International activities

The executive director represented ALIA and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) at the Papua New Guinea Library Association (PNGLA) annual conference in Lae in November. The conference made recommendations on strategies for meeting the huge local and global challenges facing the sector and PNGLA to better enable access to and delivery of library and information services. Links with regional and national library associations were further developed at the IFLA conference in Jerusalem in August, attended by the executive director and a number of members. The Library and Information Association of South Africa is looking to ALIA as a good model for their new association. Discussions on future directions for associations were held with representatives from a number of associations. The Roundtable on Management of Library Associations is developing a mentoring program between well-established and resourced associations and those without the capacity to participate fully in IFLA and other sector activities. ALIA's International Relations Committee and Board of Directors will consider this in 2001.

Communications and publishing

2000 was a busy year for publishing and communication activities. Regular publications included Australian Library Journal (four issues) and inCite magazine (the latter now produced eleven times per year), the 1999 Handbook, Salary scales 2000/2001, Courses in library and information studies, and regular updates to a variety of publications and booklets. The highlight of the year was undoubtedly the launch by Barry Jones at the Biennial conference ALIA2000 of David Jones' well-received Australia dictionary of acronyms and abbreviations. Other publications included a members-only guide to the goods and services tax as it applies to libraries, produced with the help of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

ALIAnet activity

The fourth iteration of the ALIAnet website - faster-loading, with a more-intuitive and more logical interface - was implemented in 2000. Due in no small part to the re-organisation of the Association, demands on the website were high, both in terms of overall communications to and from members, and in terms of the need to update and re-organise large parts of the site. Vital Link Online was further refined and developed, online forms and fora were added, and many new e-lists were created (at the end of 2000, more than 50 e-lists are in operation). In addition, a new service was offered to visitors to the website: webcards. These proved to be an instant success, and more than 300 were sent in the first month alone. The webcard service was built to promote Australian Library Week initially, but was very quickly extended to be available throughout the year. Of the 50-plus e-lists, aliaNEWs in particular proved to be extremely popular and became a mainstay of communication between ALIA operational activities and members. However, the demands on staff to create and diseminate aliaNEWs broadcasts were so great that the service lapsed in the latter part of the year. It is hoped that the service will be reinstated in time for Australian Library Week in 2001.

Copyright

The ALIA copyright service for members answered more than 230 individual queries. Most came from members working in special libraries, public libraries and school libraries. Copyright service officers spoke to two branches on the development of legal policy affecting libraries and on ALIA's copyright services, and liaised with member groups of the Association who had particular problems with legal developments. The Association's magazine inCite regularly published articles on the impact and interpretation of the Digital Agenda amendments to the Copyright Act. It, and our website provided answers to frequently asked questions. Copyright lobbying activities are reported under Advocacy. The Association is a member of the Australian Libraries Copyright Committee and the Australian Digital Alliance.

Membership

Two changes significantly affected membership this year. The first was the alteration of the membership year to the financial year, 1 July to 30 June: implementing this chance necessitated two membership periods January to June 2000 and July 2000 to June 2001. Some resulting confusion amongst members slowed down the rate of renewals. The second was the introduction of the goods and services tax. ALIA gave members a one per cent saving on all fees before adding the GST and the collection of GST-added membership fees in July was smoothly implemented. However, as a result of GST impact on ALIA's interlibrary loan voucher system, some libraries and major institutions withdrew from the system, resulting in a drop of 31.5 per cent in voucher-only membership. At 31 December 2000, membership figures were: Personal members, 5068; Institutional members, 918; Voucher-only, 354. Targeted service planning is underway for implementation in 2001.

National Policy Congress

Seventy divisional delegates from all Australian states and territories attended the first ALIA National Policy Congress, held in Canberra on 26 and 27 May 2000. Delegates supported a flatter, more flexible framework for ALIA. They also encouraged partnerships with other organisations, in order to broaden the scope of our operations and influence and to produce more benefits for members. They identified nine key issues: structure based on self-nominating groups around areas of interest; provision of effective, well-defined local presence; funding formulae to take into account factors such as per capita, programs and location; renewed emphasis on member services; board approval of groups, against a set of transparent criteria with reciprocal responsibilities; Issues-based forums for professional needs/purposes; flatter organisational structure; funding for specific projects and/or ongoing programs; and partnerships and alliances with local and international organisations. A further nine issues identified by delegates will also be considered by the Board of Directors. The Congress delegates also discussed divisional conferences and the accreditation of libraries. This gathering of so many representatives from around the country enabled the sharing of information about the impact of the GST on divisions, the responsibilities of divisional treasurers, and the ALIA CPD program.

Australian Library Week

Australian Library Week 2000 inspired a diverse range of activities on the theme Libraries: here for the long run, including, of course, relay races and marathons. The 'incredible librarian' image was used again in the range of merchandise which included posters, bookmarks, postcards, stickers. Removable tattoos proved to be very popular. We had a major sponsor for one of the posters from internet kiosk providers, pieNETWORKS. The Victoria campaign was very successful, largely due to sponsorship from ABC radio which was negotiated by a publicist employed by the State Library of Victoria to support the week. Major events attracting media attention were the statewide Storytime, library building seminar and the launch of Victoria's Virtual Library. In New South Wales more than 120 people participated in a walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge in support of libraries. Other enjoyable activities are described in the Branch reports. Library technicians celebrated the inaugural National Library Technicians Day which will be held on the Tuesday during Library Week each year.

Conferences

The ACT Branch hosted the ALIA2000 biennial conference, held in Canberra. The conference theme was Capitalising on knowledge: the information profession in the 21st century. The conference committee spent four years planning this event. The result was an outstanding program, with 145 Australian and overseas speakers participating in seminars, satellite events, a Fringe conference and an exhausting social schedule. There were 93 trade exhibitors. Approximately 1135 delegates attended. The program highlighted the tools and techniques of the future, building on long-term professional values. Each day of the conference had a theme: the changing information environment; the changing needs of the information consumer; the changing roles of the information professions and a focus on information creators. Proceedings and a list of sponsors and supporters are available on the ALIA website, and are to be indexed in APAIS and through PANDORA.