ALIA Board Blog

 The team behind my earlier performance were particularly keen on a re-run; believe me we created a monster during that exercise when a borrowed video recorder and a whiteboard on wheels masquerading as an autocue created a sense of ‘Cecil B DeMille’ amongst my colleagues. Luckily fate in the form of the pre-Christmas rush put such silliness to rest and my on-line Yuletide presence is limited to this blog.  

We all have “must read” blogs in our lives. One of mine (apart from this one!) is written by Kathy Doughty from Material Obsession. Last week she captured my mood when she wrote:

I always find this time of year very reflective.  The calendar mind map is always interesting as the year stretches out ahead and then, as if by magic, it is so many pages turned.  I can’t help but stop and sit for a minute and review all the wonder of the past year.   

2009 has been a huge year for ALIA. I will remember it as the year in which we:

• Integrated the results of the member survey into our planning and as a result focused on your # 1 priority, lobbying and advocacy, at the National Advisory Congress

• Weathered the global financial crisis

• Contributed to the discussion on issues affecting our industry; the National Broadband Network, Parallel Importation and internet filtering (to name a few)

• Enhanced the range of PD opportunities including access to online resources and current awareness services

• Worked with fire devastated Victorian communities in the Rebuilding with Books project

• Hosted the first Australian Public Libraries Summit which has led to the development of a Vision and National Framework for the sector

• Delivered Library and Information Week, Summer Reading Club and National Simultaneous Storytime

• Collaborated with other library and information associations

• Held a stand out Library Technician’s Conference in Adelaide

• Worked with LIS educators to accredit courses

• Supported IFLA in their decision to relocate the 2010 Congress to Gothenburg

• Embraced Library 2.0 technologies

And they’re just the things I was able to come up with on a hot December afternoon following a lunch time of shopping.

None of this would have been possible without our:

• fabulous ALIA National Office staff

• Local Liaison Officers

• dedicated Board of Directors

• committed volunteers

• and you our loyal members.

To you all a huge thank you.

As we count down the final days of 2009 I would like to send you all my very warmest wishes for the festive season. It has been a great pleasure to meet, work and reconnect with many of you during the year and I look forward to more of the same in 2010.

Jan

Jan Richards, ALIA President

Writing the Frontline column for inCite is a little like shouting into the wind, you’re never sure where your voice will go and will your sentiments register. That’s why it’s a delight to get feedback.

This morning I flung myself into my chair after a meeting fraught with pre-Christmas urgency (why do we haveto get stuff done by 25 December?) to find an email from Brenda Strachan, Campus Librarian (Fraser Coast) at the University of Southern Queensland. She wrote:

‘When I departed Brisbane for a job in the newly built TAFE campus in Gympie (1991), I certainly felt isolated as the only librarian staffing the library. So I established a regional TAFE group called SNOBS (Slightly North of Brisbane Section), with staff attending from Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, Sunshine coast and Maryborough. We met a few times per year for training and the usual sharing of info. This soon expanded to include staff from Kingaroy and Toowoomba, so we became WANOBEs, (West and North of Brisbane) but pronounced wannabees.

I do relate to everything you said in the article. I did go back to the big smoke for 4 years, but absolutely hated it and now I am working in a little piece of heaven. Far enough away from the politics of the larger library in Toowoomba, and I am able to ride my bicycle to work, instead of sitting in traffic for 90 minutes.’

 In a follow up email Brenda informed me she’d just ridden her bicycle home for lunch along the beach from, ’so refreshing’ was how she put it :-).

It’s always great to read our Association’s magazine usually curled up on the lounge with a glass of white wine. To all of you have contributed over the past 12 months a huge thank you, it’s the diversity of perspectives that adds vitality to our profession. There are some great themes planned for 2010 so do start thinking about how you can showcase your library and or projects.

Stay sane in the lead up to Christmas.

