ALIA Public Libraries Summit

1. Australian Books from Birth program on behalf of the National Advisory Group for New Arrivals Early Literacy Reading Pack  by Christine Sayer, State Library of Queensland
The Federal Government's 'Social Inclusion: origins, concepts and key themes' Hayes, Gray and Edwards 2008 states that: Social exclusion is multidimensional and reflects a combination of inter-related factors. Low literacy is one of the major factors that can contribute to an individual, family or group's experience of social inclusion/exclusion. The introduction of a flexible and scaffolded 'Australian Books from Birth' program utilizing the Australian network of public libraries and Indigenous Knowledge Centres, would ensure that all Australians are provided with an opportunity to commence a lifelong literacy and learning journey. It would provide a second chance for some parents to learn alongside their children in particular Indigenous, CALD and socially disadvantaged families.

2. A Bibliotherapy Partnership between Public Libraries and Health Services by Jenn Martin. Community Liaison Librarian Auburn Public Library and Steering Committee Member NSW Readers Advisory Working Group
Bibliotherapy is not a costly or invasive intervention, but would require a partnership between government, libraries, healthcare services, and volunteer and community organisations. It touches upon far-reaching agendas such as social inclusion, literacy, life-long learning, employment, promoting the arts and culture, innovation in healthcare and increasing access to psychological services.
This proposal for a partnership between Public Libraries and Healthcare providers to promote the benefits of reading derives from a close working relationship between staff at Auburn Council and staff in the Multicultural Health Eastern Cluster at Sydney West Area Health Service (SWAHS).

3. Creating a National Public Library Service Delivery Model  by Public Libraries Australia

4. Creating the future: the strategic direction and sustainability of Australia's public library system  by Public Libraries NSW Metropolitan Association (PLM)
Australia's 1500+ public libraries receive around 100 million visits per year by 12 million Australians. The libraries are primarily funded by Local Government to $750 million per annum, which consists of both capital investment and annual operating expenditure. There are varying financial contributions from State and Territory Governments.
The Australian public library system is under financial pressure. Some public libraries need to revitalise their infrastructure, programs and offerings.
The 2008 "Enriching communities: the value of public libraries in New South Wales" report revealed the value of public libraries, including quantified economic value.
The development and implementation of a Strategic Framework and Direction for Australia's Public Library System is now critical.

5. Developing a literate and reading nation.  Recommendations of Reading critical: developing readers in Australia and New Zealand, a trans-Tasman conference held at the State Library of Victoria 11-12 April 2008 by Dr Alan Bundy AM
This paper proposes that an Australian Year of Reading is held in 2011 or 2012, using the experience gained from the successful UK Year of Reading held in 2008. This was launched by the British prime minister and underwritten by a central government grant of £3.7 million. It aimed to be a 12 month celebration of reading by encouraging people to read in businesses, homes and communities throughout the UK, and providing new opportunities to read and access help and support thorough schools, libraries and related agencies. It was a national campaign to foster a reading culture and specifically to engage people who needed help with reading or who thought that reading was not for them. A priority was to develop an enduring legacy of reading embedded in the social culture. Australia has a similar need.

6. Electronic Resources Australia: access to quality information resources for all Australians   by Roxanne Missingham, Parliamentary Librarian
Electronic Resources Australia (ERA) provides a national approach to purchasing electronic resources for all Australians. ERA is a reality today because of the commitment and vision of many Australian public, national, state and special libraries. These libraries have worked together towards the vision of providing easy access to a variety of trusted licensed online sources through their libraries.
After two full years of operation the consortium provides access for almost half of all Australians (8.5 million individuals) to quality online full text resources, primarily to Australian content. The issue of national information access is critical. As a nation we lack basic literacy skills and universal access to quality information. ERA is a vital component of a successful, inclusive, digital Australia.

7. Libraries: social and cultural axis of our community  by Graham Smith on behalf of Public Libraries NSW Country (PLNSW-C)
The paper examines the changing nature of libraries in Australian communities through a series of vignettes and by providing examples from current practice. These examples are used to propose an argument for the social and cultural centrality of libraries and to highlight the problems which the network currently faces. Finally, the paper proposes a building of alliances between communities and government at all levels to ensure the continuation of quality library services.

8. Living Libraries: Communities talking together  by Lucy Kinsley, Lismore Area Librarian, Richmond-Tweed Regional Library
The idea of a Living Library was developed in the year 2000 by the Danish youth Non-Government Organisation "Stop the Violence." The activity was offered to visitors at Denmark's largest annual music event, the Roskilde Music Festival. This festival runs over a 4-day period and features up to 150 bands from all over the world. With so many people from varying backgrounds together, organisers wanted to ensure a harmonious environment and prevent outbreaks of violence. Concert-goers were invited to be Books and sit down with a Reader who could ask them about aspects of their life - where they come from, how they see society etc. "Stop the Violence" was a peer-led youth initiative aimed at educating young people to be active in preventing violence.
The success of the Living Library showed potential beyond all expectations.

9. Making a difference - better beginnings: Family Literacy Program  by Margaret Allen, CEO and State Librarian, State Library of Western Australia
Key findings from Making a Difference, an evaluation of the Better Beginnings Family Literacy Program conducted by Edith Cowan University, Western Australia, demonstrate that the program is having a strong and positive impact on parental literacy practices, attitudes and beliefs and increasing library membership and usage. Coordinated by The State Library of Western Australia and co-funded by State and local governments and Rio Tinto since 2005, Better Beginnings is an integrated program working across library services, health, education and community services that aims to provide positive early language and literacy experiences for parents and young children.

10. New partnerships and working with the not-for-profit sector. CAVAL and collaboration by Janette Wright, Chief Executive CAVAL Ltd.
Australia's 1500 public libraries are spread across all States and Territories with a variety of governance and funding arrangements and to achieve their full potential must find ways to collaborate across state and regional boundaries, and through partnering with specialist agencies achieve synergies and efficiencies in service delivery.
CAVAL has the capability to offer a range of enabling services and is ready to support the objectives of public libraries across the country.
CAVAL encourages public libraries and their peak bodies to consider collaborative arrangements to achieve better outcomes for all libraries in Australia's network.

11. NLA submission  by Jan Fullerton, Director General National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia has made three recommendations which reiterate and build on the recommendations of an earlier report of the Senate Committee on the Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts References Committee, Libraries in the Online Environment(2003):

1. The National Library encourages governments to work with public libraries so they contribute information about their collections, participate in the inter-library lending system, access cataloguing data and promote Libraries Australiato their users
2. The National Library urges Summit participants to seek a commitment from governments to make funding available at a national level to support the purchase of a core set of online databases for access by all Australians regardless of their individual library affiliation.
3. The National Library encourages public libraries to work with National and State Libraries Australasia through Re-imagining Library Services to improve library services to meet the information needs of Australians in the digital age.

• welcoming community space - libraries are free public spaces that are centrally located, open long hours, and a hub for community interaction;
• free access to the internet - for job-seeking, accessing government services, education and learning outcomes, developing skills, finding health information, connecting via interactive communications services, etc; and
• universal access to learning - supported by services, collections and resources.