ALIA Board Blog

Colleagues,  Bonjour from Quebec in Canada.  I am here with around 40 Australians at the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) 74^th World Library and Information Congress.  Approximately 3500 delegates from countries around the world are meeting at locations around the city.  Check out the (massive) programme here

The Aussies and Kiwi’s got together for a dinner last Saturday night to catchup and to talk about more ideas for IFLA2010.   In only two short years until we will be hosting the world’s library professionals in Brisbane (and at satellite events in other Australian cities, and New Zealand).

So what is an IFLA congress like ?  If you work with any colleagues who have been to an IFLA congress before, I encourage you to ask them !  It is a different experience to an Australian library conference.  In what ways ?  Well, here are just a few …  

Catering is different.  You need to work out how to get pretty much all of your meals (except for a couple of the main functions) and the convention centre has options for delegates, as well as the surrounding cafés etc  (some nice one’s here in Quebec)

Everything is on a big scale – there’s so many more people to get organised, and to move around a large space (so forget the high heels, comfortable shoes recommended)

There’s so many other meetings and functions to attend that are not on the actual program – sometimes you won’t see the same colleague for a whole week !

Many sessions have interpreters translating the sessions – for all those delegates who do not speak English

You need a good buddy / group of colleagues to guide you through the experience, to give you the best travel and congress tips and to introduce you to lots of other people  [look out for our IFLA tips in future editions of inCite and on the ALIA IFLA2010 website ]

There are some things though that no matter which library conference you go to, they are the same :

Librarians on the dancefloor (but here there are thousands of them!)

Plenty of greetings and hugs with old friends and colleagues meeting up again from all over the world

The sharing of experiences, good advice and insights, new ideas, opportunities being created, exciting projects, new products and services and amazingly inspiring stories of individuals and libraries !

Some of the other IFLA Experience descriptors  -   ceremonies* meetings * sessions *functions*exhibitors* shopping* travel* networking* international* 

It is always a memorable experience!  The IFLA2010 National Committee members are looking forward to the assistance from the Australian library community to ensure that Brisbane will be a successful and memorable congress too. 

It is a little while since we took home the take home messages (the Board met in Brisbane on 14 July), but they are now available on the ALIA website, here. Perhaps the most significant message is that there will be a public libraries summit, most likely in Canberra, in March 2009. ALIA has allocated a budget to the process, and has called for expressions of interest for the position of project officer - advertised here.

What is the Summit for? The goal is to clarify and advance the policy agenda for public libraries at all three levels of government, and raise the profile of public libraries nationally. In particular, a key goal of the whole process is to demonstrate the many ways in which public libraries contribute to a wide range of policy goals.

The Summit process will be led by Jan Richards, Vice President of ALIA and a prominent public librarian, and will be assisted by ALIA’s Public Libraries Advisory Committee and its chair, Vicki McDonald. We are looking for a wide range of contributions from people with a strong public library commitment. If you are interested in being involved, please get in touch with Sue Hutley and offer your assistance.

There are a lot more take home messages, too. About advisory committees, the membership survey scheduled for October, IFLA2010 in Brisbane, Health Libraries Australia, and the ALIA National Library and Information Technicians Conferences 2009 in Adelaide.

http://www.everydayhero.com.au/event/lifeline_stress_down/top_ten

Ok, I will admit it - I wore the slippers at work today !  and we were one of the top-ten fundraising teams.     Stress Down Day 2008 was lots of fun.  Thanks also to one of the staff who braved wearing PJ’s !    ALIA National Office is in the throws of a few big things at the moment, membership renewals using a new system being just one - so abit of morning tea light relief, a massage and a good cup of coffee was welcomed.  It’s been great to talk to so many members renewing over the phone.  Continue to call us to chat on 1800 020071 and to pay via credit card etc.                                      

Sue Hutley,  ALIA Executive Director

Wow, there’s lots of money for individuals or libraries with some of the ALIA Awards at the moment …..   this is our richest award so far in terms of dollar value - who will take out this great award ??  Only for those who apply !  …. get in touch with the ALIA IOG Committee for more information or visit the website :

