AARL

Librarians abroad: Australian librarianship in the world

Alex Byrne

Abstract Australian librarians have participated in and contributed to international librarianship for over 125 years. Individual and collective practice is well regarded internationally since it is in dialogue with international concerns, is based on shared values and reaches high standards. Many are willing contributors to international initiatives, contributing on a broad front and sometimes leading discourse in new areas. The profession in Australia is characteristically open to models of practice, ideas and colleagues from elsewhere. It has been enlivened by practitioners from other countries and Australian professionals have contributed elsewhere, especially in Southeast and East Asia. The principal challenge is to maintain and build on these characteristics.

Pin striped, be-suited, imposing, Warren Horton strode across the Australian library stage in a career lasting 42 years. He significantly influenced the development of libraries and librarianship in his country through many contributions to the sector from his professional positions and his roles in many professional bodies. During the last decade of his career he became well known internationally through his work with the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and the Committee of Directors of National Libraries (CDNL), reinforcing international respect for Australian librarianship.

This paper traces some of the international activities of Australian librarians and library organisations but, although it touches on the activities of several colleagues past and present, many could not be mentioned due to lack of space. It is intended, rather, to explore some aspects of Australian librarianship in the international context and discusses some of the contemporary opportunities and challenges. The discussion seeks to place Australian library and information practice in the international context, to demonstrate its international reputation and to identify some issues for consideration.

Constrained beginnings

In a paper given at the 1996 Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) conference which was held in Melbourne to commemorate the centenary of the establishment of the first library professional association in this part of the world, the Library Association of Australasia, Warren Horton noted that the year of its establishment could be considered 'the first sensible date' to commemorate for the foundation of the profession in Australia.[1] The papers given at that conference and the standing of the librarians who participated demonstrated that the profession was already well established by that time. However, services at that time were limited in number and in their resources. They had developed in emulation of those in the mother country, as Britain was generally then considered, with imposing reference libraries with impressive reading rooms established in the major antipodean cities of the time. These 'Public Libraries' were, and continue to be, truly impressive in architecture and collections, especially of course in their unique collections of Australiana which were based on the substantial achievements of private collectors.

Their establishment was an expression of an urge to demonstrate the substance of these outposts of Europe and was accompanied by the creation of universities and other civic institutions, as Warren Horton illustrated by noting the foundation of the Public Library of Victoria and the University of Melbourne on the same day in 1854. It was also an attempt to create Herzen's 'open table of ideas to which each is invited, at which each will find the food he seeks'[2], although the Australasian colonies were slow to take the next step by establishing lending libraries for the public. This is curious, suggesting that the construction of these great institutions was more an expression of civic pride than an example of the desire for social innovation and new democratic forms which was being manifested in other countries and was at that time evident in other aspects of life in the Australasian colonies.[3] As White noted:

Though far removed from the centres of world population, Australia has always excited interests by her bold experiments in political and social organisation... It is not surprising, therefore, that social scientists, as well as librarians and educators, should be puzzled by the almost complete absence in Australia of free public lending libraries as they are known in Europe and especially in other parts of the English-speaking world... no one has satisfactorily explained why this democratic country, which values so highly the education of its children, should have failed to provide its adult citizens with the means of continuing theirs ...[4]

The desire of citizens for access to literature and learning was largely satisfied through the establishment of subscription libraries. Other library developments were similarly limited. University libraries were established to support tuition in the colonial universities but were poorly provisioned, as was demonstrated in 1935 by the Carnegie funded Munn-Pitt investigation.[5]

Professional stirring

Despite these limitations, the library profession began to grow in Australia and began to assert itself, looking to overseas developments and travelling to conferences to report on local developments. Some such as John Metcalfe became very well known and influential internationally, but others were only occasional visitors to major centres of professional discourse.

Dealing with limited budgets, generally modest infrastructure and the real tyrannies of distance within Australia and to centres overseas, early practitioners faced major challenges. The limitations and frustrations under which they worked led to with the Munn-Pitt survey which was carried out nearly 150 years after the foundation of the first European outpost in Australasia. It had been instigated through sustained lobbying by librarians such as W H Ifould who declaimed that 'Australia requires a better library service' during the 1928 conference at which the constitution for the Australian Library Association was drafted.[6] Ifould's argument hinged on the economic value of libraries, particularly in relation to the development of secondary industries, but he and his colleagues based their conceptions of librarianship on strong values which were expressed in their writings and pronouncements.

