Biographies of ALIA directors

[ Vanessa Little | Julie Rae | Edmund Balnaves | Kathryn Cass | Joseph Cullen | Elke Dawson | Aileen Weir ]

Vanessa Little

President

until 2013 Annual General Meeting

Present position
Director, Libraries ACT, was appointed to the position in October 2007. She developed with the community and staff a vision for the ACT as a learning city, which has been presented to the ACT Government for consideration

Previous positions
Previously Vanessa was the General Manager, Learning Community with Hume City Council in Melbourne. She was recruited to lead a unique program adopted by Hume to address social and economic disadvantage through libraries and learning called the Hume Global Learning Village. Hume won the 2005 National Award for Excellence in Local Government, for the program. Vanessa has been guest speaker in Canada, New Zealand, Scotland and Australia on this program. Vanessa was Senior Policy Advisor to the South Australian Government on internet uptake in various sectors. In the mid 90's, Vanessa was Associate Director of the State Library of South Australia, managing South Australia's Public Libraries Information Network (PLAIN).

Professional activities

• Member, Public Libraries Advisory Committee ALIA
• Deputy Chair National Year of Reading; Member
• ACT Government Homelessness Accord

Professional Concerns
More than ever our profession involves adding value to our clients and making a significant contribution to the strategic objectives of our organisations.

We are at a time when there are many opportunities unfolding for librarians in all sectors. The lifelong learning movement, increasingly important to the social and economic agendas of our governments, offers libraries and librarians from academic, special, state, national public and school library sectors a potential policy framework within which to collaborate.

A number of local and regional areas have already implemented place-based local development, involving collaboration across universities, TAFEs, private companies, state and national government agencies and local councils. All of these organisations have libraries and in a number of cases it is the librarians who are the driving force behind the policies and collaboration to benefit local communities and economies.

Therefore, I don't have 'professional concerns'. Instead, I see an unprecedented chance for our profession to collaborate across sectors to address local and national issues and further embed the library profession in the strategic objectives of governments and communities.

Julie Rae

Vice-president

until 2013 Annual General Meeting

Present position
Director Information and Research - Australian Drug Foundation

Previous positions

Prior to joining the Australian Drug Foundation I was the General Manager Community Information Access at Vision Australia and had extensive experience in both the private sector and local government arena over 30 years. My work required strategic and operational leadership and had particular emphasis with environments undergoing change and in using innovative technological solutions to improve and enhance services to the community.

I have extensive experience on both local and international committees and have been instrumental in and proud of my involvement in the development of Gulliver, ERA, LibraryLink Victoria.

Professional activities

• Chair of the IFLA Section - Libraries Serving Persons with Print Disabilities.
• Board Member of Australian Radio Stations 5RPH and 6RPH and Secretary of RPH Australia.
• Member of the Round Table for Print Disabilities Steering Committee.
• Member of the international Global Accessible Library Steering Committee.

Statement of professional concerns
I believe that in working together we can achieve improved services for all. I am keen to look for opportunities to further collaborate within and outside the sector. I am committed to seeing ALIA grow and be successful in all it sets out to do and to work positively to counter the criticism our professional association receives for its activities, or lack of them.

I would also like to see libraries not only talk about inclusivity, but practice it.

Edmund Balnaves

Board Member

until 2014 Annual General Meeting

Present Position
Director, Prosentient Systems Pty Ltd, Sydney

Edmund Balnaves has served in academic, government and business roles covering both library services and information technology. In the last 15 years through his business, Prosentient Systems, he has provided local and international libraries with information technology for collaborative document delivery, digital library systems and library management systems. He also supports the Asia-Pacific document delivery networks of GratisNet, GLASS, Q-SHARE, LILLI, Q-LILLI, ALIES and Tranzinfo. In his professional capacity he is also an advocate for open source, open access and the information technology needs of libraries (particularly the "specials") through IFLA and the UN.

Previous Positions
Information Technology Manager, University Co-op Bookshop Ltd.

Professional activities

• Standing committee member and Information officer, IFLA IT Section
• Life member, ALIA
• Member, IEEE
• Research group: Researching the Information Commons

Professional Concerns
Our profession sits astride changes in the diversity of ways in which clients wish to access information (online, from mobile devices, through social networking systems) and the multiplicity of systems utilised for information delivery. This is both an opportunity and a threat for our libraries. Open source and open access provide new possibilities for the library profession to become not just a "user" of technology but also an "owner". Information technology skills are less and less situated in the IT profession as they become diffused among each professional domain. Capitalising on these developments requires reskilling and close engagement with digital technology in much the same way that we have engaged with physical media. Failure to do so risks marginalising the profession. Both in IFLA and in ALIA I am interested in advocating the engagement with current and emerging technology as a means of continuing to situate our profession at the centre of information management.

