ALIA Board Blog

It’s wonderful to see the success of another Library and Information Week, with library activities, celebrations and events held across the country.

Last Saturday, wearing my ALIA Board “hat”, I headed off to the ALIA SA Quiz Night, a traditional event on the LIW calendar in South Australia.  While making my way to the venue on a cold Adelaide night, it struck me that this successful event had been running for 6 years now - how time flies!

I was on the organising committee for the first ALIA SA Quiz Night back in 2005, where some things worked, some things didn’t work, but everyone had a lot of fun!  Since then, I’ve been involved every year as a volunteer.  I’ve even co-opted my husband…in the past he’s moved tables, arranged balloons, and acted as our official Quiz Master (He’s pretty good, if I do say so myself!)  And every year I’ve enjoyed working with a group of passionate, organised and enthusiastic ALIA members who volunteer their time and energy to ensure the event is a success.

Sitting at a Quiz Night table and watching the crowd have fun got me thinking about the value of ALIA’s volunteers, and the contribution they make to the Association.  It’s a conversation that I have been having with different people for some time now, and as a dedicated volunteer myself, an issue that is close to my heart.  Most recently, we’ve been talking about it on the ALIA Membership and Awards Standing Committee as we work through some of the results and detailed comments from the ALIA Member Survey.

For me, volunteering has always gone hand-in-hand with “being an ALIA member” - in fact it almost seems inseparable.  Even now, my role as a Director on the ALIA Board is as a volunteer, with the support and understanding of my employer and my family. Over the years, I have given back to the association by volunteering my energy, skills and personal time…but I have also gained immeasurably in friendships, experience and professional knowledge.

But I can also recognize my experience in some of the comments in the ALIA Member Survey  that talk about the problems with volunteering.  Being an ALIA volunteer can sometimes lead to “burnout” and disillusionment ; be demanding on time already committed to work and family priorities ; or be seen by other members as exclusive and “cliquey”.

Feedback like this is really useful for an Association that relies so heavily on local volunteers when providing services and events to members.  Without the hard work of ALIA volunteers across the country, there would be fewer workshops, seminars, library tours, social events and conferences for ALIA members to enjoy. And importantly, ALIA volunteers have tremendous power to affect local membership and recruitment, as they represent “the ALIA brand” at a grassroots level.  

This is why one of the major projects the ALIA Membership and Awards Standing Committee is working on is a Volunteer Review to look at a range of issues around volunteering for our Association.  This will include a survey of current ALIA Group officebearers, to be conducted in the next few months.

The outcomes from the Volunteer Review will be used to inform the discussions at this year’s National Advisory Congress (NACs) in September.  The NAC topic this year is “Volunteering with ALIA”  and we want to hear from members on this issue, especially those of you who have experience as volunteers.  Let us know your suggestions, ideas and feedback on how we can effectively encourage, support and reward volunteers in their contribution to the Association.  I look forward to the discussion!

Kate Sinclair - ALIA Board of Directors

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

Contribute to the future of ALIA - Tell ALIA your thoughts and ideas

All ALIA members will have received an email providing them access to the ALIA member survey. Information gathered from this survey will enable the ALIA Board of Directors to make strategic decisions on services that support all members.

If you have not taken the survey yet - do it today!
There is a $500 prize incentive to take the survey.

If you did not receive the link and your password to the survey via email, please contact Robyn Ellard, Assistant Director: Member Services on 1800 020 071 or email robyn.ellard@alia.org.au.

 Cheers, Katy.

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

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.

ALIA is currently offering a great membership offer - new and lapsed personal members a 20% discount during the months of May and June 2008.

Download a membership form today http://www.alia.org.au/membership.benefits/forms.html

ALIA New Generation Advisory Committee (NGAC) has been working on a list of FAQs for ALIA Volunteers relating to ALIA membership.

This was a collaborative effort from new generation ALIA members on responding to answers relating to ALIA membership. Congratulations to the current NGAC members on producing such a useful information source for ALIA members in responding to FAQs.

It provides answers to questions in areas such as:

• Value for money
• Good starting places for new members
• Personal vs. Institutional membership
• Regional participation
• Value in becoming a committee member

View it online on the ALIA website under the Members-Only section.