Report of the Perth Regional NPC Meeting

7 September 2004

Roll

Lisa Billingham, Camille Peters, Jean Broomhall, Thelma Allen, Jane Edinger, Alison Sutherlan, Cheryl Hamill, Imogen Garner (ALIA president), Kay Poustie (ALIA local liaison officer)

Election of one delegate to attend Canberra NPC

Jean Broomhall

Celebrating success

Roberta Cowan's Presentation ARL-WA: The Academic and Research Libraries Group (ARL-WA) held a very successful evening event on 10 August at Murdoch University, Perth. This involved a talk on 'EU libraries and taxonomic literature - cryptogamia' by Roberta Cowan, who was the Australian Botanical Liaison Officer during 2003 at Kew Gardens, London, UK. Roberta, a plant taxonomist and librarian, has a PhD on algal taxonomy from Sydney University. She works at Curtin Business School and Murdoch University. Roberta visited scientific libraries in the London region and in Europe. As well as Kew Gardens, these included the Institute of Child Health, and the Queens Library at Windsor Castle (which is not normally open to the public). She was a very entertaining speaker, and gave an informed insight into these libraries. Many had a large number of valuable items which they wished to make available to users. Roberta explained how these were preserved - e.g. restricted access and digitisation. Roberta also spoke about the development of her volume of Taxonomic literature, on fungi. This will list relevant books, pamphlets, series, preprints and reprints. It will include publication dates, authors' biographies, and also direct the reader to other related texts. Taxonomic literature is the accepted standard reference work for plant taxonomic literature from Linnean times to 1940, so it was very enlightening to hear from the author of another prospective volume. We also provided refreshments at the event (wine, soft drinks and nibbles) to allow networking with other librarians, and an opportunity to ask Roberta questions.

Factors which contributed to the success of this event were:

A speaker who was truly passionate about her subject and very well-informed
Unusual subject matter
Analysis of the operation of several libraries (at least in the area of preservation)
Photographs
Chance to network

Sharr Medal presentation: The ALIA West Group held a most successful Sharr Medal Presentation during Library and Information Week this year. The theme of the evening took the form of Treasures in your library - the staff treasures. This theme tied in with the @ your library campaign which is being run in WA Libraries this year. All previous winners of the Sharr Medal had been contacted and a large number of these winners attended on the evening as well as the latest winner for 2004 who was presented with his award on the night. A number of previous winners of the Sharr Medal spoke on their careers since winning the award and their talks were both interesting and inspirational. With a wonderful cocktail menu provided by one of the ALIAWest members and her daughter, the inspiration, networking and celebration, this function was one of the best Sharr Medal celebrations ever held in Perth.

WALTG New Norcia Weekend: WA Library Technicians held a weekend workshop at New Norcia. As well as having lots of networking and fun, the weekend offered a full schedule of workshops including The Dreaded Performance Appraisal, presented by Irene Hughes, HR manager at Legal Aid WA, where participants were helped to understand the performance appraisal process and how it need not be stressful and unpleasant but can be a positive and beneficial experience. On Saturday evening a Quiz Night provided a fun diversion. The second workshop was in two parts. The first, an Introduction to Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, was presented by Jane Loring, from Curtin University of Technology. This was followed by an Introduction to Creative Visualisation and Meditation presented by Jodie Moyle, from Edith Cowan University. Many participants took the opportunity to visit the Museum shop to finish off the experience.

Health Libraries National Section: Health Libraries Australia reported that they had awarded the Anne Harris Award to a South Australian librarian and a Health-Law Conference was held in Adelaide. Planning is underway for a health Symposium in Canberra in 2005. A major achievement is the Health Libraries Data Base on ALIAnet which can be used to provide statistics for lobbying. The Work Value programme initiated by Health Libraries will draw on NSW and involve Phil Teece.

@your library campaign radio presentation on 94.5FM: Although this is not an ALIA initiative, members wanted to report on the huge success and excellent exposure for librarians and libraries of the monthly 94.5FM radio programme 'Ask a librarian' featuring David Howard of Curtin University and Michelle Ledger from Floreat Public Library. It started as a one-off program and is now a regular feature in the morning breakfast show.