The Munn-Pitt survey and the publication of its report provided the turning point for Australian librarianship in that it demonstrated the need for library development and led to action but also showed the value of professional organisation and advocacy and the use of overseas expertise. Its findings were greeted with an enthusiastic response and quick action. A new professional body, which has evolved into the current ALIA, was established in 1937. Then the second world war intervened but after it the opportunity to implement the report's recommendations when the Commonwealth Government determined that Australia should be strengthened through population growth, industrial and infrastructure development and investment in science and technology. University libraries were significantly expanded and developed on modern lines in both the older universities and the newly established Australian National University, University of New South Wales and Monash University and the CSIRO's network of libraries was developed. Public libraries began to be extended and special libraries became customary features of government instrumentalities and in some companies. School library development, however, had to wait until the 1960s and another lobbying campaign by Australian librarians.

Over the 70 or so years since the Munn-Pitt watershed, Australian library and information services have been developed across the many varied climatic and human zones of a continent, giving Australian practice a breadth and depth which has gained international regard. From libraries in one teacher schools to community-school models and those in senior secondary colleges, from knowledge centres in indigenous communities to large metropolitan public library systems, from large research libraries to world leading support for university distance education, Australian libraries have proved themselves to be flexible and responsive innovators with high expectations and high standards.

Enlivened by expatriates

The tremendous growth in the number and quality of libraries during the post war years demanded more librarians. Many, including Warren Horton, were trained locally, through such means as the library school at the Public Library of New South Wales under the inspired and determined tutelage of John Metcalfe. But the need for expertise was greater and more immediate than could be satisfied by 'growing our own'. Similarly to the rapidly expanding universities, libraries and their boards or other superior bodies recruited overseas, mostly from 'home' in the British Isles. Other librarians made their own way, taking advantage of Australia's mass immigration scheme in search of adventure, career advancement or better opportunities for their families.

Fine librarians such as Andrew Osborn and Ali Sharr came to Australia bringing with them expertise, professional maturity and contacts in their home countries. These expatriates staffed and led our rapidly growing public library services, our university libraries and other major services. When additional library schools were established and the Library Association of Australia Registration Examination system began to be phased out, expatriates such as D J Foskett led the new schools and taught the next generation of home grown librarians. These expatriates enlivened Australian librarianship in many ways including professional discourse, in which the energetic contributions of Arthur Ellis, Eric Wainwright and Colin Steele come to mind. Many also strengthened its international connections although, it must be said, with their eyes often oriented back to Britain.

They were followed through subsequent decades by others from an increasing variety of countries, including several from North America such as Lynn Hard and Nancy Lane as well as many from other countries including Edward Lim, Nada Nadasabapathy and Earle Gow from Malaysia and Gulçin Cribb from Turkey. Some returned to their home countries or proceeded to other nations, including Norman Horrocks who has the distinction of being a member of the national professional associations in Australia, Canada and the UK and an honorary member of the ALA. Their participation in Australian librarianship made it an internationally open profession and, although immigration rules can at times cause difficulties in recruiting professionals from abroad, that tradition continues to Australia's benefit, augmenting the flow of graduates from local library and information schools.

The prodigal returns

By the early 1960s, a counter current to the flow of expertise to Australia was created by the young Australians who travelled to the UK, and later USA, in search of adventure and professional opportunity. Like their contemporaries in other fields, especially in the visual and performing arts, they were attracted to cultural centres abroad, some fleeing provincialism but all seeking experience. Many became librarians while away, others extended their skills, sometimes gaining higher qualifications, as did Neil Radford. Some, such as W Boyd Rayward, have alternated between Australia and elsewhere, others, such as Neil McLean, worked overseas for some years, subsequently returning to senior positions in Australia.

