ALIA Board Blog

As I mentioned last week,  there are many activities happening in the advocacy space for ALIA and our members at the moment.  Now it’s your turn to get involved.

You can now register your name to be added to a separate short ALIA submission that will be provided to Julia Gillard for the Inquiry into School Libraries and Teacher Librarians.  This will include the names of many other library supporters, not just library staff.  We encourage you all to spread the news about registering for this submission.  We hope that teachers, parents, carers, friends and grandparents from all around Australia will add their name to this submission, to show their support for school libraries and teacher librarians.   As we welcome some TL’s back from school holidays this week,  it is a perfect time to send around this link to your networks.   Names must be registered to us by Friday 12pm on the 16th April 2010 to be included in the document.  This particular submission/letter will be a clear sign of wide-spread support from community members for school libraries.   ALIA and ASLA will be submitting additional comprehensive submissions to include specific recommendations that relate to the Terms of Reference.  All the information is linked from this page http://www.alia.org.au/schoollibraries

If you live in Western Australia we also encourage you to write to your local member about public library funding.  This webpage http://www.alia.org.au/publiclibraries outlines all the details.  Take the opportunity to tell your politicians the wonderful stories of the important role that libraries play in your state.  Other library associations will also be writing to the Western Australian government on the issue. 

Sue Hutley,  ALIA Executive Director

It’s been a busy few weeks on the ALIA advocacy front ….

ALIA continues to work with the Safer Internet Group  to lobby for a more effective and efficient suite of methods to provide Australian children with a safer experience online - rather than spending tax-payer dollars on mandatory ISP filtering of URL’s.  There has been a variety of media again in the last few days  [ selection here : Google vs Australia : new net censorship battle   & Google and Yahoo criticise ‘heavy handed’ internet plans  ] of our partners telling their stories to the world. 

The Inquiry into School Libraries and Teacher Librarians was called and submissions are due in a very quick timeframe - ALIA will need to finalise it’s submission by Thursday 15th April.   You can send your comments relating to the Terms of Reference to advocacy@alia.org.au . This is an incredibly significant opportunity for all within the Australian library sector - Why? some of you may ask (especially if you don’t work in a school library).  Here are just a few reasons (from my perspective) :

1.  This is the first library-focussed House of Representatives Inquiry in a very long time  2.  School libraries are often the most memorable experiences that many young Australians have of libraries  - we all remember our school librarian - and this is our opportunity to suggest how the school library experience can be improved 3.  Qualified Teacher Librarians are becoming scarcer these days - we need more of them  4.  Teacher Librarians contribute to the literacy levels of young Australians and assist with teaching information literacy and digital literacy skills which are going to be so important in our future digital economy  5.  The Australian Government has spent millions on building new libraries as part of the B.E.R - but we know that a room full of books and chairs does not facilitate what a library really is, and should be   6.  Those in public libraries work with school children for their educational and recreational reading and information needs and while many public libraries work closely with their local school library staff - collections and services could be better co-ordinated and utilised   7.  Those working in TAFE and University Libraries see the next phase of the learner life-cycle (and the influences that teacher librarians during school have on students)    8.  Those working in special libraries see the results of teacher librarians doing a great job by teaching young people how to use libraries effectively and become information literate workers

So, school libraries and teacher librarians have a great influence on our profession.  It’s time to make your comments, contribute and get involved  (that’s what advocating is about).  ALIA and ASLA (the Australian School Library Association) are working together but on separate submissions.  I am also pleased to hear that a number of the State Public Library Associations will be putting in submissions.  Individuals and other organisations connected with school libraries are also planning to meet the 16th April deadline to submit their thoughts, suggestions and ideas.   Following the submissions we will be preparing (in quick time again) for public hearings in each state and the presentation to the committee by the Library Associations in Canberra in May.   More information will be posted to this page over the coming months - http://www.alia.org.au/schoollibraries

There has also been lots of news around the budget cuts to Western Australian library funding  : Big Cuts put Local Libraries at risk - 29 March 2010  & Reverse Library budget cuts - Opposition - 30 March 2010    and  ABC WA Blog - and links .    This issue does not end with a few media reports last week - we will be posting further suggestions on advocating for improved funding to this page shortly  - http://www.alia.org.au/publiclibraries .

Remember -  every member can be an advocate - and we thank you for your support and your input to these important national issues.

