; Course on Planning and managing technology projects; Councils, libraries and lifelong learning; National newspaper plan; VALA's Robert D. Williamson award to Lloyd Sokvitne; VALA Conference papers

A free reading pack for every South Australian baby
South Australia's Advertiser Little Big Book Club was officially launched by the Premier, The Hon. Mike Rann MP on 3 February 2006 at the State Library of South Australia. To support and encourage parents to read to their young children, The Advertiser Little Big Book Club is offering all parents of babies aged between six and 12 months (over 17,500 babies) a free reading pack. The pack contains a newly commissioned picture book 'Baby Baby' by Phil Cummings and Greg Holdfeld, Let’s Read story-time DVD (developed by the Centre for Community Child Health in partnership with The Smith Family), a library bag and information for parents including reading lists and tips on reading aloud. The packs are available from public libraries and Child and Youth Health Centres across the state. Libraries can list their storytime and other activities on the Little Book Club web site.
http://www.thelittlebigbookclub.com.au/

Launch of public Libraries Australia service
The public Libraries Australia service will be launched by the federal Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan, in Canberra on 27 February 2006. This launch will be followed by launches in each state and territory. The service will allow members of the public to access Libraries Australia from anywhere to discover what is in Australian libraries and the location and contact details of libraries. It will not offer the same features and functionality of the full Libraries Australia service. The National Library will be sending promotional information to all public libraries to assist in promoting the service to the community.
http://www.nla.gov.au/librariesaustralia/index.html

Bangladeshi boat libraries win 2005 Gates Foundation award
The Gates Foundation Access to Learning Award for 2005 of $US1 million has been won by Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha, a non-government organisation in Bangladesh. The organisation uses indigenous boats converted into mobile libraries, schools and internet education units to provide educational services, access to technology and computer training to poor communities in a Northern Bangladesh watershed. The award recognises Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha's pioneering approach to bridging the digital divide and bringing technology to people most in need. The deadline for submitting applications for the 2006 Gates Foundation Access to Learning Award is 28 February 2006.
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Libraries/InternationalLibraryInitiatives/

American public library ratings
The seventh edition of 'Hennens American public library ratings' (HAPLR) has been published. This seventh edition rates 9,000 public libraries in the United States, relying on the latest data compiled by the Federal State Cooperative Service and collected by 50 state library agencies for activities in the 2003 calendar year. Libraries are rated, scored and ranked on 15 input and output measures. This latest edition of the ratings was also featured in 'American Libraries' magazine, October 2005.
http://www.haplr-index.com/

Singapore seeks library book blog partners
The National Libraries Board of Singapore has recently launched a book blog. They are now seeking Australian libraries with active book blogs or websites to form book blog partnerships. Partnerships are intended to provide informal networking among libraries and to extend the offerings, such as reviews and alerts, to partner libraries' users. For more information contact Ivan Chew, National Library Board, Singapore, ivanchew@nlb.gov.sg.nospam .
http://dl.nlb.gov.sg/highbrowseonline

Information Online 2007 - call for papers
Information Online 2007 will be held on 30 January - 1 February 2007 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour. Information Online is the most important and informative conference and exhibition for the online information industry in the southern hemisphere. Content streams will include the changing face of service delivery, content management, e-learning and information literacy, professional development and much more. The closing date for the call for papers is 31 March 2006.
http://conferences.alia.org.au/online2007/

Broadband Connect and Clever Networks programs
The Clever Networks program is part of the federal government's $1.1 billion Connect Australia package and supports development and roll-out of new broadband infrastructure, networks and innovative applications to improve health, education and other essential services delivery in regional, rural and remote areas. ALIA's response to the Department of Communications, Information Technology and Arts discussion paper on the Broadband Connect and Clever Network programs recommends that these programs include funding for improvements to broadband services and infrastructure in libraries to bring major benefits to the Australian community.
http://alia.org.au/advocacy/submissions/broadband.content.html

Harmony Day, 21 March 2006
Harmony Day, a federal government initiative, provides an opportunity to celebrate our successes as a culturally diverse society, re-commit ourselves to harmony and say 'no' to racism. For example, Pine Rivers Library Service, Qld, is presenting 'Getting to know the new neighbours', a three-week multicultural program, culminating in celebrations on Harmony Day. Libraries can order free promotional material and register their events on-line. Place your order as soon as possible since hundreds of thousands of Harmony Day items have already been sent out.
http://www.harmony.gov.au

ALIA Board election candidates
Standing for vice-president (president elect) are Kevin Dudeney, Anne Horn and Roxanne Missingham. For three director positions (two elected by membership at large and one by institutional members), the nominees are Marian Morgan Bindon, Michelle Brennand, Rebecca Evans, Philip Keane and Helen Partridge. Personal members: watch for your ballot papers in March inCite. Ballot papers for institutional members will be mailed to the nominated representative. Ballots close on 10 April 2006.
http://alia.org.au/governance/elections/