WIN $10,000 – Nominations are open for ALIA’s IOG Excellence Award .  The IOG Excellence Award acknowledges excellence/innovation in performance by an information professional.  The 2007 award was won by Gold Coast City Library service for its implementation of an RFID system.  Are you working on a project that could be suitable to nominate for the 2009 award?   Would you like to be the recipient of the 2009 perpetual trophy?   Winners receive:   Full registration, for an individual, to a conference of their choice (within the parameters of the Information profession, and subject to ALIA IOG committee agreement) anywhere in the world - Travel ,  Accommodation or per-diem allowance

The total value of the award shall be up to $10,000 with all arrangements being undertaken by the awardee.   See all the details at http://www.alia.org.au/awards/merit/IOG.excellence/    Nominations close: 31 August 2008

How often do you wear your ALIA membership star to show your support of the Association that supports you and our industry? I suspect that for many of us the answer is “not often”. By contrast members of service clubs and other professions wear the symbols of their belonging with pride and actively use it as a conversation starter. So why are we so reticient to prompt people to ask what the star represents? As a profession we’re passionate about our industry and go to great lengths to promote it so why not adopt the same attitude with our Association?  It’s being a member of ALIA that puts you at the forefront of our profession.

 You might indeed ask what’s brought on this on. Two things:

• En route to the Post Office  last week I bumped  into my dear friend and former colleague Sean Brady from NSW DPI Libraries, looking, as usual, a picture of sartorial elegance  and sporting an ALIA tie! Except that it really was a “bump into”moment I would have suspected a set up, our Sean being not averse to keeping my feet firmly on the ground. As befits a newly elected VP I naturally grilled him on the wearing of it and he happily admitted to doing so quite often. Hurrah a man with pride in his connections. 
• Secondly it’s membership renewal time, and as the newest member of the Membership and Awards Standing Committee I am very aware of the centrality of you to the future of our organisation. If you need reasons to renew, or indeed join look at Sue’s recent blog post on 71 reasons. And if you need further incentive f you renew your ALIA membership by the 18 July 2008 and be in the draw to win one of 25 ALIA Packs.

 A cautionary tale regarding the perils of not wearing your ALIA  star. Last week returning home to Orange from an ALIA engement in Sydney my luggage went missing and with it my precious gold ALIA star, carefully packed in with my jewellery! What a quandry! Did I ‘fess up and admit to not wearing it 24/7 and ask for a new one? Could I raid the Library’s craft supplies and spray paint my red one one gold? Thankfully my bag was found safe and well a week later in Broken Hill and as I write my gold star is safely anchored to my jacket.

I look forward to catching up with some of you at the National Advisory Congress meetings over the next few weeks in Sydney, Canberra, and via teleconference… and here’s a thumbs up, if you’re wearing your ALIA star you’ll win a prize!

 Cheers

Jan

Given the number of phone calls and emails I’ve received it’s surprising how many of you were “out and about” between 10 and 11 this morning and able to listen to Radio National, either that or you’d picked up on the gossip doing the rounds that public libraries were to feature on The Book Show.

It was a great opportunity to focus on the importance of the public library network and to talk about our successes and the challenges that confront us. I was joined on air by Andrew Finegan - performer and librarian at Darwin City Council library and the Northern Territory Library; Jill Bartholemeusz - librarian at the Athenaeum subscription library in Melbourne; and Audrey Semons - member of the Friends of Great Lakes Library  group from NSW.  I was there wearing several hats including of course my ALIA Vice-Presidential one (”ALIA red” of course!).

I rather enjoy radio interviews as it’s such a personal medium, besides which you don’t have to fuss over bad hair. However I found being involved in a discussion with 3 other interviwees rather disconcerting as you were never sure who the next question was going to be directed to. I would have loved to have spoken about some of Andrew’s topics

During the course of the week The Book Show had asked listeners to contact them with thoughts on public libraries and why they are important and they were overwhelmed by the response. The majority view was that public libraries are an incredibly valuable community resource and they deserve better treatment from government. This is no surprise to any of us but great feedback, especially when aired on the national broadcaster. Arranging the interview was an example of the high level of cooperation that exists between peak library bodies in Australia.

 If you’d like to listen the interview is available as a podcast following the link below. Have a great weekend - it’s bitterly cold and raining here in Orange. I’m desperately hoping for snow!

