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AdvocacyThe Association has been actively involved with advocacy and lobbying activities throughout 1996. The change of government in March presented new opportunities to promote the library and information sector - ALIA's list of government submissions provides an indication of the variety of issues dealt with during the year.ALIA national office monitored all public policy developments of relevance to members. Reports were provided through regular articles in inCite, and a special feature on the Federal Budget was again circulated to all members. A number of initiatives were also undertaken during the year including the Federal electoral strategy, which targeted candidates during the lead-up to the Federal Election, the delivery of the Lobby for libraries program in capital cities and regional centres, promotional activities such as Australian Library Week and the biennial conference, and the direct lobbying of politicians and senior officials responsible for the variety of issues affecting the library sector. Submissions to governmentThe Association made a number of submissions to government inquiries and Senate committees in 1996. They were:
Regulation of Content of Online Information and Entertainment Services
Education Broadband Strategy
Framework and Strategies for Information Technology in the Commonwealth of Australia
Book Production in Australia
Senate Committee Inquiry into the Telstra (Dilution of Public Ownership) Bill 1996
Internet content regulation
Enhancing teacher professionalism: Towards a new national forum for teacher professional associations
Ministerial Council Review of National Industry Advisory Arrangements
Standard Telephone Service Review Group
Telecommunication Access Public Inquiry
Defence Efficiency Review
Information Industries Competitiveness Study
Meetings with politiciansDuring 1996 the ALIA executive director met with many Members of Parliament and government officials to discuss issues of concern. These included:
ALIA general councillor portfoliosALIA General Council formally met on three occasions in 1996, and covered a broad range of policy issues using a portfolio allocation system successfully implemented in 1995. The portfolio holders, and their portfolio responsibilities were:
International activitiesALIA enjoys a high profile in international library affairs. The International Relations Committee (IRC) continues to have a comprehensive program of activities. In 1996, the International Relations Committee met three times - the major activities of the committee included the continued development of relations with regional library associations, a schedule of publications in inCite, the completion of the Professional Association International Development Scheme (PAIDS) project in conjunction with AusAID, and the development of a policy statement on the Association and international relations.The membership of the IRC in 1996 reflected the breadth of interests in the Association and the co-operative nature of the Australian library community's international activities. Chaired by former Association president Bill Linklater, the committee's members were Warren Horton, director-general of the National Library of Australia (NLA) and treasurer of IFLA; Anthony Ketley, president of ALIA's Asia-Pacific special interest group; Helen Jarvis, head of the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of New South Wales; Robyn Stokes, Australian Library and Information International Services; and Virginia Walsh, ALIA executive director. ALIA's executive director represented ALIA at the Conference of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) in Beijing during August. The Conference of the International Congress on Archives (ICA) immediately followed the IFLA Conference, at which ALIA's executive director gave a speech as the chosen IFLA representative of the international library community. The speech concerned the future of the library profession and opportunities for partnerships with archivists. One of the visitors to the ALIA National Office in 1996 included the acting national librarian of Papua-New Guinea, Mr Daniel Paraide. ALIA national officeFollowing a review of operational procedures and staff duties in the latter part of 1995, a number of changes were implemented in ALIA national office to streamline and enhance the levels of communication with members of the Association. These changes improved the workflow within the office and have allowed the Association's national office staff to be more responsive to the needs of members. Two additional staff members were employed in 1996 to implement the first stages of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recruitment and Career Development Strategy (ATSIRCDS).
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