ALIA WA Library Technicians

ALIA National Policy Congress 2001

Cohesion

WA Library Technicians Group delegates report.

Sixty-seven representatives from seventy-two Groups across Australia travelled to Canberra for the two-day ALIA National Policy Congress (NPC), facilitated by Ian McCallum and opened by president Alan Bundy. Our purpose was to review progress made since NCP 2000 and to determine what still needs to be done in setting the policy direction ALIA is to take into the future.

ALIA executive director, Jennefer Nicholson outlined the projects being undertaken by ALIA National Office. These include:

• Sponsorship packages for big-ticket issues by ALIA National Office: note that sponsorship for local activities will remain in the hands of local members
• A strategic approach to CPD Program development, which is self-funding and revenue raising: perhaps the biggest challenge of all
• A membership recruitment drive for new members: falling membership must be halted if the Association is to survive
• A review of Group funding: an important issue to all Groups
• A review of the responsibilities of Group treasurers: an urgent issue.

Ten Group representatives gave their views in five-minute presentations on the achievements, challenges and key professional issues for the professional association. Subjects included many interests and issues affecting members, yet several issues were repeatedly raised, including the ALIA restructure and self-nominating groups as achievements; member services and communication as current challenges; and CPD, conferences and corporate credit cards for Groups as key professional issues.

The ALIA 2002 Planning address by Jennefer Nicholson covered key areas of activity anticipated for the coming year. These are:

• Corporate libraries and copyright exceptions: working to prevent copyright organisations influencing legislation on this issue
• Intellectual property and licensing: finding ways to prevent publishers gaining an unfair advantage
• Advocating for public access to information: an issue closely linked to the two previous points
• Securing strategic partnerships and alliances for ALIA with like minded organisations: in keeping with the theory that there is strength in numbers
• An agenda for future workforce and practice priorities, career-long professional development and practice linked research: as one would expect from a professional association
• Promoting and celebrating the role and value of library and information services to the wider community: a long-established practice that appears to have changed little over the years
• Targeting services and benefits to meet member requirements: as one would expect from a professional association
• Implementing communication and information management strategies to improve communication and service delivery: always a good idea if ALIA is to have a long term future

More than half a day was devoted to a long discussion on conferences. Many delegates were concerned that the Board of Directors had adopted a cavalier attitude to Section conferences and a great deal of anger was expressed. Reading the mood of the delegates, Ian McCallum encouraged a thorough airing of the subject after an address by Alan Bundy who gave the Board's position and how and why the decision was reached.

It was revealed that the Board undertook some research, much of it anecdotal, and made their decision based on the following:

• Consideration of the roles of the main conference and Section conferences
• An aim for one annual conference lasting 1 to 2 days each year
• A need to share and engage across the profession, which has been inhibited by section conferences and the old Sections
• A need to reflect on and address major areas affecting the profession as a whole
• The prohibitive costs and low return on investment at Section conferences for trade exhibitors
• Falling attendances and increasing costs of conferences, most of which have made losses in recent years
• Limited sponsorship funds that had to be shared between conferences
• ALIA Sections have not existed since the restructure, and their associated conferences must inevitably be reviewed in light of the new structure
• If we move to one big production it will allow 'conferences within the conference' and the inclusion of celebratory events such as award presentations

In addition, the discussion revealed that the Board expects that Groups formed in the new ALIA structure would wish to hold professional development events, which would place an untenable burden on ALIA if the Section conferences of the old structure remained unchanged. Groups can hold workshops and seminars, and can seek local sponsorship for them, but they cannot have 'conferences' with the associated big-ticket sponsorship and trade exhibitions. This means for instance, that the WA Local Studies Group will no longer hold a 'Local Studies Section Conference' but can hold a 'Local Studies Group Seminar' if it so wishes.

The delegates made clear to the Board that they were not happy about the lack of communication on the conference issue, or the lack of documentary evidence to support their decision. In addition the delegates were unhappy about the lack of guidance on how the groups were meant to run a 'mega-conference'.

