Membership: continuing trend

The Literacy section (national group) was formally dissolved at the March 1995 meeting of General Council in Canberra. Sections representing acquisitions, cataloguers, children's and youth services, education for the library and information services, information science, health libraries, library technicians, local studies, public libraries, reference and information services, school libraries, special libraries, TAFE and university, college and research libraries remain active. In total there were 102 divisions of the Association in 1995, demonstrating the diversity of interests within the membership. Continuing difficulties with the National Office's membership database management software were encountered, even following repeated modifications and enhancements. New membership database software options were investigated, and it is anticipated that an improved membership database management system will be installed during 1996, to coincide with upgrades to National Office computer equipment. Retention of members was identified as a concern during 1995 - plans were formulated to attempt to reverse this trend in the following year.

Encouraging indigenous involvement

The strategy will aim to:

• achieve an equitable representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees through permanent employment in the sector;
• increase career opportunities by accessing education and training programs;
• promote two-way learning and cultural awareness between Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders and non-Aboriginal people within the sector;
• make the sector more relevant and increase access for Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders to library and information resources through improved representation of those peoples.

Education and training: significant progress made

Three workshop packages on competency standards were produced to assist members understand competency standards and their use within the workplace. Two further workshops on assessment and recognition of prior learning are to be produced. The national curriculum for library and information studies was completed in December. Associate professor Joyce Kirk, deputy chair of the ALIA Board of Education, represented ALIA on the steering group. The national curriculum incorporates the Library Industry Competency Standards. From 1996 new courses in library and information studies in TAFEs will be based on the national curriculum and offer qualifications at Certificate 3 and Diploma levels. These courses will progressively replace the current Associate Diploma in library and information studies. The Board of Education is reviewing the Association's policy statement for the recognition of library technician courses to ensure that it reflects these changes in education for technicians.

Encouraging professional development
The ALIA framework for continuing professional development: a practical guide was launched in June. The Framework assists members to plan and record their continuing professional development. Over 1000 personal members requested personalised copies. The Association is encouraged by this response and in 1996 will consider adapting the Framework for use by institutional members.

Productive year for the Board of Education
The Board achieved its 1995 strategic focus and priorities. Dr Anthony Haydon, director of the Australian Credit Transfer Agency met with the Board in June. Janette Lenz, industry liaison officer for Vocational Education and Training in the Commonwealth Department of Education and Training met with the Board in June also. In October a one-day seminar was held with educators from around Australia. Invited speakers included professor Gordon Stanley, chair of the Higher Education Council; Clare White, director of the National Board of Employment, Education and Training; Marion Nicolson, Library Locums; and associate professor Carmel Maguire of the Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee. Topics included education and training policy, life-long learning, and competency standards.

Association representation on training board
In 1995 Arts Training Australia negotiated a merger with the Recreation Industry Training Advisory Body following a restructuring of all industry training advisory boards. The new body, to become operational in 1996 is Culture Recreation Education and Training Enterprise (CREATE) Australia. The Association was an observer on the ATA Board and has been appointed to the incoming CREATE Board. The Association was successful in gaining a high profile for our sector in the work of ATA. Projects undertaken in 1995 in which Association members participated were: development of the Library Industry Competency Standards; preparation of the 1995-97 vocational education and training plan update, a case study for competency-based assessment of complex work, and the development of the national curriculum for library and information studies.

Industrial relations: A turbulent year

Fears of a wages blow-out did not eventuate, despite a marked rise in inflation. Nationally, wage increases remained modest with the major enterprise agreements databases reporting rises of less than 5 per cent between 1993 and 1995. In keeping with the continued decentralisation of wage-fixing, there were marked differences in outcomes between sectors. Average wage increases varied, for example, between 8.6 per cent in the finance sector and 1.3 per cent in cultural and recreational services. While libraries are not specifically identified in this data, there is little doubt that outcomes for librarians generally were toward the lower end of the spectrum.

Employment growth was strong throughout the year with 253 000 jobs created. Unemployment fell to 8.1 per cent. This was reflected in the library and information sector, with job growth for the year measured at more than 10 per cent in an Australian Bureau of Statistics report. Earlier in the year, a major federal government report Australia's workforce 2005: jobs in the future included encouraging forecasts which ranked librarianship tenth-highest of more than 120 job categories, in terms of predicted employment growth over the next decade.

ALIA's industrial and workplace assistance program experienced continuing strong demand for its services. In keeping with policy decisions taken by the General Council, ALIA National Office continued to provide more active assistance to members confronting difficulties in their workplaces. While in many cases member needs were primarily for information and legal interpretation, a growing body of members sought direct representation and advocacy on their behalf. This was especially evident among non-unionised groups generally and in the special libraries in particular. A number of positive outcomes were achieved for members in these categories. In strongly unionised parts of the sector, ALIA National Office worked closely with trade unions in pursuit of improvements for members in a number of cases. In addition, advice and assistance to institutional employer members remained a significant element of services provided, especially in regard to establishment of wages and working conditions in smaller corporate libraries.

As an important part of the program, formal activities were conducted for ALIA divisions in most states and territories. As a deliberate policy, particular attention was paid to members located beyond the Sydney-Canberra-Melbourne corridor. This included Riverina, Hunter and Mid-North Coast regions in New South Wales, the special libraries, public libraries and continuing professional development groups in Western Australia, the Central Australian regional group in Alice Springs, and the Northern Territory Branch in Darwin. As well, formal papers on industrial relations and workplace matters were presented at the ALIA Queensland state conference in Rockhampton, the annual conference of the Country Public Libraries Association of New South Wales in Newcastle and the South Australian country libraries conference in Millicent.

ALIA awards: Outstanding members recognised