Awards

In 1998 a number of national Association awards were presented.

The HCL Anderson Award recognises outstanding service to librarianship, the profession, ALIA or the theory or practice of librarianship and is the highest honour which the Association can confer upon a professional member. In 1998 the HCL Anderson Award was conferred on Dr Alan Bundy.

Colin Steele and Maxine Rochester were awarded Fellowships of the Association in recognition of their contributions in the field of library and information science.

The ALIA Manager of the Year Award which recognises exceptional skills in management within an Australian library and information service was presented to Ruth Cameron. Ursula Macdermott was awarded the Library Technician of the Year Award.

Ann Ritchie received the ALIA Study Grant award for her project Training in the information skills related to the practice of evidence-based health care, i.e. critical appraisal skills and finding the evidence. The Metcalfe Medallion which recognises an outstanding piece of work by a library and information studies student enrolled in an entry-level professional course was awarded to Bryan Riley for his essay You are now entering the age of the mind: thoughts on the knowledge society, knowledge management... or knowledge understanding.

The Redmond Barry and Ellinor Archer Awards were not awarded in 1998.

Australian Library Week

Australian Library Week 98, Libraries: pathways to knowledge, was a very diverse and successful celebration of libraries and their contribution to our community.

Former chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue, gave the annual ALW oration before a group of Aboriginal elders, library and information professionals and local and federal politicians, at the Tandanya Aboriginal Cultural Centre, Adelaide. Dr O'Donoghue spoke of the importance of involving indigenous people in the library and information sector. The event was hosted by the South Australian branch which also organised the Association's biennial conference later in the year.

The Special Libraries Section's national committee placed an advertisement in the Business Review Weekly to promote special libraries, using the 'Incredible library' poster which attracted favourable attention in the media and at the American Library Association conference in June.

Many public libraries used Australian Library Week to promote the increasing number of services, particularly the access to digital information now being provided to readers. Free training, online chats and introduction to online services and the Internet were common activities. Other activities involved advice on genealogy and use of local history collections, music CDs, large-print collections and talking books.

One library used the week to promote a drug and alcohol education project for young people. Another took the pathways to knowledge theme and created a yellow brick road into the library, with the staff dressed as characters from The wizard of oz.

In addition to the Incredible library poster, ALIA National Office supplied two other images on posters, postcards, bookmarks and stickers, as well as balloons, for sale and distribution. Starter kits were provided to all ALIA branches to help make ALW98 a colourful week.

The wide range of activities, some of which were reported in the June and July issues of inCite, reflected the commitment of librarians, library technicians and other library staff to their users and the commitment of members to the Association. As a result, there was significant media coverage, especially at the local level.

Publishing and communications

1998 was an active year for publishing and communications, demonstrated in the variety of material for sale as shown in the production of the ALIA publishing catalogue. Apart from frenetic production of posters and other paraphenalia for Australian Library Week, numerous revamps of existing journals and publications took place. The redesign of AARL [Australian Academic and Research Libraries] was well-received, as was the redesign of ELIS:A. The Australian Library Journal was published quarterly and on schedule, with members displaying their approval of both content and design through letters to the editor.

inCite began the year with the inclusion of a 'directory' section, and a stunning calendar which highlighted the diversity found within the Association's website, ALIAnet. Initiatives such as Member's Briefs (a series of broadsheets with information for members on a range of issues) kept members well-versed and informed about broad-reaching and contemporary library sector issues, whilst on a more-down-to-earth level, inclusions in inCite and on ALIAnet briefed members on the progress toward a new Association (the ALIA-ACLIS merger). One highlight in the year was to be able to publish Senator Alston appearing on the cover of the April issue, looking over Australian Library Week 98 promotional material. A bumper issue in October coincided with the Adelaide 98 Biennial Conference.

A series of posters and greeting cards were also produced in time for Australian Library Week and, interestingly, when a delegation of Australians attended the American Library Association's conference in June, our publications and merchandise were well-received. In particular, the Incredible Library poster aroused more than a great deal of interest by the Americans. A sell-out of all merchandise sent to this conference and exhibition ensued.

ALIAnet

We began early in the year by installing more powerful software to allow us to better understand our website visitors viewing habits. The comprehensive analysis that this software provided became the launch platform for many exciting developments through the year.

Website activity grew throughout the year, but the number of 'hits' as measured by our software was reduced. This was a result of a major modification to our general layout and design, the first phase of implemention which began in August.

An equally-significant milestone (one of many) was the upgrading of our ISDN link in March. Whilst still not rated at the bandwidth that we would prefer, the upgrade accommodated the rise in internet traffic experienced by all facets of ALIAnet's services. Dial-in access was upgraded to the benefit of ACT Branch users, and our list serving software saw an unprecedented increase in activity as well as a swelling of the number of lists available to the library community. At the end of the year, ALIAnet had 24 published electronic lists (e-lists), and a number of closed or private lists.

E-mail traffic in and out of ALIAnet has grown by over 100 per cent. Indeed, the amount of traffic on the Association's ISDN link was so great in 1998 that plans to upgrade the link were brought forward - foreshadowed for implementation in 2000.

To improve the workflow and decrease the time taken to post material on ALIAnet's website, an automated form was developed to allow divisional representatives to post material for inclusion on the website. This process has allowed divisions to focus on content rather than html development, and has removed the requirement for a contact person in each division to have any webpage-building skills.

A revamping of many components of ALIAnet coincided with the application of the 'new-look' interface. The most popular areas of ALIAnet, such as the ALIAppointments pages, were also significantly enhanced with a greater range of material and information. In September, ALIAnet's new-look webpages received a 5-hat Bobby rating (an accessibility benchmark), and in the same month we offered opportunities for members to take part in straw polls and online surveys (including the taking of responses by members to a potential name change for the organisation).

Overall, the amount of interaction between members and the full range of ALIAnet services increased by a considerable margin over previous years, highlighting the importance of this service to members and the sector alike.

Association finances

The Association closed the year ended 31 December 1998 with an operating deficit of $241 622. The deficit was made up of $63 250 in ALIA National Office accounts; $80 000 in the divisional accounts and $98 372 in the conferences accounts.

From a deficit budget of $24 233 and an unforeseen rental income loss of $178 000, the deficit in the ALIA National Office accounts was reduced to $63 250 through restraint in expenditure.

The conferences deficit is the difference between the upfront expense for divisional and biennial conferences before the income is generated. To carry such a deficit amount is normal in the way the Association's financial accounts are constructed. However, it is consolidated and usually covered by the ALIA National Office surplus.

The loss in divisional accounts resulted from annual expenditure exceeding annual income by $80 000, with this amount being financed from their accumulated reserves. Despite the loss in 1998, the Association's finances are still very sound --as reflected in the income and expenditure statement that follows.