These expatriates contributed to librarianship where they practised abroad and brought their expertise back to Australia when they returned on visits or to take up positions in libraries and library and information schools. Their experience mirrored that of contemporaries in other fields and reflected the growing strength and diversity of Australia both economically and culturally and the growing strength and confidence of Australian librarianship. But, to a degree, the wish to gain experience and expertise elsewhere demonstrated the so-called cultural cringe through which many Australians have felt local institutions, practices and innovation to be inferior to those to be found elsewhere, especially in the English-language centres of Britain and the United States. Thankfully, that post-colonial attitude is less prevalent than it was previously.

The visiting expert

However, the cringe can be evident in an over reliance on visiting 'experts', again almost invariably from Britain and the United States. While the value of the overseas expert was amply demonstrated through the watershed Munn-Pitt survey and many other visitors have contributed to the development of libraries and information services in Australia, our professional conferences too often feature visiting 'names' whose presentations are disappointing in their ignorance of Australian expertise and standards and assumptions of the superiority of their own local practice. Some are little more than travelling salesmen, hawking half-baked ideas or even proprietary systems. Sometimes it appears that conference delegates, or at least conference program committees, can prefer a costly international 'name' to a local speaker of recognised expertise. This is not to say that we should not welcome visiting speakers but that we should be careful to select those who are truly expert and have something to say from which we will benefit and also that we should feature local speakers who have demonstrated innovation and critical thinking.

The notion of the visiting expert embodies a process through which local practice is validated against practice in the metropolitan centres which is often assumed to be superior. It implicitly equates the highest international standards of library and information service with those to be found in those centres. However, it is always crucial that imported practices respond to the environment in which they are introduced. Library and information service must draw upon the experience and standards established in international librarianship and apply them effectively in national or even more localised contexts. Visiting experts must be aware of these considerations if their advice is to be useful and productive. Ignorance of the importance of contextualisation often renders their views irrelevant thereby nullifying the value of their expertise.

Exporting expertise

As mentioned above, Australian library and information practice has developed a breadth and depth which has gained international recognition and which offers varied models which can inform advice to colleagues in other countries. Australians are often, but not invariably, considered to be sympathetic and culturally sensitive advisers.

Among those who have proved to be influential and well regarded international advisors, especially in Southeast Asia, are Bill Linklater and John Shipp. They and others have contributed significantly to the development of library and information services in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea and other countries. Helen Jarvis has been particularly influential through her BISA programs which have offered training and advice across the countries of the region and brought many practitioners to Australia for training. The National Library of Australia has been a stalwart supporter of libraries in the region with a vigorous international program which has supported such programs as BISA and engaged with national libraries and other organisations throughout our region. The NLA was especially instrumental in helping to restore the national libraries of war ravaged Cambodia and Laos. Many international visitors have been welcomed to the NLA for courtesy visits, exchange of information, training and projects. Complementing this institutional engagement, the Australian Library and Information Association has assisted library associations, particularly in the Southwest Pacific.

Australian involvement and support in the region has often been linked to programs funded by the national overseas aid agency, AusAid, so it might be considered that the use of Australian expertise was a requirement for receiving the funding as it often is for programs funded by national aid agencies. However, there is no need to doubt the motivations of the Australian experts since many of the programs were funded through persistent lobbying by Australian librarians who wished to respond to the needs of colleagues. In addition, many have been generously supported by state libraries or universities which demonstrated the commitment of Australian institutions to assisting colleagues in nearby nations. The welcome accorded the visiting Australian experts, the high regard in which they are held and the sustained operation of the projects they have assisted indicate that their contributions have been both valuable and valued and have responded to the contexts in which they have worked.

A more recent manifestation of the maturity of Australian library and information practice has been the export of senior librarians to leadership positions in other countries. Besides the regular trans-Tasman exchange of colleagues such as Ainslie Dewe, Vic Elliott and Penny Carnaby, other colleagues have been appointed to lead libraries elsewhere such as Helen Hayes, Sue McKnight and Janine Schmidt in Scotland, England and Canada, respectively. Their appointments follow the appointment of many Australian academics to universities in other countries, including leaders in teaching and researching our field such as Professors Boyd Rayward (mentioned above), Ross Todd and Anne Clyde.

