As the time draws nearer to the Public Libraries Summit, why not check out what will be discussed by reading the Submissions made by your colleagues and other interested parties!
The submissions are on many varied topics such as Early childhood education and literacy, the development of closer ties between public libraries and healthcare professionals, the role public libraries play in society, and public libraries and access to electronic databases and information online.
There are also regional submissions from NSW, Vic, Qld, WA and SA
One of my favourite submissions is from Jenn Martin about A Bibliotherapy Partnership between Public Libraries and Health Services. I had heard of ‘Books on prescription’ before and thought “What a great idea!” but then never got around to implementing it! Reading Jenn’s submission reiterated to me the importance of public libraries collaborating with other government and community organisations to promote the ideals that all public libraries stand for… namely “social inclusion, literacy, [and] life-long learning”. We all know that there are some great health related resources in our libraries to help people, but do our patrons? Do doctors and hospitals and their patients know? Developing a strong Bibliotherapy partnership and program, I believe, will help fill this information gap!
All the submissions make for very interesting reading! So check them out. And don’t forget to register the points in the ‘professional reading’ category for the ALIA PD Scheme.
Kathryn Cass
ALIA Public Libraries Advisory Committee Member