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A template document for the Manual for developing policies and procedures for Australian school library resource centres that can be used to update or prepare your own school library copy. Its aim is to develop the policies and document the procedures that are essential for exemplary management practices. The implementation of these policies and procedures will ensure that there is equitable access to resources for all users. A school library resource centre that is well managed is in the best possible position to offer the range of library programmes and services that are essential to the endeavours of the school community.
The Manual contains nine sections, a glossary, references and appendices. Each section comprises two parts, that for the policy and the second for its procedures. There are two versions of the Manual, one that includes images and one that is text only. 

National 2016 Conference, 29 August-2 September 2016 Adelaide: Engage Create Lead.
 
This conference presentation (PowerPoint slides) supports the paper which explores the capacity of academic librarians to participate in creating an app which brings together key journal information in a userfriendly interface that assists academics with maximising their research impact.  The paper discusses how research impact is at the heart of institutional performance and reputation and is increasingly gaining prominence in academic library services. The University of Wollongong (UOW) Library implemented a Research Impact Analysis Service (RIAS) in 2011 to help researchers, research centres and the University strengthen their impact by providing detailed, strategic reports based on citations analysis drawn from numerous datasets. Consideration was given to issues of scalability and capacity to sustain and grow the service. An opportunity for collaboration arose, connecting the Library’s business need with the software development skills of JoindUp, a local start-up company under the umbrella of UOW’s iAccelerate business incubator program.  The vision was to introduce efficiencies and innovation in the production of Journal Impact Reports. The project brief was to develop an application that draws journal metrics together to empower academics in their strategic publishing decisions. 
 
A project team was established and developed the Publish for Impact app which allows researchers to access a range of journal indicators in a user-friendly interface, providing a comparison of relevant titles. The Publish for Impact app has demonstrated the capability of academic libraries to embrace the development of new technologies to bring strategic benefits and add value to Library services. The app enables workload efficiencies, flexibility and assists academics to make informed decisions when choosing where to publish.

HLA News: National News Bulletin of Health Libraries Australia - The national health group of the Australian Library and Information Association
 
Contents: Accreditation: what does it mean to the health library? -- Convenor's focus -- HLA 2017 Executive Committee contact list -- Revealing your value through meaningful messages -- HLA Medical Director Digital Health Innovation Award winner announced -- Health Library closures -- Libraries state of play: WA -- HLA Professional Development Days for 2017 in Perth: registration and Fellowship announcement -- Your guide to sharing and communicating with the HLA community -- HLA Conference: call for abstracts -- Professional development diary dates.

Australian Coalition for School Libraries's (ACSL) submission to the Expert Panel to endorse the submission from Emily Squires, Rebecca Cameron and Sally Allen and its recommendations: 
1. As a matter of equity, a target that every ACT public school student has access to a well resourced school library run by qualified staff. 
2. That the Education Directorate develop a central register on the provision, resourcing and staffing of school libraries to provide a source of data to track impact on literacy and numeracy outcomes.
3. Expansion of the current teacher librarian initiatives (scholarship program and roll-out of centrally funded positions), supplemented by opportunities for library-specific training for educational support staff. 

Contents: suggestions of topics for future meetings include structure of postgraduate specialists courses, regional organization of hospitals and plans for hospital libraries, establishing a new hospital library, services of an expert advisory committee; talk by Paul Hodgson on the Australian MEDLARS Service includes history of the establishment, future plans, capacity of the service, current awareness service, requirements for using MEDLARS over a manual search.
Original document held in ALIA House, Canberra.

ALIA Information Online 2017 Conference, 13-17 February 2017 Sydney: Data Information Knowledge
 
[Peer reviewed] This conference paper discusses the development of a case law database for Queensland police prosecutors.
 
Abstract: What can you get when you mix a time-poor police prosecutions unit, a team of committed librarians and a technology initiative dedicated to improving prosecution practice and efficiency? As QPS Library Services has discovered, actually, many great things! In partnership with the Queensland Police Service (QPS) Prosecution Corps, Library Services has redeveloped an existing information portal into a ‘one stop shop’ for all police legal resources, including a custom-made case law database which enables information access and sharing across prosecution units. This paper will share the story of our partnership with the QPS Prosecution Corps, and the evolution of the Case Law Database as a statewide data and information tool.
 
