APLA-ALIA Standards and Guidelines for Australian Public Libraries, December 2020

In August 2020 the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) on behalf of the Australian Public Library Alliance (APLA) engaged I & J Management Services Pty. Ltd. to update the 2016 Guidelines, Standards and Outcome Measures for Australian Public Libraries. The purpose of the project was to establish national standards and guidelines for public libraries that reflect the evolving role of contemporary public libraries and to better recognise the different circumstances in the eight states and territories, allowing for appropriate local interpretation. The 2020 version was intended to:

• achieve greater alignment between national and state/territory instruments, through reference to current NSW and Queensland public library guidelines. That is: Standards and Guidelines for NSW Public Libraries, 7th edition, 2020 update; Queensland Public Library Standards and Guidelines, 1 July 2020
• present appropriately differentiated standards for different library types (by size and location) and present a mix of aspirational standards and minimum expectations
• reduce duplication of other ALIA and industry standards through appropriate referencing
• remove the detailed section on Outcome Measures which will now be addressed separately through more comprehensive work being undertaken by APLA
• provide simpler categorisation and navigation through the standards and guidelines
• be a ‘living’ document that can be updated more frequently and more quickly to respond to changes in the public library environment

This document was superceded by "APLA-ALIA Standards and Guidelines for Australian Public Libraries (May 2021)".