The ALIA National Policy Congress 2002: Queensland.

Report from the meeting of Queensland ALIA groups held on 2 October, State Library of Queensland. Cnr Greyand Peel Sts, South Brisbane, 5:30pm.

Summary report

Participants:Vicki McDonald (Board of Directors), Gill Hallam (Quorum), Leesa Philip (Quorum), Paul Jensen (Collection and Access Management), Desley Ryan (SEQ Publics) Denise Cadman (OPALS), John McKinlay (TropicALIA), Jennifer Parker (Library Technicians), Sue Hutley (New Librarians' Symposium), Steve Lindberg (Darling Downs Region), Richard Sayers (RAIS), Loris Phair (Teacher Librarians), Anne Spelman (Children and Youth Services)

Apologies: Janice Michel (Qld Health Librarians)

Chair: Vicki McDonald

Agenda

1. Discussion of ALIA: Making the difference - 2003 and 2004 plan
2. Discussion of The Information Agenda
3. Representative to attend the National Policy Congress in Canberra

ALIA: Making the difference - 2003 and 2004 plan
The meeting focused on the report ALIA: Making the difference: 2003 and 2004 plan, working through the sections of the report. This report presents the principal views presented, documented under the key issues which were discussed during the meeting.

Concern was expressed about some of the strategies being based on commercial-in-confidence reports to which members had no access, eg Gillard ITC Strategy report, so that the meeting had no real understanding of what some of the proposed initiatives involved.

1.1. Strategic focus: Members first
The meeting discussed the problems of support for members in non-metropolitan areas, especially in terms of CPD activities.

It was agreed that there was a need to attract new members. It was queried whether there would be targets set to increase the membership and how this could be structured and implemented on a national/state/local basis.

It was highlighted that there needed to be improvements in communication between ALIA National Office and the groups to be able to effectively welcome and involve new members. Strategies need to also be in place to follow up with lapsed members. There are currently no strategies to contact members who do not renew their subscriptions.

Value of ALIA to individuals
The cost of ALIA membership was noted as a major concern, with little perceived direct value to members. The significance of a member-only services, especially internet-based, was noted. The importance of passing more relevant information to members was noted: National Office was not seen to be engaging with the membership at the local level.

Concerns were expressed at the low levels of membership amongst younger professionals. It was queried whether employment uncertainty, with associated financial uncertainty, (eg contract work, casualisation, increased part-time employment) resulted in lower membership.

Lower membership inevitably meant fewer active members devoting time and energy to committee work. There was evidence locally of ALIA groups under threat and folding due to lack of interest and involvement. Increasing workloads and family commitments were seen to be contributing factors.

Local presence officer
It was noted that there had been no communication from National Office regarding the reestablishment of the local presence officer at the state level. Given the current group structure, there were some questions about the management of the position. It was acknowledged that there was a need for support at the local level, but this will remain at the capital city level - again there were signifcant concerns about support for regional members.

Concerns were aired about the value of funding a local presence officer: it was mooted that it may be better to use funding to support someone with higher level responsibilities, to undertake the lobbying and advocacy role at the local level.

1.2. Strategic focus: Excellence
It was felt that little detail had been provided to fully understand the proposed initiatives of LISEKA and REAP.

Continuing professional education
The value of a CPD program was acknowledged, although it was noted that there were many administrative issues which needed to be addressed within National Office, eg relating to enrolment in the program, receipt of portfolios etc.

It was noted that Initiative n focused on a CPD program with external training providers. Discussion focused on whether courses from external providers could simultaneously meet the needs of members, be cost effective and be recognised by ALIA CPD. It was debated whether a "comprehensive CPD program" could be implemented within 2 years (in so far as the planning document covered 2003 and 2004). ALIA should differentiate between short-term, long-term and continuing goals.

Specific concerns were expressed about the costs to members of attending CPD activities, especially those offered by agencies such as CAVAL. Many members were responsible for their own CPD, without employer support, which meant that CPD activities costing several hundred dollars for a day were beyond their reach financially. Many employers had not yet grasped the concept of lifelong learning.

Larger organisations, eg BCC Library Service and university libraries, ran their own internal training programs, so were not attracted to attend external courses.

The needs of members in regional areas were highlighted, as it was unlikely that courses would be offered in these areas.

The centralised financial arrangements made it non-conducive for groups to run CPD activities: the amount of red-tape from National Office was a major issue.

It was suggested that ALIA could collaborate with other professional organisations, eg AIM, to offer courses of interdisciplinary interest and to broaden the market for participants.

It was noted that QUT could establish a role to develop CPD courses to build on the graduate diploma - although it would impact on already heavy workloads for academic staff. The internal financial expectations of QUT (taking a significant percentage of income generated outside the university) should also not be overlooked. The feasibility of joint venture arrangements with universities could be investigated.

1.3 Strategic focus: Credibility

ALIA as the peak body for the LIS profession
Concerns were expressed about whether ALIA was seen as the peak body. While achievements were noted at the national level, effective representation at the State and local levels were questioned. There was a need for lobbying and advocacy with a visible figurehead. It was difficult to respond to issues productively from the perspective of a cohesive professional association, eg letters to ministers, letters to newspaper editors, media interviews etc. Concerns were expressed about how National Office could respond in a timely manner to significant local issues, but it was uncertain how it could be achieved by individual members. It was suggested that there should be a set of protocols and position statements that can be used to present a consistent public relations front.

It was noted that it would be valuable to develop an inter-group meeting program to discuss common issues. However, quarterly meetings of the leaders of the various groups would not provide the figurehead/spokesperson to respond to urgent issues impacting on the profession.

It was important for ALIA to develop stronger relationships with organisations such as CASL, CAUL, SLAQ etc. ALIA also needed to have stronger support from large institutions such as the State Library of Queensland.

1.4 Strategic focus: Adding value
There was general support for the initiatives presented here, although it was noted that there were no real strategies to indicate how these would be implemented. Initiative j needed to ensure that library technicians were included - there was some concern about the definition of "professional members" within ALIA. It was also stressed that in attracting new members, the value of long-standing members should not be overlooked or discriminated against.

The proposal for a model copyright licence was supported.

1.5 Strategic focus: Investment in the future
It was felt that the detail was lacking in this section of the plan. More detail was required to fully picture the sponsorship proposals.

Evaluation of directors: the meeting queried what aspects of the directorship would be evaluated, and how.

The Information Agenda
The meeting found that it was difficult to productively discuss the various documents which had been tabled:

Kirk, Joyce. Pulling the threads together: Agenda for action
McLean, Neil. Information futures - professional issues.
A conference summary
McLean, Neil. Information futures - professional issues

It was proposed that a background paper should be prepared by National Office to draw out the principal ideas to ensure that members were able to fully understand the issues. It was noted that LIANZA had developed a national information strategy paper: it may be valuable to follow a similar path.

Representative to attend NPC in Canberra
Gill Hallam was nominated to attend the National Policy Congress to be held in Canberra on 2 November 2002. Gill accepted this nomination.

The meeting concluded at 7:30pm.