Jan

Jan Richards, ALIA President

What’s the clue for you that summer has started? Is it the first cicada, the smell of Aeroguard or the drone of cricket on the TV/radio? For me it’s all of those plus the sure knowledge that Summer Reading Club has commenced!

At our staff meeting this morning Lisa, our ever enthusiastic Children’s Librarian, ran us through the plan and did show and tell with the merchandise. Those on the desk have been coerced into wearing a “Read on the Wild Side” badge and in my Presidential role one was passed to me with a “put this on”! I’d forgotten I had accessorised in library mode it until someone commented on it at lunch time - bit like wearing your name badge into the sandwich shop “would you like salt on that Jan?”! However it was a great way to generate some publicity so maybe it will become part of my summer wardrobe.

If you haven’t had a look check out the web site and start reading! - and with Christmas just around the corner think ’books’ for presents. There speaks the wife of a bookseller

Cheers

Jan

Jan Richards, ALIA President

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

I’ve just arrived home from Canberra after having spent yesterday at ALIA National Office catching up on a few things. It’s a public holiday today in our Nation’s capital (though I think they may call it something like “Family and Community Day” rather than Melbourne Cup Day!). Naturally a number of staff had taken yesterday as a leave day to give themselves a long weekend and the office was “person-ed ” by skeleton staff. To make the day fun a lunch had been arranged and hats were de rigueur. Consequently I left here at 6 yesterday morning with my hat and date chocolate and almond torte strategically placed in the car (and for those of you who know me, yes, I’m still dragging that recipe out; it is after all a cake that will survive the 3.5 hour drive).

Sitting in the sunshine in the ALIA courtyard I was reminded of the many Melbourne Cup lunches I’d shared with colleagues over the years, always staggered to allow for rosters; the plethora of sweep tickets on your desk all allocated to different family members including pets;  the mad dash to the TAB by someone who purports to know what they’re doing to put some bets on; the phone call that always comes just as the race is about to start and the “is that it?” sensation once it’s all done and dusted.

I hope your lunch was fun, thanks to the team at ALIA for allowing me to be part of their celebrations. As for the race I think I’ll be watching it, hat-less, with Holiday (my black Labrador) and a small something I picked up in the bakery in Boorowa on the way home.

Cheers

Jan

Jan Richards, ALIA President

Before October slips off the calendar I best do a few notes on the month that was…..  

[and Happy Thanksgiving (to our Canucks), Pink Ribbon Day and Halloween as it’s the end of the month - and Congrats to a couple of the ALIA staff who got Married this month]

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the 2009 National Advisory Congress meetings, and the Board and staff who made all the arrangements.  Take a look at the reports on Your Thoughts about ALIA and Lobbying and Advocacy.  http://www.alia.org.au/governance/nac/2009/

The Gov2.0 #gov2.0 twittering has also been interesting this month and this mashup competition also looks good  http://data.australia.gov.au/  - will a librarian team win ? 

The applications closed this month for the 2010 Aurora Institute - check out the new Foundation website at http://www.aurorafoundation.org.au/ 

Developing the next generation of library leaders is something that ALIA supports and the ALIA Aurora Scholarship may be offered again to a successful ALIA Member and Aurora applicant for the 2010 Institute.

ALIA has many (many) Awards and Scholarships http://www.alia.org.au/awards  and the Membership and Awards Standing Committee has been discussing and reviewing these.   Speaking of committees, we have had alot of members joining and retiring from Advisory Committees.  Did you know that we have Advisory Committee guidelines now?  Take a look here:-  http://www.alia.org.au/governance/committees/   The new Library Technician Advisory Committee will be forming soon as well.

