15 May 2008

Securing free flow of information for Australia’s future

[ pdf 340KB ]

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and Softlink have partnered to promote free access to knowledge, information and creative works through ALIA's upcoming annual Library and Information Week.

During the week of May 19th, Softlink and ALIA are to host to a range of events that highlight the importance of securing free-flow of information and the contribution public, corporate and school libraries make to the progression of communities across the nation.

"In this age of broadband access and tendency to 'Google it', it is critical that the information management industry works to promote the importance of libraries in Australia's educational, cultural and business successes," said Softlink's CEO Bob Dunne.

Both ALIA and Softlink work to facilitate access to information by supporting libraries – Softlink, an Australian company, has supplied library software and services to over 10,000 public, special and school libraries worldwide. ALIA has worked for over 70 years to empower the industry through advocacy, leadership and support.

Launching the week's festivities, ALIA's Executive Director, Sue Hutley said "over half of the nation are registered borrowers at a public or community library, while specialist information services support new developments in business and students, researchers and educators at every level keep academic libraries busy to the tune of around 26 million loans each year”.

In line with this year's theme 'Libraries are for everyone', a number of events are planned to attract a cross section of the community and display the varied services and resources found at libraries across the nation, including over 70,000 children set to participate in National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) on May 21.

This, the second year Softlink has supported ALIA's Annual Library and Information Week, also marks the company's quarter of a century anniversary of its entry into the library and information management industry.

"They call this the 'Information Age' – what could be more important than the library at such a time? In a world where boundaries have been largely removed, we are proud to be doing our part to make a difference to peoples' daily lives,” said Dunne.

Softlink is a proud supporter of ALIA's Library and Information Week event and the mission of the library.

ENDS