24 September 1999

New library association chief

A former librarian with 25 years' experience in commercial, university and parliamentary library and information services, Jennefer Nicholson has been appointed the new executive director of the Australian Library and Information Association.

The Association is the peak body for the library and information sector.

Ms Nicholson has been the Association's deputy executive director since 1993, with a particular responsibility for education and for the employment and education of indigenous people in libraries.

She recently managed a project, funded by the Commonwealth Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, which introduced internet facilities and training to five remote area aboriginal communities in Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

She is a director of the Cultural Research and Industry Training Advisory Body and a member of the education and training section committee of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.

Before joining the Association in 1991, Ms Nicholson worked as a librarian at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library, the Australian National University and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies and managed a commercial political information service. She also has experience in research and business development in the advertising industry.