This month a hand-picked print edition of a Harvard Business Review arrived in a package in the mail (thanks Dad) and it was nice to read a print copy of a journal  - it is still one of the things I miss about not being in an actual library - being able to browse the latest titles and journals on display.  I also started the latest Dan Brown novel.  I often wonder what is on the bedside bookshelf of other library-types (?) The latest print publication from IFLA also came in the mail - with lots of Aussie authors (Congratulations on your articles about Regenerating the Profession).     The future of reading has also been a topic of conversation this month.  At ALIA we have had some discussions about a Year of Reading for Australia in coming years - a proposal out of the ALIA Public Libraries Summit.  ALIA has produced a consultation paper on the draft National vision and framework for public libraries and we are seeking feedback from Summit delegates and all ALIA members by 11 December 2009.

ALIA also hosted the Public Library Associations Meeting in Townsville prior to the PLA/QPLA Conference.  The project has now started to produce National Standards for Public Libraries - with Libraries Alive being the consultants assisting with the project - and with a completion timeframe in the first half of 2010.  More information will be posted on this project on the ALIA and Summit websites.

A number of the ALIA Board and Staff members attended the informative CAVAL People in the Information Profession conference.  There were many comments about ALIA’s role in education, collaboration with educators and practitioners, careers and course recognition.   Take a look through the Course Recognition pages (yes, ALIA is the only Association to do CR out of the 50-or-so Australian Library Associations and organisations)    and the new ALIA Career Connect information launched this month. http://www.alia.org.au/careerconnect/ 

Course recognition visits and reports will be one of the major memories of October 2009 - the number of reports written, proofed, redrafted, corrected, recrafted and then sent, followed up, discussed, commented on and replies made will continue throughout the next months.   Our thanks for the patience of all of the LIS Educators for some of the waiting periods this year.   The LT Educators’ Annual Meeting weekend, held in Canberra on 23rd and 24th October was a great success with around 40 educators meeting to discuss the site visits that were conducted during 2009, to deliver best practice examples and to share two days of professional development. 

Rebuilding with Books has also been a huge project this year.  Thanks to Jane Grace and Sue McKerracher as ALIA Disaster Recovery Project Managers during 2009.  http://www.alia.org.au/disasterrecovery - great photos and stories on this site.

We finished the month with sad news of the passing of Kay Poustie, a treasured and revered member of ALIA and a great contributor to the Association and the Profession.  Links here :    http://aliaretirees.blogspot.com/    http://www.alia.org.au/awards/fellowships/1997a.html   I have already received many sincere and thoughtful condolence messages from members, and these will be collated for the Poustie Family and the ALIA community.

Sue Hutley, ALIA Executive Director

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

Working through the paperwork covering my desk I happened upon an article I’d set aside to blog about:

“Conferences, I love them. The wonderful buzz as you approach the registration desk, find your name, check which sessions or speakers have been changed. Then the introductions as you wander coffee in hand catching an eye here, straining to read a name tag there. is that woman in green someone you should know, or is she just looking friendly and lost like you?”  - that’s what Tricia Genat wrote about conferences in the Autumn edition of  ALS Newsline.

It must be the conference season! IFLA, ALIA Library Technicians, ASLA, Top End Symposium, PLA/QPLA,  LIANZA with  Public Libraries NSW - Metropolitan coming up in a few weeks, yes siree we’re bang smack in the middle of the Conference Season (and they’re just the ones I’ve been to or been invited to!).

Tricia’s right; the buzz at the registration desk is palpable with the organising committee being able to witness the realisation of all of their hard work and delegates anticipating the professional and personal benefits of the days ahead - great keynote speakers, opportunities to sit back and expand your thinking and discussions to be had with vendors.

If you’re off to a conference I would encourage you to act on Tricia’s words and extend the hand of friendship, don’t be a wallflower and don’t let anyone else be either. I judge any conference by the clutch of business cards and promises of things to send and receive I have on my return home. Librarians can be stars at collaboration, make sure you’re firmly in the galaxy!