The grand tour

An interesting phenomenon has been organised tours of groups of librarians to or from Australia. Although group tours of Australian librarians were organised in the 1970s and 1980s, they tended to be to those countries which were difficult to visit without being on a group tour, especially Russia and China. Tours to Australia by librarians tended to be government funded delegations. However, more recently tours organised under the auspices of professional associations have brought groups of librarians from the UK, Canada, Scandinavia and Hong Kong to Australia and have taken Australian librarians to the UK, Canada/USA, a number of European countries and China.

On these grand tours, participants are able to visit a range of libraries in their areas of interest and to explore current issues in some depth with leaders in the field. Participants have found the trips to be enjoyable and both personally and professionally rewarding. By providing a pre-arranged and safe way of travelling and obtaining privileged access to institutions, the tours facilitate rapid examination of practice in the areas visited and enable the participants to discuss their experiences with colleagues and to assimilate them while they are still fresh in their minds. For visitors to Australia, they act as showcases of our best and most innovative libraries and practices. For Australians going elsewhere, they permit benchmarking of Australian developments and learning from the ideas of others.

Early adopters

It is often said that Australians are quick to adopt new technologies and this national predilection to 'have a go' is certainly evident in library and information practice. For instance, the rapid uptake of digital information resources and the development of an effective purchasing consortium through the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) positioned Australian university libraries to take early advantage of their potential to improve information access in the face of ever increasing prices and ever restricted budgets. In another recent example, the first use anywhere of the Ex Libris cross resource searching and linking tools, Metalib and SFX, in combination was by an Australian library[7] in an endeavour to help clients who were struggling with diverse interfaces to digital information resources and to provide a foundation for developing new services.

In some cases, Australian innovations have been adopted elsewhere. For example, the Australian developed self-loan equipment was found by 3M to be superior to their earlier model and formed the basis for development of the product which has been sold around the globe. In software, an Australian library convinced the US company Innovative Interfaces Inc to transport their integrated library management system to the Linux operating system in order to support open source software development and to reduce costs. Such contemporary initiatives parallel earlier innovations such as the development of the Australian Bibliographic Network, which was significantly driven by Arthur Ellis and has had far reaching consequences for the development of Australian libraries and their collaboration.

Australian librarians have also contributed to the development of such fundamental tools as the Dewey Decimal Classification and the Library of Congress Subject Headings, bringing a perspective from a different part of the world. In responding to the exigencies of supporting the provision of education - and especially university education - across a continent, Australians became recognised as the world leaders in library support for distance education. Similarly, Australian libraries and librarians are currently considered to be leaders in the internationally emphasised focus on information literacy, thanks largely to the pioneering work of Christine Bruce[8] and the early endorsement of the Australian and New Zealand Information Literacy Framework[9] by CAUL. Although that framework was based on ACRL's Standards[10] adopted the previous year, its formulation and rapid deployment displayed a characteristic Australian pragmatism.

These patterns of application, adaptation and contribution again show a library and information sector which is open to ideas and inventions, ready to try them and willing to contribute to further development. Although being 'early adopters' may well be a national characteristic, the reasons that Australian library and information services can so readily try new technologies and methods derive from Australia's history and its cultural and economic orientation. It is, of course, an English language using nation which has traditionally looked to both Britain and the United States. Due to this orientation, Australian library and information professionals are well informed about developments in the equivalent sectors of both the United States and Britain with many professional contacts in each as well as in other countries (principally across Europe and East and Southeast Asia). Although less well endowed than their counterparts in the United States, Australian institutions have the expertise and sufficient resources to obtain and apply new technologies and methods. And, finally, the moderately sized library and information service sector of Australia (often working with colleagues in New Zealand) is sufficiently varied to provide a challenging testing ground while being well enough integrated to enable rapid sharing of experiences so that successful experiments are quickly emulated by others.

Professional bodies are close knit with colleagues knowing each other well and working collaboratively on many projects. This has built a corpus of practice built on shared values which have shown remarkable continuity, as Warren Horton remarked in his 1996 address. Articulated principally through the statements of ALIA, these shared values are expressed in the response of Australian librarians to innovations such as the internet.

