The Australian Library Journal
volume 45 issue 3
[editorial] John Levett
Letters
Evidence of me
Sue McKemmish
The Pittsburgh Project researchers focused on defining the functional requirements for recordkeeping in a corporate context, and developing means to satisfy them through a blend of policy, system design and implementation strategies that would enable
compliance with emerging standards for 'business acceptable communications' (records). Part of their brief, particularly associated with the research of Wendy Duff, has been to discover the 'literary warrant' for the functional requirements - specifically
to determine whether the credibility of particular functional requirements can be established by reference to authoritative sources such as the law, and the standards and best practices of related professionals, e.g. lawyers, auditors and information
technologists, as codified in their literature. This article explores the nature of personal recordkeeping and broad social mandates for its role in witnessing to individual lives, and constituting part of society's collective memory and cultural identity.
It posits that social mandates for personal recordkeeping may be found in sociology and in creative and reflective writing, and provides some examples of how the 'urge to witness', the 'instinct to account for ourselves', the need to leave behind 'the
comforting marker-buoys and trail-signs of stories', are represented there. It also considers a range of personal recordkeeping behaviours and the role archivists play in carrying a personal archive beyond the boundaries of an individual life and into the
collective archives - how evidence of me becomes evidence of us.
Manuscript received February 1996 - This article was originally published in Archives and Manuscripts; the kindness of the editor and the author in allowing it to be republished here is acknowledged - This is a refereed article.
Diversity and complexity in recording information provision
Julianne Cheek, Sandra Schubert and Lynn Walsh
Since 1978 the Women's Information Switchboard (WIS) has played a significant role in information provision to the women of South Australia. While the history and activities of WIS have received attention there has been no detailed investigation of the
information needs identified by women contacting WIS. While conducting such an investigation of WIS callers in 1978 and 1994, it emerged that a more extensive coding system was needed to give a clear indication of the diversity and complexity of
information needs of women. This paper focuses on some of the difficulties in establishing a coding system and describes the coding system developed for the study. Other information providers needing to examine the usage of their service will find the
article useful.
Manuscript received June 1996 - This is a refereed article.
Librarians and Australia's changing industrial relations: 'a new province for...' what?
Phil Teece
Australia's industrial relations system has entered a period of unprecedented change. The swing to enterprise bargaining and decentralised wage-fixing is well-advanced. A new Federal Government is certain to hasten and extend this trend with the greatest
change to established laws and institutions since Federation. Likely outcomes from imposition of these laws are uncertain. Occurring simultaneously, and largely driving the shifts in our labour law and practices, is a labour market crisis which is creating
devastating unemployment across the industrialised world. Deliberate action to shed jobs and displace workers is an epidemic in corporations here and overseas. But signs are emerging that international opinion leaders are now concerned about the threat to
social and political stability that the pre-occupation with 'downsizing' represents. This paper argues that more serious attention to the creation of work is essential if changes to industrial relations and the labour market are to prove effective in
generating sustainable improvements in Australia's economic and social fabric. If this occurs, the future for employees in the library and information sector is sound. [Author's abstract]
Manuscript received July 1986 - This is a refereed article, a version of which will be delivered at Reading the Future, ALIA's Centenary Conference Melbourne October 6-10 1996
The future of collection development, selection and acquisitions
Catherine Moffatt
The move towards an ideology of access rather than ownership of library collections cannot be ignored by librarians involved in acquisitions, collection development and selection. Some change to work practice is inevitable, but librarians should be
prepared to approach the problem of building an appropriate 'access collection' by using and extending much of the methodology and critical analysis that they already utilise in building their physical collection. [author's abstract].
Manuscript received July 1996.
Employers' perceptions about subject specialist agricultural librarians in developing countries
Shaheen Majid
The paper explores the perceptions of employers about the recruitment and retention of subject specialist agricultural librarians in certain developing countries. Not surprisingly, employers rated the performance of library professionals with a science
background higher than those without it. Most the employers supported incentives for professionals with a science background but also indicated lack an inability to implement them. Problems in the recruitment and retention of library professionals with a
science background included: the limited number of library professionals with a science background, unattractive salary and limited career development opportunities as compared to mainstream scientific disciplines, and lack of awareness among science
graduates about job opportunities available in scientific and technical libraries. Some measures are suggested to encourage the recruitment and retention of professionals with a science background in agricultural libraries.
Manuscript received June 1996.
Performance management, measurement and reporting in a time of information-centred change
Jennifer Cram
In a climate of information-centred change libraries are at risk of being marginalised. In order to survive and thrive libraries and librarians must develop a competitive edge relative to competing services and demonstrate a level of competence that
stresses adaptability. Managing personal and library performance for customer-value involves taking a holistic view and a systems approach. Maximising customer value must flow from a library's culture, beliefs, values, management style and performance
management. Methods for ensuring that library staff are facilitated to deliver quality services are discussed and the importance of taking both a behavioural and a process approach to performance management is detailed. The implementation of an integrated
hierarchical performance measurement model is proposed and the benefits of moving reporting practices from an efficiency/usage focus to a value focus are discussed. This article is based on a paper delivered to the SAILIS Conference in 1995.
Manuscript received July 1996
As others see us
Janet McCalman
[in which we publish perspectives from outside the profession]
In this issue the view is that of Janet McCalman, occasional columnist for The Age; it is quoted from an article which was published on Tuesday 14 May, page A15.
'Our inner-city libraries hum with readers and browsers, and they are reading in English and Chinese and Vietnamese and Turkish and Italian and large print. Children spend time in them after school waiting for their parents; the computers are always busy;
mothers bring in their toddlers; local history societies focus their activities on the library, often with expert help from specialist staff.
However, apparently they are not cost-efficient. Financial experts tell us they would be even better if subjected to the rigors of market-place competition. Too few remember that the private library was scarcely a suburban gold mine: desperate genteel
poverty was more its line. But privatise our local libraies we must, it seems, and people trained in cataloguing, collection building, conservation and reader education are having to develop new business and entrepreneurial skills.
In the City of Melbourne the city commissioners last year called for tenders. Two tender teams were invited to submit: one comprised the staff of the newly merged libraries of Melbourne and Yarra which were also undertaking the difficult task of
regionalising themselves. The other came from the Yarra Plenty Regional Library.
There was a hitch, however. The Yarra Plenty Regional Library team was not incorporated and so was unable to put in a tender. The consultants still did their reports, and even though the in-house team was the lone bidder and of course won the tender, the
tendering process still cost the ratepayers, at a conservative estimate, $200 000. You could buy a lot of new books for that, or even save some of the jobs that were lost, perhaps even retain some of the industrial conditions the librarians have been
forced to relinquish.
And what will this reformed lean, business smart library give us? Not more books becuase the library vote has been frozen. And not more service, because 19.5 equivalent full-time positions have been stripped from the team.
Good news for Essenden, however: the City of Moonee Valley has just committed more than $1 million to upgrade its library.'
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