Education and training

Consultation and collaboration were consistent themes for education and training activities throughout the year.

A draft statement on core knowledge for the sector was developed after wide consultation. The statement provides a foundation from which policy statements or other materials may be developed, as required, by General Council.

A stimulating meeting of educators and practitioners, entitled Library and information sector: distinctive or dispensable?, was held in Adelaide as a pre-Biennial Conference session. Topics covered included: the draft statement on core knowledge; research priorities to inform practice; attracting school-leavers to the library and information sector; and continuing professional development for library and information professionals.

The ALIA career planning kit was launched at the Biennial Conference and there has been an enthusiastic response by members. It will be piloted within institutions in 1999, and it is hoped that the kit will become a useful tool for the continuing professional development program sub-category of membership endorsed by General Council for implementation in 1999-2000.

Many ALIA members participated in the development of the library industry competency standards training packages by CREATE, the national industry training advisory body for the cultural sector. This project is due for completion in April 1999 and will result in revised competency standards packaged against qualifications ranging from Certificate II to Advanced Diploma. These will be nationally recognised qualifications. The deputy executive director was re-elected to the Board of CREATE.

Divisions delivered approximately 274 professional development activities over a wide range of subjects. These included seminars on careers, multimedia, marketing services and cataloguing and indexing updates. The Library Buildings and Equipment special interest group invited Ian Brewster of Brewster Hjorth to present a paper on library design in a Meet the architect session. Health Section (WA group) ran a program on problem-based learning, and the WA Children and Youth Services section had Breakfast at the zoo which included a session on marketing the library. The South Australian branch held a number of promotion events to involve library and information studies students in ALIA activities. ALIA National Office hosted visits by student groups from Charles Sturt University and the University of New South Wales. Branches were well-represented on ITAB and education and training provider consultative bodies. Mentoring programs were established in New South Wales and South Australia to join those already operating in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia

The Association this year recognised library and information studies courses offered by RMIT, Monash University, Charles Sturt University, Queensland University of Technology, TAFE New South Wales and Queensland TAFE . The Association received positive feedback from institutions on the professional and constructive approach to the process taken by the visiting recognition panel members, and the usefulness of the report to their own course review.

Roslynn Membrey retired from the Board of Education at the end of 1998 after six years. Ross Todd, deputy chair, was re-elected for a further three-year term, and Marion Nicolson completed her three-year term and did not stand for re-election.

Industrial relations

The workplace remained challenging for ALIA members in 1998. Most experienced a further twelve months of continuing change. Demand for assistance from ALIA's industrial service was strong. At year end there were few signs of calmer waters ahead.

Real wage growth in Australia was generally solid over the year. Wages increased nationally by more than 4 per cent, against an inflation rate of less than 2 per cent. But, as expected, the year saw marked differences in pay outcomes in particular industry sectors. Overall, ALIA's latest figures suggest that wage increases gained by librarians remained below the national average.

ALIA's major survey of terms and conditions of employment for Australian library workers was completed and released early in the year. It provided the most-detailed snapshot of library work ever taken, with a host of interesting findings emerging. On the positive side, library workers appear to be rather less affected by casualisation of the labour market than other categories, their working hours have not increased to the extent reported in the workforce as a whole and they remain generally more positive about their jobs than the average Australian worker. But, disturbingly, wage levels are still not adequately reflecting the value of their work and the decentralisation of wage-bargaining seems to be making things worse.

In this respect, a major focus of activity for the industrial service in 1998 was the landmark New South Wales Pay Equity Inquiry, which was conducted by Justice Glynn in the Industrial Relations Commission. This case has been widely-described in the media as the most important development for equity at work since adoption of the equal-pay principle by the Whitlam Government in 1972.

ALIA argued strongly and successfully for inclusion of librarians as a major focus group for the Inquiry's considerations. As a result, the Government formally selected librarians as one of three categories for which it proposed development of policies to redress demonstrated pay inequity. The Premier's Department invited ALIA to provide consultancy services in construction of the Crown case to be put before the Inquiry. At year end, the presiding judge had completed hearings and was expected to release her report and recommendations early in 1999. Depending on the outcome, ALIA will be developing strategies designed to encourage similar consideration of equity in pay levels in other jurisdictions.

Papers, presentations and seminars on a range of workplace and industrial relations issues were provided to ALIA groups in many locations, including Perth, Brisbane, Cairns, Rockhampton, Townsville, Lismore, Sydney, Wollongong, Tweed Heads, Hobart, Launceston, and Canberra. Articles on a variety of labour market topics were made available through inCite and further publications in ALIA's workplace series included Job hunting in library and information work and a wholly-revised Work-level guidelines. These and other established titles are now available on ALIA's website.

Advocacy

The Association was active in advancing the interests of libraries and library users in continuing responses to proposed regulation of online information and the introduction of a goods and services tax - both of which were the outstanding political issues of 1998 and will continue to demand attention. The Association highlighted the value of information literacy and the role of libraries in promoting it, in response to the Strategy proposed by the National Office of the Information Economy. We provided a series of spoken and written comment to the Australian Broadcasting Authority on children and online content. The Association sent a submission to the Senate Select Committee on Information Technologies Inquiry into Self-regulation in the Information and Communication Industries, and the executive director gave evidence before the inquiry in April.

In response to the pre-election announcement of the new tax system and the publishing of a government information package, the Association wrote a number of times to the prime minister and the treasurer, and to opposition members, outlining our concerns, pointing out the negative impacts on library budgets and asking for more information. The Association also shared information with other bodies, such as the Australian Society of Authors and publishers' and booksellers' associations. We also commissioned a case study of the impact of a GST on public libraries from Arthur Andersen.

Our Federal electoral strategy and Lobby for libraries program targeted candidates in the 1998 federal and Queensland elections.

ALIA national office monitored all public policy developments relevant to members and provided reports on these and on the federal budget through inCite articles and ALIAnet. Promotional activities such as Australian Library Week and the Association's biennial conference also directed community attention to the range and value of library services.

Indigenous people in the sector

Our Indigenous Communities Online project was completed in June 1998. The project was funded by the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Online Public Access Initiative. The project commenced in July 1997.

The aim of the project was to provide online access for five remote communities which were selected to participate in the project. These were Umoona and Koonibba in South Australia, Yarrabah in Queensland and Ltyentye Apurte and Wadeye in the Northern Territory. These communities received computing equipment, technical and website support. Two consultants were also engaged to train and assist the participants to use this technology.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recruitment and Career Development Strategy continued to attract interest and support from the library and information sector and indigenous people. The Australian Society of Archivist and ALIA collaborated to use the Strategy to increase employment opportunities for indigenous people in the archives sector.

The strategy hopes to result in cadetships being allocated to indigenous people wishing to study courses in archival studies and to work as archivists within the archives sector. The Association received a great deal of interest from institutions within the archives sector in response to this new intiative. Employers participating in the strategy are Batchelor College (Northern Territory), James Cook University of North Queensland, Cape York Land Council, Wagga Wagga City Library, State Library of NSW, the Sydney Institute of Technology, and the Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Commission Library.

The Association provided funding to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Library and Information Resources Network to assist two members to attend the ALIA Biennial Confenrece in Adelaide.