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ACTive ALIAproACTiveNumber 253: December 2005[ ALIA NAC Canberra regional meeting report | Skills and gaps forum report | On risk management: Theory and practice in a library context | COOL Awards | Most requested items, ACT Public Library at beginning of December 2005 | Forthcoming local events ]
ALIA National Advisory Committee Canberra regional meeting reportOn the 5 October ACT members of ALIA met to consider issues and select a delegate to the ALIA National Advisory Committee meeting. Georgina Dale gave a presentation on ALIA's Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program, and there was some discussion of the benefits of CDP to members. The meeting also discussed celebrating success, the ALIA stars program, the election of directors, and workforce planning and education. Our ACT delegate to the NAC was Kym Holden, library manager, Dept of Industry, Technology and Resources.
The report of the Canberra regional meeting
Skills and gaps forumACTive ALIA/AGLIN information sharing session, 4 November 2005 Summary report by Karna O'Dea The ALIA / AGLIN information session on 'Jobs and skill gaps: what the market is looking for' was held at the National Library of Australia on 4 November 2005. Approximately 40 people attended this event, which provided the opportunity to focus on both of the aims of the information sharing sessions.
Employment has been an area of interest to ACT librarians and library technicians, as we consider how we can ensure that we are able to fill current positions and ensure that we are building an environment in which there will be employment and suitable applicants for the future. Sally Dallas, personnel consultant and technical services resource manager, Zenith Management Services Group, gave an excellent presentation, covering marketing, knowing your business, flexibility and responsiveness, and dealing with change. Sally also described the increasing demand for information workers with a range of titles and commented on the need for employers and potential employees to think outside the square. Megan Curlewis, HR manager, Informed Sources, described the recruitment support offered by Informed Sources which covers filling short term contracts. She noted the importance of skills in cataloguing, indexing and Kinetica/KDD, and emphasised the importance of having experience to successfully compete for positions, and encouraged new graduates to consider volunteering with a library. Further information: Karna' s complete report on the forum, and Sally Dallas' presentation: The keys to success.
On risk management: Theory and practice in a library contextACTive ALIA/AGLIN information sharing session, 24 November 2005 Report by Karna O'Dea A group of about twenty librarians were very privileged to hear two experienced risk management practitioners speak on the issue of risk management in libraries. This is a strategic tool that more library managers need to be aware of and know how to use effectively to gain management and client support for their endeavours. Paul Longley, the risk management adviser from Department of Employment and Workplace Relations gave us an entertaining and well thought out presentation on the meaning and theory of risk management, what it means as a management discipline, and how it should be used as an enterprise wide stratum planning tool. He had thoughtfully placed his risk management framework within the context of the fall of the great library of Alexandria. He outlined the steps the librarians and record keepers should have taken as part of their business continuity planning for such a catastrophic event as the fire which destroyed one of the world's finest collections of books in the ancient world. I think that most of us went away from Paul's session with a much better understanding of what risk management is and how it can be used to make business decisions. This was reinforced by Margarita Moreno's practical case study of the application of risk management as the tool used to evaluate and then buy an interlending system to streamline work of the document supply division of the National Library of Australia. Using the risk ratings derived from the National Library Risk Management Framework, Margarita as the document supply manager took us through the decision-making process to determine the option of purchasing an automated ILL/DD system. The final decision was made using the risk ratings to evaluate all options and the inherent risks involved in going down any of the four paths. Paul Longley declared that using a risk ratings system was an innovative approach to decide on a business course and made good sense when the entire process was explained. I believe that all who attended this forum were impressed by the speakers and went away inspired with practical ideas that they can use in their own workplaces.
COOL AwardsThe COOL Awards are the children's choice book awards voted for by the young people of the Canberra region. The COOL Awards stands for Canberra's Own Outstanding List. It is a program run for Canberra children by the ACT Public Library in partnership with ACT Schools, allowing them to vote for their favourite book in the sections of picture story book , fiction for younger readers and fiction for older readers. Winners for 2005 are as follows:
Picture Storybooks: Mutt dog! by Steven Michael King
Most requested items from ACT Public Library at beginning of December:
For further information about the ACT Public Library, including changed opening hours from Christmas through to the end of January 2006, phone 6205 9000. Information provided by Margaret Hyland, manager, ACT Public Library
Forthcoming local eventsPlease check the events notices on the ALIA website for up-to-date details. Changes and new events will also be publicised in the ACTive ALIA e-list.
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