Enhancing the involvement and engagement of members in ALIA

Strengths of groups

Create small local events
Facilitate networking
Groups aren't forced to fit into a box, there is the flexibility to create special interest groups
Direction of the groups comes from within which creates positive attendees at meeting
People can set their own direction according to need

Effectiveness of groups compared with other Association structures and activities

The national structure for groups is very effective eg. Health because it spreads the work across the country
National Health Group needs some central support in ALIA
When the President of a group isn't a driver the group falls away through lack of impetus
Groups need to keep getting runs on the board
Groups need something to assist them in knowing what is available
Members need a pack giving the details of each Group and what they do for new Group members
Would like LLO to do Group's training in procedures
Want LLO to co-ordinate activities in the state to ensure that there are no clashes
Difficult to sustain volunteer effort
LLO should be a contact for presenters available in each area
Should use the LLO more

Succession planning and encouraging involvement

One group says that you can't leave an office-bearer position until you have found a replacement. This works well.
Each portfolio in a group has a reference group or committee and that's where the new office-bearers come from.
WALTS start the year with a Sunday afternoon function at the Fremantle Arts Centre and ask people what they want to happen during the year.
Very difficult to find new people.
New people will bring others in if they are made to feel comfortable within the Group.
Need to re-engage people who have left a Group and come back in.
WALTS make contact with new students and encourage their attendance.
Scholarships for ALIA membership bring students into the Group.
It would be good to have fewer Groups as Perth is a small place.

ALIA 2005-2006 draft plan

Sharing the vision
Initiatives: Pleased that lobbying and advocacy is at the top of the list, but disappointed that there are so few press releases on the ALIA website

Success measures: Let's aim for a 1 or 2 per cent increase in membership. Measures of success need to be measurable. Lobbying and advocacy are ongoing and we should strive for continual improvement. We need to advertise the work that is being done because it is often invisible. (We need to read inCite more fully because we often just flick through it.) Need to link aliaNEWS to the Objects of the Association (this is done in hospitals for accreditation). We need to focus on what is being done towards the Objectives, eg. Advocacy - what have we done this month? There's not a lot of member engagement at the moment so let's have fewer goals that can be achieved. Need to put names against who is doing the work on issues so that members can identify the name with the work being undertaken. In relation to the comment that aliaNEWS is not produced regularly and could be improved, a member has sent this copy of HealthCare Brief which is produced weekly and e-mailed to members.

E-HealthCare Brief is the weekly e-mailed newsletter of the Australian HealthCare Association. We aim to give you an overview of current issues and AHA activities. If you would like to include a colleague on our distribution list, or be removed from the distribution list, please contact admin@aha.asn.au. Go to our website for more detailed information:- www.aushealthcare.com.au. Also, watch out for the new-look paper-based version of HealthCare Brief - you should receive it in the next few days.

Federal Election
At last, we have the date of the federal election and one genuine campaign week under our belt. AHA Executive Director, Prue Power, is meeting representatives of all the parties and evaluating their approach to a range of issues that form the AHA's reform strategy. We will keep you up-to-date with their health policies over the next 5 weeks.

AHA wins a 3-year reprieve for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy MBS funding
Today, AHA was advised that the Minister has granted a further 3 years of MBS funding for people with 1) soft tissue lesions (injury and necrosis) resulting from radiotherapy for cancer treatment and 2) non-diabetic chronic or recurring wounds where lack of oxygen (hypoxia) can be demonstrated. AHA, along with other organisations, has been lobbying federal health Minister, Tony Abbott, to reverse an earlier decision to scrap this funding. Funding withdrawal would have had a deleterious impact on older patients, veterans and TPI pensioners, many of whom have no other viable treatment for their wounds, expect amputation. This time frame will allow further research.

NSW Emergency Department Ambulance Release Teams
The recent decision by the NSW Ambulance Service and NSW Department of Health to permit ambulance officers into NSW Emergency Departments to care for patients on ambulance stretchers while waiting for beds in the Emergency Department has proved controversial. The Australasian College for Emergency Medicine says that the measure could compromise patient care and is a 'band-aid' solution to the problem of hospital access block [defined as patients who are waiting longer than 8 hours for an inpatient bed]. In July 2004, the NSW Auditor General reported that access block regularly exceeds 50 per cent in some hospitals, due to a rise in bed occupancy rates [from 83 per cent to 86.3 per cent from 1996-1997 to 2002-2003; in many metropolitan hospitals, consistently above 90 per cent], along with a decrease in the total number of beds in the system. Emergency Departments are currently functioning above available capacity in terms of space and staffing leading to overcrowding. What is your opinion? Have your say by writing to admin@aha.asn.au.

