ALIA Local Liaison Officer (LLO)

As part of ALIA's commitment to enhance the engagement of members across the country, the Board resolved to appoint local liaison officers in each state. I was asked whether I would be prepared to assist the Association and its members in this way and appointed in August 2003. Since then, I have had the opportunity to work with and meet a number of new and long standing ALIA members.

ALIA local liaison officers are responsible for promoting ALIA and supporting members at a grassroots level. As the local liaison officer for Western Australia, I am committed to work with groups to undertake the following activities:

Facilitate the exchange of information and other communications between group office-bearers and National Office staff
Facilitate communication and co-ordination between local groups
Provide advice for group office-bearers in Western Australia
Help co-ordinate promotional activities with groups, including membership recruitment drives, and promotional activities, for example Library and Information Week
Act as the ALIA representative in the state which includes being a point of contact for members and non-members and lobbying (in association with the executive director and key individuals in the profession in Western Australia).

Since I was appointed, I have worked with ALIA West to facilitate a workshop with longstanding members of the profession and the current office-bearers, run a workshop for local ALIA members which provided input to the Review of Member Engagement and Participation being undertaken by Susan Magnay in the National Office, and provided information about ALIA membership and education for the profession in Western Australia to people who have contacted me via telephone and e-mail. I also contacted the West Australian to have librarianship as a career featured in the 'My Job' section of the paper where the outcome was the excellent article on Simon and Andrew Lewis on Saturday 3 April, 2004.

As the local liaison officer I do not usurp or override the work of ALIA groups. They remain independent to run their activities and programs as they wish. However, I am here to assist any groups in any of the ways listed above.

I will shortly be offering to convene a meeting of Group treasurers so that we can share experiences and discuss the new treasurer's kit which has recently been sent out by Pam Fedorow, the National Office finance officer.

My background in ALIA is that I am a Fellow of the Association and have in excess of forty years membership, have held a number of office-bearer roles in both Western Australia and nationally and am committed to the work of the Association and its objectives.

I am one of six local liaison officers appointed by ALIA and we share communications with each other and National Office on a regular basis. We also met at the National Policy Congress in 2003 and suggested that due to the length of time we have all been involved in the profession and the Association, perhaps we should be known as TOTs instead of LLOs. What does TOTs stand for? - Tired Old Tarts!

If any groups need to contact me I am available on 08 9382 1261 or e-mail at kpoustie@tpg.com.au (please remove '.nospam' from address). I look forward to meeting many members as I work with Groups and to sharing the pleasures of being a committed ALIA member with you.

Kay Poustie

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