Three recommendations were made to the board on this issue. They were:

1. That the Board publish and promulgate its guidelines, services and assistance available from ALIA National Office for Groups wishing to organise professional development activities. Voted on and accepted.
   
   
2. That the Board publish and promulgate its rationale for the new conference model including choices available to Groups in proposing conferences, workshops and seminars. Voted on and accepted.
   
   
3. That the 2003 Specials, Health and Law Conference continue as originally endorsed. Voted on and accepted.
   
   

Day two was left for discussion on the various other issues.

The first and most important of these is a requirement for improved communications between the Board, ALIA National Office, Groups and members. It would be fair to say that the Board and National Office were very surprised by the feelings expressed the previous day. So it was reassuring to see that the first subject of day two was an undertaking by the Board and ALIA National Office to take immediate steps to address the communication issue.

It is important to note that these are recommendations not instructions, and that the Board is under no obligation to act on them.

The recent engagement of Jacqui Kempton and the emphasis on education and CPD by the 10 Group representatives are evidence that education and professional development is at the forefront of everyone's minds. We heard that there is an acknowledgment of the growing importance of CPD to members, yet a relatively low take up of the CPD Scheme so far. It is also acknowledged that there is a need for career long education for the knowledge age, and in response to this is the Library and Information Science Education for the Knowledge Age (LISEKA) is investigating. Imogen Garner from WA is involved in LISEKA, which expects to complete consultations by August 2002. More information on LISEKA is available on the ALIA website.

We heard that ALIA National Office and the Board are concerned about falling membership. Falling membership is important from the perspective of Association revenue and influence. The discussion covered:

• Recruitment: a membership drive is foreseen
• Retention: why do members leave and how do we keep the members we already have?
• Access to services and assets: members v non-members and regional access issues important
• Promotion of benefits: some people would say, 'What benefits?'
• Fees: a perpetual complaint is that fees are too high, but a more pertinent issue is surely value for money which brings us back to the perception and promotion of membership benefits
• Recognition of service: many people give years of unpaid service to ALIA, and many members of the profession give long years of service to the community without recognition
• 'Professional focus': what is our 'professional focus' and what do we do about it?

Jennefer Nicholson drew our attention to ALIA awards that is closely linked to recognition in the membership discussion. In keeping with the new ALIA structure National Office feels that there is a need for a new awards framework. Identifying and promoting existing awards is still ongoing, however this is what has been developed so far:

• Premier Awards (peer nominated)
  • HCL Anderson
  • Redmond Barry
  • E Archer
• Excellence Awards
  • National: Metcalfe: new and excelling early in career
  • Would like self nominated, state based and national awards
• Student Awards (for achievement)
• Research Project Grant Program
  • Growth area may be sponsored
• Merit Awards (Group based)

The general principles of the new awards framework include:

• Promote ALIA objects
• Celebrate achievement
• Recognise service to the profession
• Provide opportunities for those new to the profession
• Provide opportunities for improved practices
• Support LIS personnel in studies and projects
• Recognise pioneering new areas
• Recognise excellence in profession

In his concluding remarks, Alan Bundy spoke on the Core Values Statement, and asked that all the groups circulate the survey re the core values to their members.

One of the major points that came out of the NPC was with the demise of the sectional structure, there is no formal path to the Board of Directors for the groups. It is now up to the groups to alert the Board to their concerns.

We as a library technician group are fortunate to have the National Library Technician Group to alert us to national concerns and provide a forum to air these concerns, but it is important for us to remember we also can address the Board directly. We are also fortunate to have Kevin Dudeny on the Board to give us an 'inside' angle, but a WA representative to the Board is also important, and we need to be aware of this in the upcoming elections.

Compiled with the assistance of Eilishia Bardoe CPD Co-ordinator for WA Forum, from whose notes this report was written.

A full report of the NPC should be available on the ALIA website soon.

Bonnie Bruce
Convenor, WA Library Technicians Group.