Library stars forum: call for nominations closes 28 February
You now have just a few days to submit your nomination for a presentation at the 'Library stars: best of the best' forum, Perth, 19 September 2006. The forum will showcase public libraries, their projects, and successes to inspire and recognise public library practitioners. Nominations are invited from the public library sector for presentations showcasing a library or a project or success achieved by a public library service. Up to seven presentations that reflect the best of the best across Australia's diverse public library services will be selected. For more information contact Susan Magnay, [susan.magnay@alia.org.au.nospam]. Nomination instructions are online.
http://alia.org.au/governance/committees/public.libraries/stars.html

New Librarians' Symposium 2006: Pathways and possibilities
The New Librarians' Symposium (NLS) will be held on 1-2 December 2006 at the Scientia, University of NSW, Sydney. Join the NLS mailing list for monthly updates on the speakers, competitions, resume reviews and social events of the symposium. The call for papers is still open. New practitioners, this is a great opportunity to submit your first paper.
http://conferences.alia.org.au/newlibrarian2006/

Innovative Ideas forum, Canberra, 3-4 April
The National Library of Australia is holding a 2-day forum on 3-4 April 2006, looking at trends in library infrastructure developments and innovative projects. The draft program and registration form are now available online. Day 2 of the Forum focuses on education-related developments, and single day registrations are possible. Registration is free.
http://www.nla.gov.au/initiatives/meetings/iihome.html

Treaties and settlements database
Councils can now access an online native title database with more than 180 agreements involving local government. The Agreements, Treaties and Negotiated Settlements database is part of an Australian Research Council Linkage project examining agreements-making with Indigenous Australians. The database is an online gateway to a wide range of agreements, providing historical and publicly available information about agreements between Indigenous Australians and others in Australia, as well as a range of examples from overseas. The ATNS database is designed for use by Indigenous people, community organisations, government agencies including local government and industry bodies. [Reproduced from ALGA News, 17 February 2006]
http://www.atns.net.au

Course on Planning and managing technology projects
Implementing a new LMS, eDRMS or website? This new course from CAVAL shows how common project management processes and strategies can be applied to the planning and management of successful technology projects. The course is suitable for librarians, library technicians and information managers. Melbourne, 24 February; Brisbane, 16 March, Sydney, 21 March; Canberra, 11 April. Special rates for ALIA members apply.
http://training.caval.edu.au/pdt/show_course.php?CID=157

Councils, libraries and lifelong learning
As the implications of lifelong learning become better understood, councils and public libraries are taking a growing interest in learning community strategies. In some cases, councils have taken a leadership role in local learning community initiatives, recognising that learning strategies can underpin and add value to their social, cultural, and economic development. Councils that have played a leading role include those in Hume, Gwydir, Lithgow, Thuringowa, Bega Valley, Salisbury, and Marion. Information on learning communities is available on the 'Learning Community Catalyst' of Adult Learning Australia (ALA). Enquiries may be directed to the ALA Visiting Research Fellow promoting lifelong learning and learning communities, Peter Kearns, [p.kearns@netspeed.com.au.nospam, ph 02 6231 4125]. [From ALGA News, 10 February 2006]
http://www.lcc.edu.au

National newspaper plan
A new five-year plan to save Australia ’s most at risk newspapers has been endorsed by the Council of Australian State Libraries (CASL). The new five-year plan is built on CASL’s National Plan for Australian Newspapers (NPLAN), which was originally launched in 1992 with the aim to preserve all Australian newspapers and to ensure the public has adequate access to them. A particular focus of the plan is to preserve access to a group of nationally significant ‘at risk’ newspapers through co-operative endeavour. For more information see the article by Hilary Berthon, Preservation Services, National Library of Australia in the latest issue of 'Gateways'. [Gateways, No. 79, February 2006]
http://www.nla.gov.au/pub/gateways/issues/79/story04.html

VALA's Robert D. Williamson award to Lloyd Sokvitne
Congratulations to Lloyd Sokvitne of the State Library of Tasmania who was presented with the Robert D. Williamson award for 2006 at the VALA Conference dinner. The Committee of the Victorian Association for Library Automation Inc. (VALA) makes an award biennially to an individual or organisation who or which is, in the opinion of the judging panel, currently making an outstanding contribution to the development of information technology usage in Australian libraries and is positively and significantly influencing development in information technology usage within libraries.

VALA Conference papers
The public library sector was well represented in the program at the 2006 VALA Conference held in Melbourne on 8-10 February 2006. Anna Raunik, State Library of Queensland and 2004 VALA Travel Scholar, reported on the use of webcasting and webconferencing technologies in the US and UK. Christine Lewis, Public Library Services SA, reported on a pilot project for wireless technology in SA public libraries. Jo Manuel, also of Public Library Services SA, covered the impact of IT trainees in rural communities. Laurie Atkinson, City of Boroondara, Vic, and others spoke on Picture NSW and the development of guidelines for local digitising programs. David Funnell, Eastern Regional Libraries, Vic, and Tony Brooks, Sarah Field and Zan Li, Melbourne City Library, presented papers in the session on application customisation and open source. Barry Nunn's (State Library of NSW) paper explored initiatives to build skills and confidence in library staff and users for effective use of online content. Conference papers are available online.
http://vala.org.au/vala2006/prog2006.htm

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