ALIA Collection and Access Management (Qld)

July-December 2001 report

Formation

The four-person Queensland Cataloguers' Section Committee, in a near-to-moribund state, decided in January 2001 to call for expressions of interest in joining the Committee of a new Group.

The Group was to have a broader topical scope - Technical Services and Collection Management work, with an emphasis on electronic resource issues - and was to continue to cover Queensland geographically.

By April three persons had elected to join the existing Committee, and expressions of support from other ALIA members - including targeted representatives of institutions in regional Queensland - encouraged the Committee to apply for ratification.

Membership currently stands at 72 personal members and 9 institutional members.

Purpose/goals

Three purposes were enunciated for the Group.

To provide CPD activities for members interested in the areas of Technical Services and Collection Management To encourage participation in the activities of the Group by representation from a range of institutions To provide a forum for discussion and debate on topics of interest to the Group.

Of these, the organisation of CPD activities was intended to be the main aim of the Group.

Progress towards purpose/goals

CPD.
Plan for the year to 30 July 2001 involved the organising and conducting of three half-day seminars on electronic resource management, scheduled for August 2001, March/April 2002, and May/June 2002.

The first of these was held 8 August this year and was well attended and received. Planning for the second seminar is under way, so Goal (1) is being achieved.

Encourage participation.
Implicit in (1) and in the broad base to which we market our events.

Provide forum.
Provision of a forum has not so far been undertaken. The Group has not marketed itself, at least initially, as a networking or social group, nor established organs of communication or an e-list as a forum for discussion, debate or information-sharing.

This is partly due to Committee member's time constraints, partly to the question of whether such a discussion forum is necessary or supportable when other channels of communication (e.g. personal and institutional networking, conferences, publication, existing e-lists, existing interest groups like, for instance, the non-ALIA Queensland University Libraries Office of Collaboration) perform this function to the satisfaction of members.

To properly function as a forum for discussion or debate, the Group would need to have the active support and participation of a range of major players in collection management throughout Queensland, who would perceive benefits from the maintenance of a new e-list or the staging of a regular meeting of those involved.

This could be a direction for the future, but will need more spadework if it is to be pursued.

Activities

The first of the planned series of three seminars on electronic resource management, entitled Untangling the Web: options for access to electronic resources was held on 8 August at the Queensland State Library. It featured five papers on various institutional approaches and projects. Four speakers were local, representing the academic, government, and State Library sectors, with the fifth speaker brought from Sydney for the day.

Venue filled ten days before the date, with 112 paying registrants. Of these, 37 were students from the QUT School of Information Systems librarianship course, attending as part of their 'Professional Practice' subject. A standby-list which grew to twenty hopefuls was maintained, with six of these ultimately managing to secure a place.

Seminar was priced at $22.00 for ALIA members, $29.00 for non-members, with the class of students being offered a special rate of $11.

The seminar was successfully conducted and positive feedback was received from both student and practitioner audience members. It made $505.00 over its expenses.

Budget

Initial budget was for the 2001-2002 financial year, with the only items being the three proposed half-day seminars: an estimate of $3000.00 expenditure with income of $3300.00.

Revised budget to 31December was later requested. ALIA's estimate was $1000.00 expenses and $1100.00 income, i.e. covering the single seminar for 2001.

However by the time of receipt of that estimate the seminar had been run, and the Treasurer was able to supply full particulars as our revised 2001 budget.

Expenses were $1623.00, income $2128.00, so an operating result of $505.00 profit was achieved.

Future issues in 2002

Staging of two more seminars.

Maintaining Committee members' personal commitment thereafter; committee renewal.

Whether to develop the Group into a more active one in terms of 'forum' role.

Whether to maintain the nominal Queensland coverage, or contract as other former Sections and SIGs did to a more manageable South-East Queensland coverage.

Paul Jensen (Convenor)
for
Ann Huthwaite (Secretary)
Colleen Cleary (Treasurer)
Lyn Meier
Anne Robertson
Beverley Reynolds
Anne Wedmaier