The ALIA National Advisory Congress 2006
Report of the Launceston regional meeting
1. Attendance:
Dagmar Schmidmaier AM, ALIA National President and members Robyn McKenzie, Nella Pickup, Helen Dunford, Patricia Jane Wilson, Richard Pickup, Lana Wall, Karen Cornford, Karen Waldon-Manning
2. Selected representative to attend Canberra NAC
- No representative from Launceston area.
ALIA President discussed 'ALIA planning 2007' and 'Proposal to change governance arrangements' with members. The following comments were made by members.
3. Celebrating success
- Staff of government departments and large organisations have difficulty obtaining support for applications they would like to submit. Approval is often required at many levels and in some cases the employer does not want to be seen to be supporting one specific area or project.
4. Planning - achievements in 2006, forward planning for 2007
Membership growth
- There is a need to promote the benefits of joining ALIA. Library staff can attend ALIA functions whether they are members or not.
Empower and support ALIA groups
- Launceston based NARG are having a successful year. Activities are well supported. Attendance and support of more Librarians and Teacher Librarian would reflect positively and encourage others to join.
Provide leaderships in professional education and workforce planning
- Members value professional development, but find courses offered are often not relevant to their organisation and/or not affordable.
- Limited funding is provided by employers to attend PD sessions.
- ALIA PD points need revamping.
- ALIA to have role in ensuring that PD sessions provided by ALIA PD suppliers are at a price that is affordable to members.
- ALIA needs to redefine and promote the value of employing qualified library staff to employers.
Ensure good governance and management of Association
- Members agree to 2 year term for the President, Vice-president and five elected Directors, with staggered terms of office.
- The Executive Director should be a non-voting member; otherwise there is a conflict of interest.
- President and Vice-president should be elected from the seven elected Directors.
- The Board can co-opt individuals with specialist skills if required.
- To rollover the existing Board member in 2007, the vice-president becomes President, a vice-president is elected from the existing Directors and the outgoing President remains as a member of the Board. In 2008, commence staggered elections for Directors.
- All Director positions to be elected by the full ALIA membership.
- Positions of President and Vice-President to be elected by members of Board.
Suggest:
- On-line voting for members.
- Members should be able to view more detailed profiles of prospective Directors on-line. The current method provides very limited information.
- An on-line forum where members can post questions to and receive answers from those up for election.
5. Local issues
- Public libraries would like more support from ALIA.
- Nella Pickup, Launceston Library, requests that ALIA co-ordinate school holiday program for State Libraries.
- Public libraries have inadequate relief funding for absent staff.
- Schools often replace absent Library technicians with teacher aides as they have a lower salary.
- Many library technician positions are being offered on contract.
- Schools don't employ librarians, must be teacher-librarian.
- Research work undertaken by an experienced library member (possibly due for retirement) would be beneficial to employers of library staff in Tasmania. As well as providing valuable research and feedback to employers and general promotion of the services provided by library professionals, it would provide employment for a new graduate into an almost stagnant field of employment.
6. Evaluation
- Members value sharing views with other library personnel.
- Members appreciate the President visiting Launceston.
7. Any other comments from the meeting?
- Could ALIA publications be made available online to members, rather than mailing hardcopy?
- Provide peer review articles in ALIA publications. Doubts were expressed about ALJ being a contemporary method of communication.
- Provide on-line forum to inform and educate library students about the skills and responsibilities of working in a library.
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