ALIA Board Blog

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! ” .

Dear ALIA colleagues

I would like to thank you for the wonderful experience I have had over
the past years as ALIA President, as Vice President and Board member
before that.  Australian libraries and library staff make a wonderful
contribution to the nation and ALIA provides a wonderful role in
leadership and action on many important issues including advocacy,
education and copyright. I do hope to see many of you at the ALIA
biennial conference in Alice Springs. A special thanks to Derek
Whitehead, members of the Board and ALIA National Office staff for the
support they have provided over the past year.

Regards

Roxanne Missingham

I’ve just arrived home after 3 days in Canberra being “inducted” as a board member. I’m certainly feeling the effects of information overload! Let’s hope a reasonable percentage of what I heard has been absorbed and I don’t drive the National Office staff crazy with too many idiotic questions.
It was great to meet with fellow board members, some of whom were previously only “virtual” acquaintances, and to catch up with ACT based colleagues  at the AGM on Tuesday night. A huge thanks to Roxanne who stepped down as President on Tuesday night for all she’s achieved over the past 4 years during her terms as board member/Vice President/President.

Our new President, Derek, and I spent Monday together working through a range of issues with National Office Staff and we’re repeating the process in a couple of weeks to make sure we’re on the same page. I thought it was hugely typical of the “smallness” of the library community that a dear friend from my Wollongong Days now works with Derek at Swinburne and emailed him while we were in Canberra. It was even more of a “kismet” moment when I opened the May Incite when I returned home and there was an article by her! Hi Clare. On the topic of Incite  do also read the article in the May edition by Central West Libraries’ Jasmine Vidler (I’m probably breaking some rule by promoting my own library - oh well!).

I’m now having a couple of days off to try and tame the garden before winter sets in, and to recharge my batteries for Library and Information Week. You all do such wonderful things to celebrate this time but make sure you share your successes and send stories and pictures to ALIA. I’d also suggest you take time to congratulate yourselves on the fabulous job you do - perhaps a morning tea or a glass of bubbles after work. Whatever you decide on, enjoy.

Cheers

Jan Richards

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

The following has been announced on the ALIA Website and the ALIA e-lists this morning.

Board of Directors Election results for 2008 :
Congratulations to Jan Richards who has been elected Vice-president / President-elect.

Congratulations to Michelle Brennand and Helen Partridge who have been elected as Directors by the membership at large.

Congratulations to Philip Keane who have been elected as Director elected by institutional members.

[Michelle, Helen and Philip will all now undertake their second term as ALIA Directors]

Thank you to Kevin Dudeney, Brenda McConchie, Gail Schmidt and Kate Sinclair for nominating and we hope that they will continue their valuable contributions to ALIA.

All the exact details and numbered results of the election will be published in the May edition of inCite.

To find out more about your ALIA Board take a look through the profiles and links at http://www.alia.org.au/governance/elections/2008/

Sue Hutley, Executive Director

How do we stop Australians from becoming roadkill on the information superhighway?  ALIA’s submission to the 2020 summit has great suggestions - it will shortly be available on the ALIA web site and www.australia2020.gov.au  during the week commencing 14 April.

 While it is disappointing that no librarians were successfully nominated to the summit we hope that the submission and others will raise the important issues we have noted for the summit.

regards
Roxanne

   LIW 2008 Dates :-  19 - 25 May 2008

Get your orders in now for LIW merchandise for 2008.   With the theme of  ‘Libraries are for everyone’ , the material really is for every type of library !

Download and fax the form to make your order from the LIW Website  http://www.alia.org.au/advocacy/liw/2008/ 

You can also use the downloadable images for the week, check out http://www.alia.org.au/advocacy/liw/2008/images.html 

Get involved and organise an activity at your library, there are  lots of ideas http://www.alia.org.au/advocacy/liw/suggestideas/