Cheers

Jan

Jan Richards

ALIA President

Like Jan I too have been busy representing the ALIA Board over the past couple of weeks.I was fortunate enough to attended the last two days (17-18 September) of the very successful National Library and Information Technicians Conference in Adelaide. The conference certainly had a buzz about it, and that buzz even prevailed on the closing day, after the every energetic conference dinner. I’d have to say, and I think many agreed that band, “The Smarty Boys” were fantastic.  The lead singer actually works in the University of South Australia Library, which just goes to show what a versatile bunch we library workers are.

On a more serious note, the conference demonstrated the versatility and depth of talent we have in the Library Technician ranks. Congratulations to the award winners, and in particular to the organizers who hosted an engaging and stimulating conference. The next National Library and Information Technicians conference will be held in Perth in 2011.

While Jan was in Perth attending ASLA, I was up in Darwin attending the Top End Symposium. The symposium is an annual event that provides an opportunity to showcase initiatives and achievements by Top End library staff. The symposium theme was Exploring Library Spaces for Learning and Elearning.  Topics explored include new libraries and technology, online tutorials, creating new spaces in aged buildings, the use of libraries by disaffected indigenous youth, and setting up an elearning environment within the NT health system.

The symposium attracted approximately 80 delegates, most of whom attended the final session on Saturday (yes Saturday) morning. Once again congratulations to the organizers for putting together the symposium at such short notice, and my thanks for the hospitality offered to me while I was there.

I can recommend Darwin as a place to visit, it has its own tropical style (and climate), the people are friendly, the sunsets are beautiful, and its a good place to buy wedding anniversary presents. I don’t recommend the red-eye flights in and out of Darwin though.

While I was in Darwin, and just before I left Rockhampton to attend the ‘Tech’s conference in Adelaide, I hosted NACs. The first one was for rural and remote members, and the Darwin  one was obviously for NT members. Some of the key points to come out of the meetings were:

• the need to focus on special and other libraries, in addition to public libraries,
• for ALIA to make submissions to government bodies on matters of importance to members,
• to somehow bridge the proliferation of library and related information bodies, and
• the importance of providing independent industrial relations advice.

Next week I’m in New Zealand  representing the Association at LIANZA and attending CONZUL, while Jan is in Townsville attending the Public Libraries Australia/Queensland Public Libraries Association conference. I think the weather will be somewhat  warmer in Townsville than Christchurch.

Till next time,

Graham

Graham Black
Vice President

Last week it was a delight to attend the Australian School Library Association’s (ASLA) Conference in Perth. ASLA and ALIA are close  partners  and under our joint Memorandum of Understanding the President of each Association is the guest of the other at our respective biennial conferences. During the Conference ASLA President Rob Moore and I signed the updated Terms of Reference for the ALIA/ASLA Policy Advisory Group in front of witnesses, who included members of the PAG (another acronym to add to my ALIA thesaurus). A huge thanks to the ALIA and ASLA representatives on this Group, several of whom I met while I was in Perth. Through their dedication and the  open communication between the Executive Officers of both Associations (Sue Hutley, ALIA and Karen Bonnano, ASLA) we have firm foundations for the future.

Congratulations to the ASLA Conference organising committee for an exciting program on the theme of “Engage, Explore, Celebrate”. If you get the opportunity I would encourage you to attend a session or a conference outside your sectoral interests. It’s a great way of reigniting your thinking and an excellent reminder of how the jigsaw pieces all fit together. From my “real job” perspective it’s been a wake up call to re-engage in a more formal way with the school librarians in our community for the benefit of all.

I also caught up with the West Australian Aurorans and former ALIA President Imogen Garner over dinner while I was in Perth. It was a very lively table with everyone talking at once. Thanks to Jill Benn for arranging it despite her jet lag. As usual I posed the “did Aurora make a difference?” question and the universal answer was yes (I was one young man’s mentor at Aurora so what else could he say!). Applications for the 2010 Aurora Institute close on 16 October 2009 so if you’re thinking of applying get your skates on.

Public holiday here in NSW and the last day of my long (6 week) break from work. I think a day of gardening, dog walking and friends is in store.

Cheers

Jan

Jan Richards, ALIA President