International engagement via IFLA

A pattern is emerging of an open, sophisticated and principled profession which is actively engaged with library and information developments elsewhere. It has been informed by colleagues who have visited, settled or travelled and returned. It is open to new ideas and includes many early adopters who will try to adapt innovations from elsewhere. But has this pattern been evident in engagement with international library organisations and forums?

It certainly started well with Australia being among the nine countries represented at the first international conference of librarians which was held under the auspices of the Library Association in London on 2-5 October 1877 and attracted 216 delegates.[11] Subsequent participation was somewhat sporadic since the cost in both time and money was very high when Australians had to travel for weeks by sea to attend conferences in Europe. Nevertheless many did undertake the long trip to learn about developments in librarianship and report on Australian experience. For example, Australia was represented at the seminal 1935 IFLA conference in Madrid and Barcelona at which common regulations for international interlibrary loans were endorsed.[12] A few years later, White reported the enthusiasm for the Munn-Pitt findings to the July 1939 IFLA conference in The Hague.[13]

With the development of mass air travel from the early 1960s, Australians began to attend IFLA, COMLA and other international conferences in increasing numbers. Dietrich Borchardt was particularly prominent, bringing attention to Australian librarianship and encouraging involvement with IFLA back in Australia. With his involvement, and that of others such as Harrison Bryan, international regard for the achievements of Australian librarians began to rise.

This greater interest in IFLA led to a desire to host an IFLA conference in Australia, which happened in the year of the bicentennial of the European colonisation of Australia. That 1988 conference was held at the University of New South Wales in conjunction with a conference of the Library Association of Australia and was organised by Barrie Mitcheson and others. It took a major effort to organise and brought librarians from many countries to Australia, providing a showcase for Australian librarianship.

Old IFLA hands who attended remember it as a wonderful conference and comment especially on the beauty of Sydney and the opening ceremony in the Sydney Opera House. However, it is arguable that the conference did more harm than good to the cause of involvement of Australians in IFLA since many Australian participants found the mixture of business meetings and conference sessions confusing and the quality of presented papers poor. There is some justification for these strictures. Besides having the customary mixture of conference papers, workshops, trade exhibition and so on, the IFLA conference provides the opportunity for the annual meetings of the IFLA sections and other business units, currently some 130 meetings. It is difficult for a first-time attendee to know how to enter into the ongoing work of these units and, perhaps inevitably, they can feel excluded from the dialogue of those involved in continuing projects and programs. Further, the need to provide opportunities for colleagues from many countries to contribute to conference sessions can mean that lesser quality papers must sometimes be accepted. Changes to the program in recent years, including the introduction of Newcomers' Sessions, more distinct conference themes and some mentoring for presenters, have reduced these concerns compared to 1988.

It was also thought that the international delegates were more concerned with enjoying a holiday than participating in professional dialogue, a charge which has also been levelled against Australians who have regularly participated in the annual IFLA conferences around the world. It is not surprising that visitors to a new city and country would like to experience as much as they can - particularly when it is generally unlikely that they will visit again - and, for some, this will be a primary reason for attendance. Nevertheless, this jaundiced view underestimates the commitment of the vast majority to professional dialogue and the effort which goes into advancing international programs and projects. It also ignores the importance of enjoying comradeship with international collaborators who meet infrequently.

In spite of those lingering negative perceptions held by some, many Australians engaged with IFLA before or following the IFLA conference and have made contributions over many years. Geoff Allen, for example, led a significant project on the acquisition of library materials by universities in developing countries. Margaret Shaw was the longest serving Chair of the IFLA Art Libraries Section for which she led numerous projects. Because of the high regard in which she is held, she was appointed honorary adviser to the Section in 1997 when she was precluded from continuing as chair because of IFLA's rules.