Code of Practice for the Management of Clinical and Related Wastes
The Australia and New Zealand Clinical Waste Management Industry Group is currently finalising the revised Edition 4 of the 'Industry Code of Practice for the Management of Clinical and Related Wastes'. The ANZCWMIG was formed to develop and promote consistent standards for the management of clinical and related wastes based on 'best practice' for its members and undertakes to review the Code of Practice every two years. Regular reviews ensure that the Code is up to date in terms of legislative requirements, technological advancements and meets changes in the understanding of minimum requirements for the management of clinical and related wastes. For more details contact AHA at admin@aha.asn.au.

Increase in bulk billing rates
Last week, the Minister for Health and Ageing, Tony Abbott, said the national GP bulk-billing rate was now above 70 per cent as a result of new measures to strengthen Medicare. The national bulk-billing rate for people over the age of 65 has also increased to 80.5 per cent. GP bulk billing rates have increased by 2.4 percentage points since March this year to 70.7 per cent. More than 7 out of 10 GP consultations were bulk billed in the June quarter 2004. This is the first time that GP bulk billing rates have increased in successive quarters since 1997-1998.

Economic burden of low back pain tops $9 billion
Nearly 80 per cent of all Australians will suffer low back pain at some point in their lives at a national cost of $9.17 billion annually, according to James Cook University School of Medicine Adjunct Senior Lecturer Dr Bruce Walker. The direct cost of low back pain, including chiropractors, general practitioners, massage therapists, physiotherapists and acupuncture, was $1.2 billion in 2001. A further $8.15 billion in indirect costs, such as loss of productivity, brings this figure to over $9 billion. The problem is so great that it has compelling and urgent ramifications for health policy, planning and research. The research is being undertaken by Dr Walker and colleagues with a cohort of 3000 Australians. These startling results support urgent government attention to low back pain as a disorder.

2004 Australasian Colloquium - 'Evidence in Practice: leading the way in aged care'
International and Australian experts and industry providers will gather at La Trobe University from 29 September to 1 October to discuss improvements in aged care. The Fourth Joanna Briggs Institute Australasian Colloquium will be hosted by the Australian Centre for Evidence Based Aged Care and sponsored by the Australian Department of Health and Ageing and the Victorian Department of Human Services. It will bring together international experts to focus on identifying issues and developing guidelines for quality improvement in relation to the care of older Australians specifically and the aged in society generally. The event will give organisations associated with the provision of assistance to the elderly, and those contemplating expanding markets in this area, a unique opportunity for direct access to heath care professionals involved in quality improvement.

Teveten (eprosartan) Reduces Future Risk in Hypertensive Stroke Patients
The established antihypertensive agent TEVETEN(R) (eprosartan), a member of the class of drugs known as angiotensin-II receptor antagonists, has now been shown to offer effective protection against cerebrovascular and cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients with a previous stroke, over and above that offered by blood pressure reduction. Initial results from the landmark MOSES(1) study, presented by Professor Joachim Schrader at the XXVI Congress of the European Society of Cardiology in Munich, showed that blood pressure was equally well controlled when hypertensive patients with a history of stroke were treated with either TEVETEN(R)-based or nitrendipine-based therapies. However, there was a significant reduction of 20 per cent in the primary endpoint (total mortality and total cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events) in the TEVETEN(R) group. In addition, there was a significant reduction of 25 per cent in the recurrence of stroke and associated disease (transient ischaemic attack [TIA] and prolonged reversible neurological deficit [PRIND]), and a significant reduction of 30 per cent in first-time cardiovascular events in patients treated with TEVETEN(R). [Ref: Staessen JA, Fagard R, Thijs L, et al. Randomised double-blind comparison of placebo and active treatment for older patients with isolated systolic hypertension. Lancet 1997;350:757-764.]

