Association finances

ALIAnet [http://archive.alia.org.au]

Listserv software was installed and configured with financial assistance from the Australian Serials Special Interest Group. The software has allowed members of the Association to create and maintain their own automated electronic mail discussion groups. Divisions of ALIA and committees of ALIA General Council have already set up and extensively use automated electronic mail discussion groups for their own purposes.

A number of enhancements to the World Wide Web pages of ALIAnet were made utilising automated scripting, which came on-line in the latter part of the year. Users can now browse the Association's site with drop-down menus, can send requests for information or apply for membership forms using electronic forms, and can update information already resident on the ALIAnet pages.

Furthering the accessibility to information, a search engine was installed and configured to assist with navigation and location of information within ALIAnet - a feature that users have found extremely beneficial. Offering yet another form of interactivity, a guestbook facility was installed onto ALIAnet to allow browsers of the site to leave comments. By the end of December, every comment [without exception] recorded in the guestbook extended extremely positive and glowing tributes to those who have contributed to the site, and to the information contained therein.

In December, Yanoula Fouras, a student of the Graduate Diploma of Information Management Course at RMIT, undertook a three-week industrial placement at ALIA National Office working on the project Analysis of ALIA's web site: ALIAnet. The purpose of the project was to clearly identify the main aims of ALIAnet, and to analyse the site thoroughly to determine if these aims were being fulfilled. Yanoula's report disclosed that the information contained within ALIAnet was consistent with the aims of the site, and that the pages were well-patronised by those within the sector, both from Australia and overseas.

Throughout the year many of the Association's divisions added to the content of their pages and we welcomed a number of new divisions to the site, notably a number of the State Braches and their respective regional groups.

Indigenous people in the sector

1. establishment of a national steering committee to oversee the project;
2. the development of cultural awareness guidelines, a promotional video and brochures for distribution throughout the sector that would broaden awareness of the objectives of the strategy;
3. liaison with employers in the library and information sector in Queensland, South Australia the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales in order to generate support for the employment of indigenous trainees, cadets and scholars under the strategy;
4. to undertake a survey of libraries throughout Australia to establish where, and how many Indigenous people, are employed in the library and information sector; and
5. the appointment of a consultant to evaluate the strategy.

The National Steering Committee, comprised of representatives from the indigenous community, the library and information sectors and the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DEETYA), was established in March 1996 to review and monitor the progress of the project, endorse claims for payment, prepare quarterly and annual progress reports for the Commonwealth and the ALIA executive and consider proposals for changes to the project. Three meetings were held during 1996.

Promotional activities focused on raising awareness of the strategy within the library and information sector and indigenous communities, via brochure and video distribution. Employers in Queensland, the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales with a capacity to participate in the strategy were approached during the year, and consequently eight cadetship positions, one scholarship and twelve traineeship positions were identified for follow-up. Survey forms were posted to 591 university, technical and further education, public, state, national and government libraries. The responses received indicated that only 103 (0.03%) library employees were indigenous people. At the end of the year, a consultant was appointed to review the first year of the strategy.

The first year of the implementation of the strategy was very successful in generating awareness of the objectives of the strategy and in securing employment opportunities for indigenous people. The promotional material that was developed and distributed proved to be a valuable mechanism for involving members in the implementation of the strategy. The success of this first stage signposts increasing employment and access, participation and representation of indigenous people in the library and information sector.

ALIA Centennial Conference

The conference theme - Reading the future - was picked up in each day of the conference, at an international/global level, at community level, and at the level of the individual. After a powerful opening presentation from Warren Horton, director-general of the National Library of Australia, which placed the conference at the end of a century of Australian library history, and on the threshold of the twenty-first century, other keynote speakers read their view of the future of society, of arts and the media, of government, of management and of the legacy of Australian history, both indigenous and immigrant. Overseas speakers included Charles Landry, British social planner, and Robert Wedgeworth, president of International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.

Parallel sessions allowed themes to be developed in more detail, and workshops before and after the conference allowed special interest groups to meet and cover specialist needs. Conference tours to a range of Melbourne libraries were a very popular activity, and the conference exhibition was also successful, with exhibitors appreciating the delegates using the exhibition space for conference breaks.

Budget forcasting for the conference was difficult due to a number of factors, but a last-minute swelling in registations and success in obtaining sponsorship meant that the Association benefitted financially more substantially than originally provided for. The Association will carefully monitor the changing role of conferences and plan to ensure an appropriate balance between specialist needs and general professional development and interchange.

The conference was exceptionally well-served by Convention Network, and by the willing commitment of volunteer effort on the part of members over several years of lead-up planning, and at the conference itself.

Australian Library Week

As in 1995, postcards were distributed through Avant Card to ensure that coverage of Australian Library Week reached beyond the profession. This supplemented the promotional work undertaken by ALIA's national office and divisions.

The inaugural Australian Library Week oration was delivered by Sir Anthony Mason. Hosted by the New South Wales Branch, the oration was one of a number of exciting activities organised to celebrate Australian Library Week around the country. All sectors of the profession involved themselves in Australian Library Week 1996 participating in activities that were both many and varied. The July and August 1996 issues of inCite featured reports of just some of these activities.