Branch reports

Professional development activities involved a number of initiatives during the year, these included the annual ACT ALIA Merit Awards, development of a marketing strategy, implementation of a mentoring scheme and the continued publication of the branch newsletter, ProActive. The ACT ALIA Merit Awards were awarded in 1996 to Susan Prentice and Jean Geue, publicly acknowledging and demonstrating peer recognition of excellence in ACT professional librarianship.

A key issue in 1996 was to better understand the Australian community perception of the library profession and from this understanding to develop a coherent marketing strategy. Considerable work in 1996 went into developing a mentoring program, aimed at providing new graduates with career development support as well as the encouragement to become active members of ALIA.

A priority for the branch in 1996 was to develop policies that encouraged greater involvement of members in branch activities. The branch responded to both the ACT Library Services Review and the Canberra Community Information Strategy, and took the opportunity to provide detailed input into the ALIA Strategic Planning process.

The branch also funded the development and distribution of free Macintosh and PC software to ACT branch members to facilitate access to the Internet via ALIAnet. Considerable work was undertaken during the year to both expand and enhance the branch's web pages.

New South Wales
On 1 May Sir Anthony Mason, chairman of the National Library of Australia Council and former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, delivered the inaugural Australian Library Week oration. His comments on the future direction of copyright law were widely-reported in the press, creating a high profile for Australian Library Week. Also during Australian Library Week, NSW branch brought Laurence Prusak and James Matarazzo from the United States to speak at a series of seminars on information and knowledge management.

Other activities for the year included an evening seminar with the Association of Company Directors, which was well-attended. The NSW branch was also pleased to host a ceremony conferring an ALIA Fellowship on a much-respected member and colleague, Associate Professor Joyce Kirk.

Helen Tait, ALIA president, and Virginia Walsh, ALIA executive director, attended the last branch meeting of the year and spoke about the future of the profession and the role that the branch and its members should play in the impending strategic review of library co-ordination and representation.

Peter Thompson, well-known Australian Broadcasting Corporation broadcaster, conducted an extremely successful and popular half-day seminar on communication strategies and techniques. The president of the branch also visited Bathurst on 21 September and facilitated a workshop on lobbying using the ALIA Lobby for libraries kit.

The branch made submissions to Jane Diplock, director-general of NSW TAFE, expressing concerns about proposed restructuring of library and information courses.

Northern Territory
1996 was a year of refocusing for the NT branch. Better use was made of the branch newsletter, Interface, to publicise activities with the introduction of the president's column, more systematic reporting of branch-organised events and reports from council members.

Eric Wainwright from the National Library of Australia, Helen Tait, ALIA's president; Bea Donkin from the ALIA Victorian branch; and Phil Teece and Virginia Walsh from the ALIA National Office, presented or hosted talks, discussions, seminars and workshops throughout the year.

Promotional activities in the Territory included the publication of Information centres in the Northern Territory, the presentation of council's award for the most outstanding graduate student in Northern Territory University's Associate Diploma of Library Practice to Vincent Nott, and the organisation of four social events for members and friends. Other activities included the engagement of a professional consultant to assist in co-ordinating the Territory's 1997 Australian Library Week, and the provision of financial assistance to Darwin City Council enabling the production of Libraries cover a lot of territory promotional posters.

The branch provided assistance in the development of an entry-level course in library practice for library workers in remote Aboriginal communities through representation of industry training needs on the Northern Territory Cultural and Industries Training Advisory Board Inc.

Queensland
The Queensland branch's major achievement in 1996 was to implement a pilot mentoring program. Under the leadership of Jess Burke, the mentoring co-ordinating committee developed a framework for the program, designed surveys, agreements and promotional material that advertised for mentors and mentees. First-round participants had the opportunity to receive training from consultant, Deborah Johnson, at a special launch held in July. By the end of the year, eleven partnerships were in operation and doing well.

It was pleasing to note that ALIA membership in Queensland grew in 1996. The reinvigoration of the Darling Downs Regional Group, under the enthusiastic presidency of Taisoo Kim Watson contributed to this growth.

Australian Library Week was also one of the high points of the year, with a highly-successful launch in Townsville. The branch newsletter, Quill, continued to offer a valuable service to all Queensland members in 1996, with increased use being made of the ALIA[Q] web pages on the Association's Internet server, ALIAnet.

One goal for the year was to increase income from continuing education activities, in order to subsidise other priority programs such as the mentoring pilot and Quill. The branch was successful in achieving this goal through a series of activities designed to cater for as wide a membership base as possible. The branch ran seminars on committee effectiveness, HTML programming, the use of library competencies, team building and leadership as well as repeating the ever popular 'How to get that job' seminar.