Sue Hutley, ALIA Executive Director

A day for me before I head north to Brisbane in the morning for an ALIA Board meeting. Keeping a promise to myself I spent the morning exploring the lanes and arcades of this beautiful city, picking up a few essential items which I can’t get at home and indulging in a beautiful vintage day dress - I have a family wedding coming up in April and I think it will be perfect. I procrastinated over a pair of shoes which match perfectly and now that the shops are closed regret my inaction!

Made a quick visit to the City Library in Flinders Lane which was buzzing with people;, DVDs and the internet seemed high on everyone’s agendas. It goes without saying that I collected their brochures on my way out. As a Library Manager I always feel guilty sloping into someone else’s turf unannounced; it’s great to see what other people are doing but I think we owe our colleagues the courtesy of allowing them to show us around and talk us through their service. In this case I don’t feel too bad as the Library Services Coordinator, Barry McGuren is an old friend and we’ve been stealing ideas from each other for years. It will be good to catch up when I phone and confess all next week.

I spent a couple of hours at the Immigration Museum in Flinders Street, which explores the moving stories of people from all over the world who have migrated to Australia. Some great interactive displays, several of which resonate with me through family connections. The Museum’s Discovery Centre was a treasure trove of resources for general and family historians/researchers. As a rabid family historian myself with a recently unearthed Victorian connection I ‘bookmarked’ it for further exploration.

Time now to do a little work for my forthcoming meeting but perhaps a quick swim first.

Cheers to you all

Jan

Jan Richards, ALIA President

  librarydayinthelife

 You might have guessed from my last post that I’m in Melbourne, always a treat, especially when there’s the prospect of a days R&R (read shopping) on Saturday.  I’m here for the Australian Government’s Social Inclusion Conference , billed as an ‘opportunity to join a national conversation about effective and innovative social inclusion policy and practice’.

As we all know libraries, and by their very nature public libraries, are key contributors to social inclusion. So much so that ALIA formed our inaugural Public Libraries Summit in July 2009 around the topic with Senator the Hon Ursula Stephens, Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion and Parliamentary Secretary for the Voluntary Sector as our keynote speaker. In her address Senator Stephens talked about public libraries as ‘hubs of community life’, neutral spaces for learning, access to the internet and e-learning. She said, ‘They will remain a vital part of the future … a neutral third place, with the capacity to connect people with the outside world.’

Imagine then the delight of the  public library attendees at this weeks event (Karen, Sue, Anna and me) when in his keynote address  Professor Sir Michael Marmot visiting from  London spoke about the difference reading to children from birth makes in their future development and the importance of the local public library in this and other social inclusion initiatives. The facilitator assured us this wasn’t the last we’d hear about libraries! I can tell you there was real cause for air punching over morning tea and this continued when pioneer of the Hume Learning Village Concept, Frank McGuire managed (after several attempts) to get the microphone during question time.

As the day progressed the anticipated inclusion of libraries and how they can contribute to the government’s agenda didn’t eventuate, or at least not in any of the sessions I participated in and after conversations with colleagues who went to different streams I think the zero approach was pretty widespread.  Anna asked ‘why aren’t there any library speakers or case studies demonstrating what we do, everyone else seems to be represented?’  I had no answer.

Following afternoon tea Hon Julia Gillard MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Social Inclusion launched A Stronger Fairer Australia the Australian Government’s statement  setting out their plan for acheiving a vision of social inclusion. I can only applaud such a development and the obvious work that has gone into its development.

When I got back to the hotel I sat down with a glass of wine to read through the document and see where we fit into the jigsaw. After the direction of the day I guess I wasn’t surprised to find no mention of the word ‘library’, disappointed yes, but not surprised. Hey I’m realistic enough to be able to slot us into ‘other agencies’ and demonstrate by success how we slot in.

What I found much, much more distressing was the lack of recognition of the role of reading in the priority ‘Improving the Life Chances of Children at Greatest Risk of long Term Disadvantage’.  Yes, we can doubtless build it into some of the other initiatives which are included in this policy but when will our governments get it - literacy can be addressed from birth by the simple intervention of reading to your child. I’d be happy to be proved wrong, to have someone say to me ‘look, here it is on page …’ because after all it was my first read and I was getting fairly tetchy towards the end.

We’ll work through this and with our partners begin to align ourselves with this policy. But right now my response is ‘why does it always have to be so #$%&^ hard!’

Jan

Jan Richards, ALIA President

 librarydayinthelife

I’ve just returned home from Sydney, a combination of ALIA and ‘real job’. It was great to catch up with so many friends and colleagues over the 5 days and be immersed in all things library.