Cheers

Jan  

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/stories/2008/2262714.htm

Well, it’s membership renewal time at ALIA.  The membership team are working furiously to get renewal notices out  - this year, for the first time,  via email to some of you !  We are also changing to a new membership system, so bear with us as we run through new processes when putting in a whole new database system.  (For those of you who have ever implemented a new Library Management System, we hope you understand).

On lots of occasions, but often at this time of year there are lots of questions of “Why should I join - or renew my ALIA membership??”    Last night I had the pleasure of saying a few words after-dinner at the CSIRO Librarians conference in Canberra on the topic.  ALIA is 71 years old this year,  there were 71 people attending the conference,  and I gave 71 Reasons for Joining ALIA.

I have often wondered how to put a ‘price’ on some of the things that relate to ALIA membership….       How do you quantify the satisfaction you get from volunteering your time, skills and energy on a committee or group?  How much are the good times that you have had with colleagues at ALIA events and conferences worth to you personally?  How much is the positive feeling and actual dollars of a payrise that ALIA has assisted to facilitate through good Industrial Relations advice worth?  How great do you feel to see your name in print for the first time when you write an article for inCite? How about receiving a free registration to an expensive seminar, a scholarship or an Award?   Or that you get selected for an interview ahead of other applicants for a new job because you hold  ALIA (CP) status that demonstrates your commitment to continuing professional development  ….    I guess I could go on ….

Our incoming President,  Derek Whitehead, also has some interesting perspectives on ALIA membership value in his first  Frontline article in the June inCite, arriving in your mailboxes this week.   If you are not a current Member, you can read it here .

So, it’s time to renew or join, for lots of reasons, and some that you may not have discovered yet.   Forms and details from the ALIA website membership pages.  If you are changing your details, moved house or job, please email us at  membership@alia.org.au to let us know your new details.  To those who have already renewed this year - Thanks for contributing to the success of your Association.

They’re back! The Librarians you quite possibly just loved to hate are stirring again at the ABC with series 2 now in development. The ABC is keeping ALIA posted on progress and the production team will be in touch with libraries who helped out with the first series. Filming is expected to commence towards the end of the year. Watch this space for more information as we keep our eye on the denizens of the Middleton Interactive Learning Centre…   (that would be LIBRARY) !!                                                       Sue Hutley, Executive Director

The new ALIA Board met on 14 May, following a meeting of the old ALIA Board the day before. What were the highlights? Here are mine.

• Online voting for ALIA elections has got to be a highlight. We have a terrible rate of participation in our elections, and maybe one reason is that it is complicated to vote. So in 2009 we will have online elections, and we hope that they will be simpler and attract more of you to participate.
• We decided that the main theme for the National Advisory Congress this year will be professional development. The NAC is a series of meetings around the country for ALIA members and their friends. It is a chance to provide input to ALIA’s planning.
• More opportunities for input too - in the second half of 2008 we are planning a survey of all ALIA members, and we are placing great trust in this as a means of finding out what our members’ priorities are for ALIA, as well as how they see the current range of services.

These three highlights are all about your participation. And there are more opportunities for participation too - three conferences coming up:  Dreaming08 in September, the New Librarians Symposium in December, and Information Online in January. Something for everyone, or you can participate in all six. I will be.

Happy Library and Information Week 2008 !  There have been happy celebrations and events around the country at all types of libraries.  ALIA Board members and myself have also been talking to the media this week, and especially today following the Australian Bureau of Statistics Media Release on Australian Libraries Facts and Figures.  ALIA’s media releases,  the combined ALIA/ASLA media release about literacy, and events such as National Simultaneous Storytime have all created positive and useful stories to ‘feed’ the media.   Please email or fax us with copies of your local LIW/NSS media results.  We are also looking forward to your photos and stories for inCite on how you celebrated. 

When the interview I was doing with the local ACT ABC Radio began this afternoon, the presenter commented that when she goes into a library there are always lots of different types of people, from all walks of life, doing lots of different things in the library and the library providing such a range of services and resources.  I replied to her, “I guess that’s why we chose the theme for this years library week to be :  Libraries are for everyone! ” .