The ALIA National Advisory Congress 2006

Alice Mackay Regional Report 2006

1. Attendance:

Helen Partridge (ALIA / QUT), Pauline McNee (CQU), John Atkinson (CQU), Leesa Philip (TAFE), Aggie Partridge (MCCL), Claire Grandcourt (MCCL), Helen Payne (MCCL), Helen Page (MCCL), Donna Priddle (MCCL), Jodie Kirk (MCCL), Shannon Phelan (MCCL), Ros Pearse (Qld Health) and Margie Wallin (Qld Health)

Apologies:

Nicole Hunt (MCCL), Jessica Clark (MCCL), Briengan Rodgers (MCCL), Shelley Dent (CQU) and Ann Wheeler (TAFE)

Please note that Mackay regional meeting attracted 13 participants, and there were 18 at the Brisbane meeting.

Helen Partridge (ALIA) was formally welcomed to Mackay, and she provided an enthusiastic introduction to the evening. It was noted that we greatly appreciated her making the effort to come to Mackay for the meeting.

[During her visit to Mackay, Helen also made site visits to the CQU, Qld Health, MCCL and TAFE libraries. Thanks Helen!]

Success stories:

Brisbane

• Gil Hallam (Qld) - ALIA president
• Clare Glanville (USQ) - winner of the Metcalfe award

Mackay

• hosting of the ALIA NAC regional 2006 meeting
• sense of 'community' across the varied library sectors within Mackay
• development and continuation of local library networking meetings - for professional development and support
• cross-sector secondments - to cover leave relief requirements - and associated professional development opportunities
• MCCL was able to send 6 delegates to the QPLA conference
• MCCL also represented at the ALIA Gold Coast conference

ALIA planning 2007

Discussion paper

Helen Partridge gave an overview of the themes / issues outlined in the discussion paper. Questions and suggestions were raised in relation to these.

• Membership recruitment and retention
• Empowering and supporting ALIA groups
• Professional education and workforce planning
• Corporate governance and management
• Financial sustainability

Incite

The issue of rising costs and reduced sponsorship was raised by Helen. The group members expressed their support for the continuation of the publication and its value to them.

General support was given for electronic access. It was suggested that members be given a choice regarding format.

ALIA regional groups

This issue is of particular interest to the local group.

Helen assured us that ALIA would support the formation of such a group - regardless of the number of formal ALIA members. Office bearers will be required, and we were alerted to the existence of guidelines / training for office-bearers.

Concerns were raised about the level of bureaucracy involved. Helen stated there were 3 main requirements - registration paperwork, budget submission, and annual report submission

What can ALIA do for us?

• having the opportunity to host / attend regional meeting is very much appreciated
• support for professional development - both practical and financial if possible. Commendation was given to the work done by TROPICAlia and the workshops / training that they organise to be offered in NQ. We will continue to liaise with them and the Rockhampton group about regional Qld opportunities for PD.
• support for recruitment to regional areas
• increased access to key librarianship information resources

Wishlist

• free online access to key Australian librarianship journals (eg. ALJ ...) for all ALIA members
• free online access to ALISA for all ALIA members. [Also need to monitor access via EBSCO to LISA]
• increased focus on consortia purchasing / national site licenses for key information resources eg. APAIS
• improved access to QUILL - it's very difficult to locate on the ALIA website
• access to online courses / workshops eg. the UK Folio courses. Online courses remove the distance barrier and the need to travel.
• database of speakers / experts that can be utilised for CPD
• combined calendar of events throughout the state / country - to allow budget submissions for CPD, plus to see if 'existing' speakers can be enticed to offer repeat sessions at other locations
• encouragement of 'standard times' for regular activities eg. Online / VALA are held in Jan/Feb. This set schedule allows for CPD and budget planning by library managers and staff
• travel scholarships for professional development activities / conferences etc, for regional members
• simplify the CPD process (and the process needed to gain points)
• concept of the 'certified practitioner' (ALIA CPD terminology) to be embedded in performance reviews and position descriptions
• lobby employers (eg CAUL, LGMA etc) about embedding the ALIA CPD programme into standard library practices
• incentive schemes (points??) for 'regional service' (as part of recruitment needs in regional areas). Local groups to target New Librarians group, as well as the state newsletters for PR purposes
• access to the ALIA local liaison person, to assist with the coordination of regional functions / activities
• hosting of regional group resources (including blogs / wikis) on the ALIA website
• videoconference access to the ALIA NAC meeting (Perth) if a regional representative can't attend in person
• podcast of the meeting / discussions to be made available on the ALIA website

Further ideas / recommendations can be sent directly to ALIA.