• Congratulations to the organisers of SWITCH: Public Libraries in a Changing Environment the 2009 NSW Public Libraries Conference and Exhibition held on Monday and Tuesday at the Sydney Masonic Centre.  The ‘S’ in SWITCH stands for sustainability, and the role that public libraries play in economic, social, cultural and environmental sustainability together with partners from the business, government, education, cultural and community sectors. The program was built around a diverse range of speakers, many from outside the industry which brought a new perspective. The exhibition was busy and as usual it was wonderful to catch up with our vendor mates. It was also great so see so many interstate visitors.
• The ALIA Board also met on Monday and spent the day working through a range of issues. A summary will be available early next week.
• The MAPLs (NSW Marketing Awards for Public Libraries) were announced at a Gala dinner at Darling Harbour on Monday night. Huge congratulations to West Wyalong, Kiama, Coffs Harbour, Narrabri (Talk like a Pirate Day - what fun), Kogarah, Lake Macquarie, Randwick, Bankstown and Orange (us! what a surprise). The projects represented the diversity of the public library sector and the many ways they interact with the community.
• If you’re like me you’ve probably been tempted by the ‘Library Folk in the Pub’ emails only to realise that you have to be in Sydney to go. On Wednesday night the stars were aligned and I joined the ‘folk’ and Sydney ALIA for their Christmas get together. It was a delight to be able to put faces to names and I have a few coffee dates lined up for future visits. I spoke about my career in libraries - in truth I yelled over the music so while everyone smiled politely they probably all have a very disjointed  view of me and the path I’ve taken!
• There was also the chance to work with ICE, ALIA’s new Professional Conference Organisers on the  ALIA Access 2010 Conference - things are coming together well and it promises to be the place to be seen in the second half of next year.

Between all that I managed a little shopping, lots of coffee and champage breaks and the odd quiet moment.

• On the way home I read the December issue of the (sydney) magazinewhich last month contained a feature on Sydney’s libraries ‘Shhh! read all about it’  (you might remember I blogged about it). This month there’s a letter to the Editor ‘Well Worth Reading About’ from Garth Clarke of North Sydney. He writes:

‘ When I moved into a retirement village, I no longer had space for my beloved books. My loss was ameliorated by the realisation that my pension would stretch further if a large part of it was no longer spent on books. Nothing however matched the consolation I sought and found at my local library. Wandering through the stacks I became reacquainted with the joys of browsing and discovering. If reading is indeed a journey, then these local libraries are travel agents for the spirit, worthy of not just celebrating but preserving as well”.

It couldn’t be put more perfectly.

I love Sydney, but I also love the moment when the mighty SAAB 340 touches down at Orange airport and I know I’m home.

Enjoy your weekend.

Jan

Jan Richards, ALIA President

Congratulations to our Sydney colleagues on a fabulous story in  the November issue of The (Sydney) magazine (pp48-52),  issued with today’s Sydney Morning Herald. The title is: “Shhh! Read all about it” with the subheading: “Don’t believe everything you read about libraries being close to extinction”. Writer Barry Divola profiles 5 individuals who represent  today’s libraries:

Kiersten Fisburn, Manager of Culture and Libraries for City of Sydney talks us through that  hip  temple of books that is the new Surry Hills Library and Community Centre (one of my current favourites). Kiersten says “Libraries should be more than just about books on shelves … they should serve their local area, make people feel welcome and be a place where you can borrow an armful of books and feel as if you’ve had a shopping experience without spending a cent”.

ABC radio and television journalist, Steve Cannane, paints a picture of undertaking research in the iconic Mitchell Library at the State Library of NSW. Naturally he talks about the treasures of this great institution but he also talks about the inclusiveness of its clientele; “so many people around you are working, from high school students to people doing their family histories, to other writers and journalists”.

Kat Mayo, an IT consultant confesses that her romance reading habit initially drew her to Ultimo Library “I knew I was spending too much”! Visits to the Library have since become family affairs with Kat ensuring that her children and husband have their own library cards so that her borrowing quota isn’t taken up by their interests. Way to go.

“In my last year of school I thought ‘I buy books, I read books, I love books. I’ll become a Librarian. It was that simple”. Those are the words of Alan Tasker, Field Librarian at the State Library of NSW. It’s Alan’s job to source and assess the archives, records and collections of people who wish to donate to the library or as Alan says “they pay me to visit people”. Seems to me we need to get Alan out to Careers expos.