Since 1991, QPS Library Services has enjoyed a close working relationship with the QPS Prosecution Corps, providing information resources, research services and training support. There are around 270 prosecutors across Queensland, handling approximately 95% of all criminal matters in the Queensland Magistrates Courts. The prosecutors work in a busy environment that is unpredictable and time sensitive. They rely on experience, informed practice and research to guide their decision making. This is where Library Services is able to provide the most support. Since the advent of the QPS ProsTech Initiative in 2013, we have been able to leverage off an increased connection to technology in order to provide greater access to information at point of need.
 
The ProsTech Initiative was developed by QPS Legal Services to investigate new capabilities for prosecutors within the court room, including secure access to QPS systems utilising the Queensland Government’s Public Safety Network. The first stage of the initiative saw a rollout of laptops to prosecutors throughout the state to enable mobile access to information and systems wherever they may be. Working in partnership with the ProsTech project team, Library Services developed a ‘one stop shop’ for prosecutors: a single point of access for legal resources, case law, reference materials, manuals and more. The ‘one stop shop’ enables seamless access to legal information resources via QPS laptops from within the court room, a functionality not available to police prosecutors in other states.
 
As part of the ‘one stop shop’, a customised in-house database of frequently used legal cases was also created using the Library’s SirsiDynix Symphony and Enterprise software. Cases were hand-picked for inclusion by Library staff and QPS prosecutors across the state and catalogued by a dedicated librarian over a 1 year period. The Case Law Database currently holds over 1000 cases with metadata specifically of interest to QPS Prosecutors. It has allowed for a huge knowledge gap to be filled as it includes cases not available in other commercial databases. It has also enabled greater information and knowledge sharing across regional units, while preventing duplication of resources and potential breaches of copyright by individual teams saving copies of case law locally.
 
The ProsTech Initiative, including the ‘one stop shop’, was a finalist in the QPS 2015 Awards for Excellence. 

Australian Library Design Awards and Conference, 19 June 2017 Melbourne
 
This conference presentation (PowerPoint slides) accompanied the keynote address 'The City of Melbourne experience: libraries as part of city planning' at the Australian Library Design Awards 2017. The presentation provides an insight into the move towards repurposing inner city areas to encourage economic vitality, social cohesion and sustainability.
 
The Australian Library Design Awards have been created to showcase the best in contemporary library interiors and exteriors in Australia, and to celebrate the investment in libraries made by our nation's institutions, corporations, local, state and territory governments. They have been developed in the context of other competitions internationally, including the American Institute of Architects/American Library Association Library Building Awards and the Danish Agency for Culture Model Programme for Public Libraries Public Library of the Year Award. The entries, shortlisted and winning designs provide case studies in excellent library design for the 21st Century. 
 
The awards are organised by the Australian Library and Information Association in partnership with the Australian Public Library Alliance and Council of Australian University Librarians. The organising committee includes senior library leaders from Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, acting on behalf of colleagues nationally. More than 30 libraries were entered for the inaugural Australian Library Design Awards 2017. Public, school, academic and special libraries all featured in the entries, and there was a special award for the library voted for by ALIA Members.

INCITE: The magazine for library and information professionals - Nov/Dec 2018 Volume 39 Issue 11/12
 
Contents: From the President -- From the CEO -- The fight to renew funding for NSW public libraries -- ALIA Board nominations are coming up again -- It's the second digital only edition of INCITE -- Another successful Australian Reading Hour -- ALIA Leadership & Innovation Forum roundup -- ALIA's new advocacy campaign, Truth, Integrity, Knowledge -- Letter to the editor -- 2018 ALIA Northern Territory Recognition Award winner -- News from your ALIA State and Territory Managers -- What is the library of things? -- Leading a bilingual storytime in Timor-Leste -- Creating an inclusive storytime event -- QUT Library starts lending IT equipment -- How chatbots can help streamline your library workflows -- Makerspaces beget creativity -- A fresh take on student practicum placements -- How library design can impact your library -- School libraries advocate together -- Passion and personal development creates a conference zine -- Grant opens door for personal development -- Law Library of Victoria expands to around-the-clock electronic access -- Librarians' Choice interview Markus Zusak -- 50 years of the National Library of Australia -- The E-lending Project examines the holdings of Australian libraries -- CAVAL's 40th birthday celebrations.