Most prominent of all, of course, among the Australian librarians who became committed to IFLA was Warren Horton. Until the IFLA conference came to Sydney in 1988, Warren had had little international experience. But IFLA intrigued him so he soon stood for the Executive Board. As a very well respected member of the Board from 1991 to 1997, he served as treasurer from 1993 until 1997, playing a major role in the consolidation of IFLA's finances. Working closely with president Bob Wedgeworth and secretary-general Leo Voogt, Warren introduced good practices, such as the creation of adequate reserves - practices which are commonplace in Australian organisations but somewhat novel to Europeans. He challenged many IFLA orthodoxies, bringing a global perspective to an organisation that was still over oriented towards Northern Europe and North America. He constantly reminded members of the Executive Board and headquarters staff that the world is much bigger than Northern Europe and North America, pointing out that he had to travel for 30 hours to attend meetings while others popped in from Copenhagen or Chicago.

No theoretician, Warren's skills and abiding interests, as we all know, were political and organisational. His major contribution to IFLA was his tireless work as convenor of the working party which was established to review the Federation's Statutes and Rules of Procedure. The results of that work were accepted when the new Statutes were formally endorsed at a momentous IFLA Council meeting in Jerusalem in 2000. They have since been implemented with the consequences that Warren foresaw: rapid democratisation of the Federation and a much stronger global focus. The one failure of that work was the recommendation to disband Division VIII, the division of regional (ie not European or North American) activities. The proposal reflected his concern that Division VIII effectively placed representatives from Africa, Asia and Oceania, and Latin America and the Caribbean in ghettos from which they found it difficult to participate in the professional activities of the other sections. His analysis of the problem had, and has, merit but the solution was premature. His contributions to IFLA were recognised by the award of the rare honours of the IFLA Gold Medal in 1997 and an Honorary Fellowship in 1999 for his leadership and contribution to international librarianship.

Other international engagement

Australian international contributions have extended well beyond IFLA. Colleagues such as Sir John Yocklun participated vigorously in the Commonwealth Library Association (COMLA). Many Australians have participated in the conferences of the Congress of Southeast Asian Librarians (CONSAL), including Warren Horton who strongly promoted Australian involvement with the region to our north. Warren was also highly influential as a member of the Conference of Directors of National Libraries (CDNL). Warren's commitment to co-operation between CDNL and IFLA encouraged strong support for IFLA's core programs, as they were then called. He led the National Library of Australia to participate in the Preservation and Conservation (PAC) program, developing a facility for exploring the new field of digital preservation in which it is now regarded as a world leader.

Others have participated in specialist associations and have made considerable contributions, sometimes rising to leadership positions as has Anne Clyde in the International Association of School Libraries (IASL) and Gaynor Austen in becoming President of the International Association of Technological University Libraries (IATUL). Many regularly attend specialist and sectoral conferences in other countries often offering papers. Some write for international journals and a number edit them or participate in editorial boards. Some are members of international committees and task forces which advance library and information practice.

Themes

From this brief exploration, Australian librarianship emerges as technically proficient, values based, sophisticated and varied and well connected internationally. The involvement of Australian practitioners in IFLA and other international organisations, their participation in conferences around the world, their consultancy work and the appointment of several to significant overseas posts is complemented by the welcome accorded overseas visitors and those appointed to positions in Australia, the rapid take up of overseas innovations and detailed knowledge of professional discourse elsewhere. This reciprocal traffic in people, practices and ideas exposes a national professional community which is internationally engaged and open.

In the light of these comments, does the shorthand term employed in this paper, 'Australian librarianship', have any meaning? Is there a distinctive form of librarianship practiced in Australia which could be identifiable internationally? The answer must be no, there is not an 'Australian librarianship' but rather librarianship at the highest international standards which is practiced in Australia and responds to Australian conditions and priorities. This style of librarianship is characterised by openness to people and ideas and willingness to 'have a go'. It eschews parochialism (mostly) and promotes participation and engagement. It is self critical in that practitioners have readily accepted the culture of quality assessment and applied performance measurement.

But there is a tendency still to look too much towards the English language centres of practice in Britain and the United States and sometimes to overvalue the opinions of visiting experts from those centres. The challenges Australians face in some areas, such as services to Indigenous peoples, are not generally considered in their broad international context. However, the cultural blinkers are not very firm as can be seen from the strong involvement with colleagues in East and Southeast Asia, for example. It suggests that Australian librarians will be able to exploit the multicultural and multilingual strengths of their country to develop broader international connections.