The final vignette is of Richard Barclay, Manly Library’s Mobile Librarian. While most mobile’s are prime movers Richard drives a golf cart and operates the  Manly Library Afloat services which offers loans to commuters making the journey from Manly to the Sydney CBD. The service operates from 7.15am to 9.15am Monday to Friday and last year he issued 3,000 books with the number steadily increasing. Richard remarks in Summer every second person tells him he has the best job in the world (and I think I might agree) but more tellingly people also say “just seeing you here every morning reminds me that I need to read more”.

If you can get hold of it do “read all about it”. I was given a tip off that it was going to be in today’s Magazine last night by a Sydney colleague during the National Advisory Congress teleconference and as the publication dosen’t make it to newsagents in Orange I had to bribe a friend in transit through Sydney to bring it home today on the “first available flight”.  Obviously she appreciates the value of libraries and arrived just after 2pm proffering the requested glossy.

Cheers

 Jan

Jan Richards

ALIA President

At a seminar during my recent visit to England (I promise I’ll try and make this the last mention of said trip!) I met the Public Library Manager whose area included a major royal residence. “Are any of them members of your library?” I asked. He smiled (guess he’d been asked this sort of inane question before, but when your job title is “Library Manager, Royal Borough of … what do you expect); before answering that one of the older royals had until her relatively recent death been a member of the home library service. Warming to the topic he detailed how the Library Management System had to be adjusted to include the title “Princess”.

I immediately had visions of my own staff all changing their records to Princess Ros, Princess Bronwyn, Princess Peter … and he admitted that there had been that temptation in the Royal Borough workforce. It set me wondering to what particularly Australian titles we could include for our clients. It’s the detail that makes each of our libraries different but attention to detail that makes our clients feel cherished.

Cheers and keep out of the wind

Jan

Jan Richards, ALIA President

Well you would be dreaming of summer when the temperature has dropped below 10 degrees again and everything is covered with a fine layer of red dust following the wild winds last night!

In the world of libraries summer can be a quiet period as our major client groups go on holidays. However in the public library sector it’s time to rev up for the Summer Reading Club! This year’s theme “Read on the Wild Side” has enormous possibilities for our ever enthusiastic and creative children’s librarians. Without having even spoken to them I know that my collegaues up the highway at Macquarie Regional Library will be planning something in conjunction with the Western Plains Zoo - I think it’s the monkey on the web site that inspires this confidence!

Together with Library Lovers’ Day, Australian Library and Information Week and National Simultaneous Storytime the Summer Reading Club is one of ALIA’s major campaigns. but do these campaigns count as advocacy? That’s one of the questions we’re posing at this years National Advisory Congress. Mylee Joseph has written an thought provoking submission on this topic which I would encourage you to read. If the NAC roadshow hasn’t yet reached your town there’s still time to participate. 

Love it or hate it there is no doubt in my mind that the Summer Reading Club has real impact at a local level positioning the public library as a major player in the “summer fun” sphere. Combine this with the media exposure that a news slow period provides and you have the makings of an awareness campaign.

My recent visit to England coincided with the wind up of Quest Seekers, the 2009 Summer Reading Challenge. It had an amazing fantasy theme where participants were in search of the “golden” book, at their local library. One of the requirements for a read to be “recorded’ was for participants to talk about the books they’d read to a member of library staff. I can almost sense your reaction “how much time would that take!”, as it was my first thought too. However having spoken to my UK colleagues about the benefits of this approach, and seeing first hand the delight that my neice Lily had in telling the Librarian at her local library about the books she’d read I changed my mind. Some of the larger services were using volunteers to assist and one library I visited had a special “Quest Lounge” where you could wait - a bit like the Drs but a whole lot more fun, which is what reading’s all about.

Cheers

Jan Richards

ALIA President

I’m in the process of packing my suitcases after a month away from home; first at IFLA in Milan and more recently visiting libraries in the UK. The floor of the bedroom I’ve been sharing with my niece Lily, age 6, is strewn with clothes, shopping and the reams of printed material I’ve picked up along the way. I think a quick trip down to the post office may be in order to lighten my load, that’s of course after I’ve done a huge cull.

My particular focus has been looking at libraries which are converged with other cultural institutions, especially museums and archives and my travels have taken me to some wonderful places - you’ll read more about it in a future edition of inCite. But what has really struck me is the kindness and generosity of “strangers” to show me their libraries and share their experiences, warts and all. This hospitality also reached out into  the communities I found myself in where residents, seeing me puzzling over a map, insisted on walking me to my destination.  It was a salient reminder to always be a gracious host or to use one of my Mum’s favourite sayings “Do as you would be done by”.