National 2016 Conference, 29 August-2 September 2016 Adelaide: Engage Create Lead
 
This conference presentation (PowerPoint slides) supports the paper which discusses incorporating an intern program into the recruitment process at University of New South Wales (UNSW).
 
As with other complex organisations, having the right mix of staff is always a challenge in libraries.  In recruiting staff at UNSW Library we look for particular skills, knowledge and aptitude and we make our decisions based on candidates’ qualifications and relevant experience.  If you are new to our profession without the required experience and/or the right qualifications then many doors to a fledgling library career will remain firmly shut.   Conversely, library managers think about succession planning and want to encourage new people to the profession.   Some managers also want staff to join the “revolving door” by creating opportunities to gain experience in all sorts of library work.  So how can library managers open the doors and build revolving ones?  One strategy that UNSW Library has used is to run a successful intern program.  The program consists of employing four final year/just graduated librarians for twelve months to work in the Client Services Unit.   
 
The paper describes the intern program in detail, including planning, costs, recruitment, training and outcomes.  It also explains how implementing an intern program does not have to be complex or time consuming for your library and how its ongoing impact can be extremely beneficial for participants, the organisation and the library profession.

ALIA Information Online 2017 Conference, 13-17 February 2017 Sydney: Data Information Knowledge
 
[Peer reviewed] This conference paper discusses using gaming to teach traditional library information literacy and evidence-based medicine content can be a fresh and pedagogically sound way to engage learners with this material.
 
Abstract: As US medical education shifts towards competency based education, the methods in which we teach certain topics need to be reexamined. Our evidence based medicine (EBM) curriculum was created several years ago and had been taught with little revision. A period of transition afforded the library an opportunity to step back and reimagine how that content was being delivered during the inaugural session of what has been a 3 part series starting in Quarter 1 (Q1). With a delayed introduction to basic EBM concepts (Q4 vs. Q1) how to best address the gap between current and future needs was a pressing concern. The answer to our dilemma was found in the burgeoning area of educational gaming. Instead of a traditional case-based lecture, the authors decided to develop a game (BINGO) highlighting need to know tools and concepts. This activity was then paired with a previously presented case to provide both context and direct application of the student’s newly acquired knowledge.
 
To reimagine the session, the authors met with the course leads to get logistical and contextual input. Based on experience, feedback, and emerging educational theory, the librarians decided to make the session as student driven as possible. Utilizing a game provided an opportunity to flip the student learning experience. Instead of receiving a lecture/demo and taking notes, students had the opportunity to engage in team-based learning, using tools already familiar to them (Google), while identifying new resources and concepts related to EBM/research. Direct application of the game content followed when students were asked to identify and use appropriate resources to a known case.  Where students are traditionally focused on solving their cases to get a correct diagnosis, our activity required them to think through and document their search process.
 
The game itself was well received. From observation, most students seemed actively engaged and eager to compete.  The fact that the activity was team based, timed and incentivized (winning team got to pick prizes from a grab bag) likely helped to drive participation. Prepping the game with a mini-activity, developing a team name, helped to get students in a team mentality. To successfully run this type of activity with 2 groups of 45, a minimum of 4 facilitators are needed to handle logistics. A mid-quarter evaluation will elicit student perception of the activity.
 
Gaming taps into motivations such as belonging and esteem. Using a gamified approach is an effective method to deliver library content that can be perceived as dry or heavily theoretical.  The camaraderie and focused energy gaming brings can generate engagement at the beginning of a session, which can then be carried through to other activities. Short, targeted games (20 minutes or less), lend themselves perfectly to the adult learner’s attention span. By partnering a game with more traditional forms of teaching (case based scenario) students have the opportunity to both participate in and apply the learning process.