The ALIA National Policy Congress 2002: Victoria

Report from the meeting of Victorian and South East Australian ALIA groups held on Wednesday 2 October 2002 at the tutorial meeting room, Baillieu Library, University of Melbourne, 6:00pm.

Present:
Moyra McAllister, ALIA director
Trevor Wakely, ALIA Victoria
Steve O'Connor, ALIA Victoria
Ian McGregor, ALIA Victoria
Leonie Bourke, ALIA Victorian Information Organisers Group
Kerrie Kelly, ALIA Victorian Library Technicians Group
Ruth Lawrence, ALIA Agriculture and Environment Special Interest Group
Patricia Newell, ALIA Victorian Special Libraries Group
Sarah Hopkins, ALIA RAISSEA

Chair: Moyra McAllister

Notes: Beverley Fleming

Moyra welcomed all to the meeting and said that the purpose of the meeting was to gather any feedback from the various groups to take to the National Policy Congress in Canberra in December. It was also intended to select a delegate at the meeting to attend the congress on behalf of all the groups.

All at the meeting said that they had little feedback from their members although lack of time had been a factor in this.

information agenda

Content

Moyra asked if there was broad agreement on the content of the information agenda and if we are on the right track? It was agreed by all that the information agenda is a critical factor in the library profession.

After discussion the following points were made:

• That the information agenda could be seen as a motherhood statement but that it needs to be more specific.
• The information agenda is a recognition that we are living in the information age and we must embrace that fact and take advantage of it.
• It was pleasing that the Peak Bodies Forum attracted a wide range of representation including CAUL, CASL, TAFE, etc.
• The pivotal role that ALIA plays in making alliances with peak bodies is recognised.
• The article in inCite was well received.

National action plan

The meeting felt that the following matters should be addressed in regard to the action plan:

1. The need to identify key players.
2. The need to bring all groups with common objectives together under one umbrella and to make the peak bodies forum even broader. It requires a huge range of bodies outside the profession, including Local Government.
3. The ever-increasing need to lobby for political awareness.

National Policy Congress

Progress since last year

The meeting expressed its concern that the new conference model is still not clearly understood.

Structure

The structure of the National Policy Congress was next addressed. The merits of a single delegate from each state as against group delegates were discussed. There were about 70 people at the previous congress. Despite the cost, the meeting strongly urged that the next National Policy Congress should have wider representation. The meeting recommended that at least three people should represent each region in future to achieve a broader understanding of each groups' viewpoint.

ALIA : Making the difference. Draft plan for 2003 and 2004

The meeting discussed the summary of proposed initiatives for 2003 and 2004. There was broad agreement on the proposed direction for 2003-2004.

Members first

The subject of decreasing membership of ALIA and the decline of professional associations in general was discussed. Why are members leaving and what can we do to attract new members? It was felt that the reduction in members could be due to the fact that some people were leaving the profession and that some libraries, especially special libraries, were closing down. One factor is that membership is considered expensive for some, for example, part-time library technicians. Some people join the union rather than joining ALIA - especially since the introduction of enterprise agreements. It was felt that vibrant issues should be used to attract new members because more people are willing to become involved when specific issues are at stake.

Ian reported that RMIT and Monash University were approached to promote ALIA to their new graduates when the last ALIA VIC 'new members' meeting was held. This will be repeated in 2003. Kerrie reported that the National Librarians and Technicians Day has been productive for technician membership of ALIA.

The enhancement of local presence officers was welcomed, as was the support for members in rural and remote areas - however more detail was needed on what this support might be. The problem of some rural and remote groups not having access to e-mail was noted.

Excellence - LISEKA project

This project was commended as one which has raised the profile of ALIA and created much-needed discussion.

Credibility

The meeting expressed its support for such initiatives as:

• the ALIA submission to the Senate Inquiry into the Role of Libraries in the Online Environment;
• The ALIA submission to the Copyright Law Review Committee Inquiry into Copyright and Contract;

...and for the proposed lobbying event in Parliament House.

Adding value

CPD is seen as a vital issue, particularly the provision of CPD activities to rural and remote areas.

NPC delegate

After the finish of general discussion a vote was called to decide the delegate to go to Canberra for the congress.

A motion by Steve, seconded by Sarah, was that Ian McGregor should be the delegate to attend the Congress.

Other business

Ian handed out fliers re forthcoming ALIA VIC meetings in October and November.

The meeting closed at 8:00pm.