Along the way I often wished I could teleport some of my Australian colleagues into some of the places I found myself; in part so they too could experience some of the new developments I was observing, but in part so that they could see how we are leaders in our own right. I was always a Very Proud President (note the caps) when my UK colleagues would talk about an initiative they were implementing where the inspiration came from Australia!  

Yesterday I attended an Executive Briefing at CILIP “Silos of the LAMs” (Libraries, Archives Museums) and our museums too received much praise for the work they’re doing in the area of Web 2.0. It was great to be able to hold my head high, especially given all the cricket asides I’ve been subjected too.

I’ve also had the chance to meet with the CILIP Executive and discuss a raft of issues relating to our two associations and how we can cherry pick from each others offerings to the  mutual benefit of our members. Which leads me back to my packing dilemma, I think I picked up every piece of paper CILIP has ever produced. Do I really need to take it home? Oh well back to the sorting.

Stay safe

Jan Richards, ALIA President

Well, what a month at ALIA.       We of course received word from the IFLA Governing Board that IFLA2010 will now be in Goteborg, Sweden.  <see Jan’s post>   There were many and varied discussions on library e-lists   - questions understanding the complexity of the Congress arrangements and agreements <Graham’s post explains more> and how the GFC is affecting all budgets, tourism and government funding, (e.g  AustnUniLib examples  )  and just a general feeling of disappointment.  While the National Committee, ALIA Board and staff were also all disappointed too, we agree with the IFLA GB that it was a difficult, but necessary and financially sound decision to ensure the long-term viability of the International Association.   We still need to operate as businesses to survive - I was also fortunate to be with a group of Not-for-Profits this July, and we considered trying to rename the sector “Not-for-Loss” as our sustainability in the long term depends on good financial decisions in order to support the communities, groups or professions we serve.  ALIA submitted to the Productivity Commission’s Not-for-Profit review and we hope to engage further with this review.

ALIA heard the response too from members about ‘what next?’ for a 2010 event of some sort - and quickly established the ALIA2010 wiki which has seen some excellent comments and ideas and suggestions.  Other phone calls, teleconferences and emails have also gathered ideas which will be presented to the ALIA Board.   It is Board Meeting time again - and if you ever wonder what the agenda’s look like you can view them here  and get summaries of the meetings here on the website.

Then the 30,000 copies of The Little Book of Public Libraries arrived just before the Summit and filled the ALIA House Conference room before all the staff helped shipped them out to all those who have ordered.  Again, we received a variety of comments, but mostly people have appreciated the ‘different’ and bright cover and the subtle clear title on the cover.  You can also get tips on what to do with the little book and how to use it as a great Advocacy tool on the website. 

We met with the Public Libraries Associations in Parkes in late June to prepare and discuss the ALIA Public Libraries Summit.  Thank you to our State Associations for their financial contribution to the day and also their support, including facilitating discussion groups on the main topics.  Our thanks also to FOLA for their support.  The ALIA Public Libraries Advisory Committee (PLAC) have provided great advice and input over the year of planning for the summit.

Jan Richards, Summit leader, ALIA President and public librarian was able to bring her experience and passion to the day.  It was also the breadth of participants and enthusiasm from the invited guests that completed the day.  We have only just started the work and further conversations that will result out of the Summit - there’s lots to be followed up on. The major recommendations from the day will continue to be reported on the Summit website.

We hope that more public librarians consider nominating for the ALIA Board of Directors - check out our Boardroom Bound page and we are also running another BB session at the upcoming ALIA Library and Information Technicians Conference coming up soon from 15-18 September in Adelaide.

Jan Richards and I presented to the Select Standing Committee on the National Broadband Network at Parliament House on 20th July and the transcript will be available here.  The Senators opened their copy of The Little Book of Public Libraries with enthusiasm ( abit different to the examples of fibre cables and boxes with splitters shown around during the previous presentation at the Committee).

The Summit, Little Book, Ambassadors, Submissions, Senate presentations and related media interviews have all contributed to ALIA’s Advocacy for libraries this month.

Membership renewals are flooding in - thank you to all that have renewed so far.  You can use the online payment system or give us a call on 1800 020071 to arrange your payment.

Our Web2.0/socialmedia extended to twittering, especially during Summit Day #Summit09 and #ALIA2010, Facebooking, blogging and wiki-ing. 

Sue Hutley, Executive Director