Kathryn Cass

Board Member

until 2013 Annual General Meeting

Present position
Coordinator, Library Operations, Marrickville Library and History Services (2009 - )

Previous Positions
Local Studies Librarian, City of Botany Bay Library Service (2007 - 2009); Library Assistant, Library Officer and Acting Local Studies Librarian, Randwick City Library and Information Service (2004 - 2007); Part-time Teacher Library Studies, Sydney Institute of TAFE (2005); Part-time Library Assistant, ACP Magazines (2005)

Professional activities
Member, Professional Development, Education, Research and Publishing Sub-Committee. (PDERP) (ALIA)
Member, Membership & Awards Standing Committee (MASC) ALIA
Member, Public Libraries Advisory Committee (PLAC) ALIA
Member, ALIA (Sydney Convenor)

Professional Concerns
My professional concerns include free access to information for all Australians through the provision of appropriate technology and education (e.g. broadband rollout particularly to country areas, internet safety education rather than an internet filter and blacklists). I am also passionate about lobbying for increased funding and recognition of public, school and academic libraries. I believe that all libraries in every sector play an important role in their respective organisations, and the on-going professional development of library, records and information agency staff, as well as excellent representation and lobbying by ALIA of politicians and other stakeholders is the best way to ensure their continued success.

Joseph Cullen

Board Member

until 2013 Annual General Meeting

Present Position
Chief Executive (5 years) of the Eastern Regional Libraries Corporation, Victoria's largest public library

Previous Positions
Chief Executive, South Gippsland Shire and East Gippsland Shire Councils. Prior to those roles I worked in planning and economic development, marketing and sales in publishing and as a taxation consultant with a Big 4 accountancy practice.

Professional activities

• Treasurer and Public Officer, Public Libraries Victoria Network Inc.
• Member Advisory Committee on Public Libraries for the State Library Victoria
• Member of various statewide project working groups.
• Member SWIFT Consortium of Public Libraries.

Professional Concerns
We must constantly innovate to enhance the opportunities and services for our communities. At the same time we must ensure the highest levels of service by providing professional development opportunities for our staff through associations such as ALIA.

I believe that libraries must be socially, culturally, environmentally and economically sustainable if we are to continue to provide relevant services and to being the "third" place for our communities.

I believe that we can achieve these outcomes through co-operation, partnerships and alliances within the library profession and with our external stakeholders, and through the leadership and advocacy of ALIA.

Elke Dawson

Board Member

until 2014 Annual General Meeting

Present Position
Deputy Director, Resource and Access Services, CQUniversity Library, Central Queensland University

Previous Positions
Elke has held a variety of positions at the Gordon Institute of TAFE and Deakin and Melbourne Universities. She also established the Goethe Institute Library in Sydney and, until recently, was the Chair of the Queensland University Libraries Office of Library Co-operation (QULOC) Information Resources and Access Working Party

Professional activities

• Deputy Chair of Queensland University Libraries Office Research Support Working Party.

Professional Concerns
Having just visited the ' Handwritten: ten centuries of manuscript treasures from the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin' exhibition at the National Library of Australia I couldn't help but wonder what there will be for our children's children to see now that we are in the full throes of the 'digital age'.

While the importance of digitizing existing print resources can't be underestimated it is imperative that libraries be at the forefront of collecting, describing and curating digitally-born resources for future generations.

Aileen Weir

Board Member

until 2014 Annual General Meeting

Present Position
Director, Reader Services, National Library of Australia

Previous Positions
Aileen has worked in all library sectors including public libraries, academic libraries and special libraries. She has been at the National Library since 2006, overseeing virtual reference services including the AskNow chat reference service. Prior to joining the National Library, Aileen worked at the Australian National University for ten years, in the Law Library and as Electronic Resources Coordinator. Aileen originally came to Australia in 1993 on a job exchange with the Australian Parliamentary Library from her substantive position as Government Publications Librarian at the Ontario Legislative Library in Toronto, Canada

Professional activities
Throughout her career, Aileen has been an active member in library associations:

• Australian Libraries and Information Association University and Research Libraries (URLS) - Current Convenor; Member of Executive since 2006
• Australian Law Librarians Association (ALLA) - ACT Convenor 2001-2003; Member of Executive 1999-2004; Program Coordinator of 2004 Australian Law Librarians' Symposium Organising Committee
• Aurora Leadership Institute participant 1997
• Canadian Library Association Special Libraries and Information Services Division (CASLIS) - Toronto Chapter President 1994-1995; Member of Executive 1991-1995

Professional Concerns
The next few years will be pivotal for our profession. Society is undergoing a fundamental shift and the concept of "library" is at an important juncture. The challenges of ubiquitous mobile devices, mass digitisation, complex copyright law, and an expectation that "everything is online" can be turned into opportunities for librarians if we play our cards right. We need to convince government and our funding bodies that the term librarian encapsulates many of the skills needed in today's society - educator, archivist, systems analyst, communicator, change agent, innovator. Regardless of the sector in which we work, we need a strong, united and vibrant professional association to advocate for the roles we can play. I'd like to help ALIA promote our profession in a way that makes all librarians proud and every young person want to choose this as their career. It's a great time to be a librarian.