ALIA 99: progress to a new organisation

It is impossible to single out highlights for the Association's year as, as this annual report records, so much has been achieved by our members and office-bearers. A personal highlight for me was being appointed executive director in September.

Governance focussed on fulfilling the Charter of Renewal. A ballot of members determined that we retain our name for the new organisation. Our Objects were redrafted and significantly a new object included as the first object, 'To promote the free flow of information and ideas in the interest of all Australians and a thriving culture, economy and democracy'. The membership of General Council was increased to include Janette Wright and Ruth McIntyre, elected by institutional members, and Carolyn Young and Marion Boyd, elected by personal members. The necessary legal and consultative preparations, including re-writing our Constitution, were undertaken in anticipation of incorporation under Corporations Law in 2000. A continuing professional development membership sub-category was developed for implementation from January 2000. General Council referred the work done by the Renewal Working Group sub-committee on divisional restructure, the review of conference activities and accreditation of library services to the inaugural National Policy Congress to be held in early 2000.

A scoping study was done with the Association's auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers to identify the impact of the new tax system on the Association's operations and to make recommendations on how these be dealt with. Recognising that the new accounting requirements would impose an onerous and unfair burden on volunteer treasurers, General Council directed ALIA National Office to adopt a centralised accounting function for divisions prior to the introduction of the GST. General Council resolved to move the membership year to the July-June financial year from July 2000.

General Council undertook to act on ACLIS National Council resolutions passed at their meeting of 25 September 1998 and referred to ALIA. ACLIS policy statements on Guidelines for public library funding, Library and information services to remote users, Principles of access to government information, and Guidelines on dispersal of collections in government agency libraries were endorsed with minor amendments as ALIA statements. Consideration of the statements on Regulation of online content and Principles on copyright was deferred pending the outcome of legislative changes. The ACLIS (Victoria) statement on the revised definition of basic services in Victoria's public libraries was replaced with the Interim statement on public library services. The ACLIS (Victoria) Government Publications Subcommittee was re-established as the ALIA Expert Group on Government Publications with representation on the AusInfo-Libraries Liaison Committee. ALIA representation on the Australian Committee on Cataloguing was increased to three. An expert advisory group on document delivery services and standards was set up. In November, Alan Bundy was elected vice-president (president-elect).