Public Health Outcome Funding Agreement
Victoria is the latest state to sign a renewed Public Health Outcome Funding Agreement for 2004-09, along with the NT and Queensland. These agreements provide Commonwealth funding for a range of public health services; including HIV/AIDS, STDs and blood borne diseases, women's health (including breast cancer and cervical screening), reproductive and sexual health, and drug programs.

Important Notice
The AHA will be joining the Australasian Association for Quality in Health Care to put on a truly interesting and diverse Conference in 2005. The Conference is called Evolution or Revolution.
The date is 10-13 July in Adelaide. Put it in you diary now

Prince of Wales day surgery perioperative unit
Patients admitted to the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney for day surgery procedures will benefit from a new $1.4 million dollar Perioperative Unit. The new unit contains pre-admission clinics for anaesthetic, surgery and discharge planning as well as 10 beds and bed chairs for post operative recovery.
Prue Power, AHA Executive Director

Skilling members for the future
Initiatives: It would be good if ALIA could develop a project locally which was low-cost. No health- or law-specific qualification. Cheryl has forwarded the CILLIP webpage on health librarians to Georgina.

Success measures: CPD is really good and moving in the right direction. It would be good if when advertising a CPD event if it stated how many CPD points members could get by attending

Promoting innovation
Initiatives: Stars program - who will be doing this? Stars program - need a defined program for this - could be linked to LIW where people are given some recognition. We don't recognise people in the Awards programmes, not because we don't believe that they don't deserve recognition, but because we are time-poor and don't spend the time required to put in the submissions, but we don't want to diminish the awards by not retaining the rigour of the process. Silver starts program has been good but we need to make more of a public event of the presentation. ALIA conference papers need to go in the e-repository. The e-repository (for REAP) hasn't captured the imagination of the profession yet. Need to get the site up and positive because there is only one abstract at the moment. ALIA staff need to put the work that they are doing in the e-repository.

Success measures: Stars program implemented - OK. 20 per cent increased participation in REAP not a good measure.

Communicating well
Initiatives: Australian Institute of Metallurgy sends a weekly e-mail with a message from the CEO - ALIA should do this with ED's name to it, even if she doesn't prepare it. It should be in HTML format. Every month we should have a counter to show how many new members joined as well as their names. Need to communicate with members that the Association is working for them and the communication needs to look corporate. (See example of HealthCare communication earlier in Report). The current ad hoc aliaNEWS is a disservice to the profession. Need to have membership forms at events being run by groups.

Success measures: No comments

Professional practice
What are the critical areas of professional practice where there would be great benefit in increased publication, dissemination of information and opportunities for in-depth discussion and professional development? Core areas - are these defined anywhere? These should become a CPD focus. Need support for technicians in school libraries. Need support to encourage schools to employ qualified people - people to lobby are principals, union and WA Council of State Schools Organisation. There is a huge undervaluing of libraries in schools. School libraries are tied to information literacy. Need younger people in the profession because people think that it is an old person's job.

How can we ensure that substantial information addressing issues of professional practice arising from ALIA symposiums and the work and priorities of ALIA self-nominated and advisory groups is better captured and disseminated? Should have open access publication

How can ALIA groups help to identify areas of professional practice where resources and published information are lacking? undertake and/or propose approaches for addressing the gaps?

Group communications with members and non-members of ALIA
How can we encourage groups to make better use of the ALIA website in order to communicate their purpose and activities to members and non-members of ALIA?

Make it easier to log on!
We don't want to see our membership page each time
Put a log on for members box on the front page
Improve structural set up of website
More effective to put them on WAIN than events page on Website because more people use WAIN
inCite too late in WA for putting Events on Events page
E-lists are good

With the wide number of options available for groups to communicate with members and non-members should group newsletters be made freely available to non-members of ALIA?

Can't get to Biblia through Groups or Publications
Can we put time locks on Biblia enabling people to get into old issues if they aren't members
Can't get sponsorship for Biblia because it is a locked site which reduces the audience, therefore no revenue stream
Biblia Diary dates encourages non members to attend events, but they can't read about them so we put them on WAIN
Not a lot of proprietary information re ALIA in Biblia so it shouldn't be locked away
If you are considering membership of an organisation you will often read its newsletter before making the decision to join, but can't with Biblia

Questions on notice

None.

Questions without notice

None

Any other comments from the meeting?

None

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