ACTive ALIA

proACTive

Number 216: September 2001

ACTive ALIA convenor's column

We celebrate our successes

This issue focuses on those honoured recently in the Library profession in the ACT. We had so many successes to celebrate that we may have to leave some of the success stories to the next issue of proACTive, where we will also be announcing additional achievements.

The midwinter dinner and awards night, on Friday 10 August, was a wonderful celebration of Library and Information professional achievements in the ACT. There was good food (provided by Sven and his team at the University of Canberra Staff Club) and lots of convivial company. The dinner was held this year on the evening of an ALIA Board meeting. As a result we not only had the pleasure of Canberra-based ALIA Executive Director Jennefer Nicholson attending the dinner, but were also able to share our special occasion with four out-of-town ALIA directors: Ms Christine Seaman, Dr Naida Tattersall, Mr Kevin Dudeney and Ms Moyra McAllister.

A very big thank you to Julie Ward, our ACTive ALIA secretary, who organised the event and looked after all the arrangements.

Innovation of the Year award
Moyra McAllister was our after-dinner speaker. As well as being an ALIA director she is a member of the new ALIA Copyright and Intellectual Property Committee. Moyra is a very distinguished member of the profession, being the National Library Services Manager of the law firm Blake Dawson Waldron's Library system.

Moyra is based in Melbourne and her library has just won the Innovation of the Year award. (Two of my former staff work for her and I had long been aware of the excellence and innovative nature of the library system she runs.) Her talk was informative, inspiring, challenging and entertaining.

Technicians conference
Congratulations to Marion Boyd, 2001 National Library Technician of the Year. Marion is a most deserving recipient of this prestigious award, over the years she has maintained a strong commitment and loyalty to ALIA and ALIA Library Technicians and the library industry. Her motivation and enthusiasm is and always has been encouraging and contagious for others. Well done Marion and congratulations on your award and for being a magnificent role model for all library and information workers. She was presented withher award at the Library Technicians conference in Hobart.

Special Health and Law Libraries conference
By the time you read this, I will have been in Melbourne at the Special, Health and Law Libraries conference, I hope to meet many of you there. I will be giving a paper (on 'Winning in dealing with vendors of electronic products'), attending a meeting of university law librarians and attending the post-conference Australian Serials Special Interest Group Seminar on e-journals. Such meetings and contact with others dealing with similar issues and problems help us keep up to date and feel professionally reinvigorated.

Helen Roberts
ACTive ALIA convenor