South Australia
The major issue tackled by the South Australian branch in 1996 was the establishment of the 1998 Conference committee and the consequent planning processes required for the hosting of ALIA's biennial conference. The branch co-hosted a reception at which Helen Tait, ALIA president, formally launched the first stage of the 1998 biennial conference. It was a glittering night for members, politicians and potential sponsors, and gave the conference a great start.

During the year the SA branch gave higher prominence to the recognition of outstanding achievement in the profession particularly and to the library and information sector generally. Merit awards were presented to Des Ross for his magnificent work in promoting public libraries through the Libraries Board, and to Gerrit Stafford for his contributions to academic librarianship specifically and to the Association generally. This process was continued at the branch annual general meeting with merit awards presented to Arthur Mortimer and Janice Nitschke.

For Australian Library Week a seminar was organised with Mal Bryce, formerly from Ipswich City Council, as the keynote speaker. The title of the seminar was Internet and the local economy, with a focus on the role of information and libraries in local economic development. The seminar was a lobbying exercise, aimed at people within the local government industry, and successfully attracted a wide and numerous audience, half of whom were from outside the library sector.

Tasmania
Another interesting year for the Association in Tasmania, with many activities achieving a great deal in bringing professional development to the Association's members.

The highlights of the professional development program for 1996 were a Lobby for libraries seminar presented by Sue Owen; a workshop from Guy Saint Clair on the promotion and measuring library performance; a Tasmania Online demonstration by Lloyd Sokvitne; and a web page creation workshop presented by Merry Joyce, Lyn Davies and Anne Hugo.

The celebration of Australian Library Week was very successful. Wayne Crawford from the Mercury opened the week at a function in the State Library, with an Australian Library Week display in the foyer providing an interesting backdrop to the opening.

Tasmania sections were active, with several well-attended and interesting events, including a visit from Phil Teece, ALIA's manager, personnel and industrial services, the Lobby for libraries seminar, and a government publications workshop.

The Library Technicians section, in its first year of operation, held several meetings and hosted a 'mini-conference' in Ross which attracted attendees from all over Tasmania. The conference was extremely successful and reinforced the growing strength of this section.

The Specials section also ran several activities and has begun preliminary planning for hosting the 1999 Specials Conference. The section combined with the branch to run the highly-successful Guy Saint Clair seminar and also organised several other meetings and library visits during 1996.

Victoria
The ALIA Biennial Conference was a highlight of activity within the Victorian branch in 1996. The work of the conference committee and the band of willing workers was rewarded by not only a professional conference but one that was successful for the Association financially. The branch was delighted that Clare Body was presented with the ALIA Manager of the Year award at the conference. The award of a Fellowship to Angela Bridgland was also a magnificent tribute, especially with many of her colleagues present from across Australia.

Australian Library Week was a success in May with greater activity than in previous years. The Victorian Treasurer and Minister for Multimedia, Alan Stockdale opened Australian Library Week in the gracious surrounds of the Parliamentary Library. The opening was cause for great pride with the presentation of the inaugural ALIA/FLIS awards for innovation. The Victorian and NSW branches co-hosted the Prusak and Mattarazzo seminar series during Australian Library Week and demonstrated the benefits of working across state borders.

The mentoring scheme continued to be a success in 1996 and the branch was delighted that so many other branches followed suit with similar schemes. The annual general meeting held early in the year was honoured to have Sir Gustav Nossal, a great supporter of libraries, as a special guest. Professional meetings, visits to regional groups, the updated BranchOut, and talks to students at schools of librarianship improved communication and brought the branch closer together.

Western Australia
A number of major initiatives have contributed substantially to raising the profile of librarians and information workers in the local community.

1996 saw the most extensive media coverage of Australian Library Week ever in Western Australia. The branch had no less than six feature stories, and the entire education supplement for that week devoted to librarians and libraries.

The branch also launched a concerted lobbying campaign just prior to the federal election. A workshop on lobbying was conducted by ALIA's executive director, Virginia Walsh, during her visit and the branch targeted politicians to ensure that library views were well-represented.

Responses to major policy initiatives at state and federal level were provided by the branch, including the Internet funding for public libraries campaign, ALIA policy statements, and the Technology Industry Advisory Council report. At a local level, the branch examined the relationship between the Association and the Library and Information Service of Western Australia in detail, participating in LISWA's strategic planning process and discussing the role of ALIA's representative to the Library Board.

The continuing professional development committee had notable successes with the Internet Fair and subsequent subject-based sessions. The mentoring program continued to strengthen and expand its provision of an invaluable service to the younger members of the library profession.

The branch newsletter, Biblia, continued as the backbone of activities throughout the year, supplemented by the establishment of branch web pages on the Internet.