Conclusion

A century and a quarter after being represented at the first international library conference, Australian librarians continue to be internationally engaged. We are well regarded internationally and contribute on a broad front but we have our own style as is illustrated by the following anecdote.

Over a beer during the 1993 IFLA conference in Barcelona, Warren Horton and I discussed the national and linguistic caucuses held at each IFLA conference which provide meeting places for delegates from such countries as the USA and UK and blocs such as the Nordic nations, the Lusaphone regions and others. They have traditionally provided a place to coordinate voting but that is much less important now, thanks to Warren's reforms. Warren commented that caucuses were for others, were not a thing for Australians to do although we might have a beer together.

He was correct in that observation: Australians are true internationalists. We make our own way in international organisations, forming alliances as appropriate and standing for principles, especially fairness, and always looking for concrete results. The characteristics we have displayed over the years are valued by others. As discussed in this paper, they include openness to people and ideas, willingness to 'have a go' coupled with a self critical stance, technical and technological sophistication, pragmatism and considerable cultural sensitivity. In addition our directness and use of humour are both often mentioned. These characteristics combine to enable us to 'punch above our weight' but we often fall short of our potential because of a paradoxical suspicion of colleagues who are engaged in international professional initiatives. This is a pity because international openness and engagement have been key elements in achieving the high standards of practice which are evident in Australian librarianship. The principal challenge for library and information practice is to maintain and build on these characteristics.

Notes

1. W Horton Opening plenary Australian Library and Information Association Biennial Conference, Melbourne, 6-11 October 1996 http://www.nla.gov.au/nla/staffpaper/horton1.html
2. A I Herzen (1836) republished 1954 as Sobranie Sochinenii. Moscow, Akademiia Nauk SSSR cited Boris Raymond Krupskaia and Soviet Russian Librarianship, 1917-1939 Metuchen NJ Scarecrow 1979 p19
3. Including universal suffrage and votes for women, the institution of the secret ballot, early 'free, secular and compulsory' education, early trade unions and, subsequently, innovative industrial relations administration.
4. H L White 'Australian Library Development' a paper presented to the 12th Session of the Committee of the International Federation of Library Associations at The Hague 10-12 July 1939 Actes du Comite International des Biblotheques 12me Session La Haye 10-12 Juillet 1939 The Hague [IFLA] p1
5. R Munn and E R Pitt Australian Libraries: A Survey of Conditions and Suggestions for their Improvement Melbourne Australian Council for Educational Research 1935
6. W H Ifould 'Australia requires a Better Library Service' Proceedings of the Australian Library Conference held at the University of Melbourne August 1928 Melbourne Government Printer 1928 pp8-14
7. A Flynn 'SuperSearching at UTS, Australia: Implementing Metalib/SFX at the University of Technology Sydney' Paper presented at ExLibris Seminar Cyprus April 2002
8. Especially her seminal work: C Bruce The Seven Faces of Information Literacy Adelaide Auslib Press 1997
9. A Bundy (ed) Australian and New Zealand Information Literacy Framework: Principles, Standards and Practice [revised version of CAUL's Information Literacy Standards published in 2001] Adelaide Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy (ANZIIL) and Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) 2004 http://www.caul.edu.au/info-literacy/InfoLiteracyFramework.pdf
10. Association of College and Research Libraries Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education Chicago ACRL 2000 http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/standards.pdf
11. The other eight were Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, United Kingdom, United States - D D Haslam 'The Library Association' in A Kent H Lancour and J E Daily (eds) Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science New York Marcel Dekker vol 14 1975 pp312-337
12. IFLA Comite International des Biblioth'ques 8me Session Madrid-Barcelone 19-20 et 30 Mai 1935 Actes Martinus Nijhoff
13. White op cit

Dr Alex Byrne is the pro-vice chancellor (Teaching and Learning) and vice-president (Alumni and Development) at the University of Technology, Sydney. He is also the president 2005-2007 of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) for which he was the foundation chair of the Committee on Free Access to Information and Freedom of Expression 1997-2003. He can be contacted at alex.byrne@uts.edu.au (please remove '.nospam' from address)