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Contents: report on Achieving Excellence: fourth Asian-Pacific Special and Law Librarians Conference with the Ninth Biennial Health Librarians Conference, management strategies for the one-person or minimal staff health services library; Australia-wide scheme for serials duplicates; quality assurance in health libraries; budget survey of Melbourne hospital libraries.
Original document held in ALIA House, Canberra.

Contents: report of health libraries seminar and AGM held Perth, 1st October, Joan Martin awarded ALIA Letter of Recognition.
Original document held in ALIA House, Canberra.

We welcome this opportunity to respond to the Productivity Commission Data Availability and Use Issues Paper. Library and information professionals work with data every day: we capture data; we help store data and make it accessible; we help make data discoverable; we help others find the data they need; we contribute to data policy discussions.
 
While we are aware of the potential risks to individuals’ privacy, mitigation strategies exist and we are also aware of the benefits of releasing data into the world. On a grand scale, the work of library and information professionals in making data more accessible and discoverable supports a stronger evidence-based approach to policy development in government and greater innovation through humanities and science research initiatives. At a less macro level, making data available through libraries can support small businesses and entrepreneurs with new product development and it can help individuals with their own projects. Family historians, for examples, are dedicated users of digitised newspapers and local history collections.
 
ALIA's response to the Productivity Commission Data Availability and Use Issues Paper (April 2016) includes eight recommendations.

Relevance 2020 was a joint initiative of the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and Charles Sturt University (CSU) to consider the need for further development of library and information science (LIS) research infrastructure in Australia to address gaps in LIS knowledge.
 
This report provides the results of six LIS research events in Australian capital cities in late 2016 that had the main purpose of connecting academics, researchers and practitioners in order to help align future research projects and activities in the Australian LIS profession.
 
This report summarises the content and outcomes of the consultations, providing an overview of the six events, a list of priority research areas, and recommendations for building a richer research culture in the Australian LIS field.

National 2016 Conference, 29 August-2 September 2016 Adelaide: Engage Create Lead.
 
[Peer reviewed] This conference paper reports on a research project that considered the perceptions, expectations, and behaviors of library employers on job negotiations as both employers and as job seekers.  A survey was used to collect demographic data, including gender, age, position, and type of library respondents work in,  as well as data on respondents’ reasoning of why they did or did not withdraw an offer of employment, their level of comfort in negotiating, and how much flexibility they believe there was for negotiating job offers. The research question was addressed through quantitative analyses of responses to multiple choice questions and qualitative analyses of responses to open ended questions.

National 2016 Conference, 29 August-2 September 2016 Adelaide: Engage Create Lead.
 
[Peer reviewed] This conference paper explores how academic librarians are under pressure to continually adapt services and resources to meet the changing needs of academic staff and students and respond to the wider availability of unmediated digital information (Jaguszewski & Williams, 2013). Many university libraries are responding by pursuing new methods of client engagement by providing more targeted and personalised library services (Tiffen & England, 2011). This paper presents findings from a small study of the information seeking approaches of 13 academics teaching mathematics in a range of Australian universities. It finds that while academics have direct access to more information than ever before, they are also time poor, face many challenges as teachers and are under increasing pressure to change their approaches to teaching. Findings suggest that communities of practice could be effective in supporting access to information about teaching. Librarians have the opportunity to foster such communities and to support the information gathering and sharing of the communities of practice. 

National 2016 Conference, 29 August-2 September 2016 Adelaide: Engage Create Lead.
 
[Peer reviewed] This conference paper 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.

National 2016 Conference, 29 August-2 September 2016 Adelaide: Engage Create Lead
 
[Peer reviewed] This paper analyses changes to the librarian role and outlines how the Discipline Librarian (DL) role has developed over the last two years at Griffith University, moving away from traditional librarian services and towards a more targeted approach that delivers newly created services supporting scholarly impact throughout the research lifecycle. A strategic change in the service model delivery and a review of research support services identified new services and skills sets that would be required by DL’s. An audit of existing research skills identifying potential skill gaps indicated most DL’s would require additional training and development. This paper also discusses the capability framework and maturity model used for skills development. The authors, employed as Discipline Librarians, surveyed their peers to discover individual perceptions around the newly defined role and also to identify challenges or perceived barriers in communicating the new role and services to their community. Survey findings are discussed. 

National 2016 Conference, 29 August-2 September 2016 Adelaide: Engage Create Lead.
 
[Peer reviewed] This conference paper discusses the issues faced by children with special needs and their families when accessing public libraries. 
 
The research found there were five common elements that libraries focussed on when addressing issues of accessibility for children with special needs and their families. These elements were: Collections, Programs, Partnerships, Physical barriers (space and equipment), Training. The elements were used to create an inclusive library model. The foundation of this model is supportive management. The inclusive libraries model provides an entry point and structure for public libraries wanting to improve access for children with special needs and their families. 

National 2016 Conference, 29 August-2 September 2016 Adelaide: Engage Create Lead.
 
[Peer reviewed] Prison libraries play a pivotal role in serving the educational, recreational and other information needs of prison inmates.  This conference paper discusses the updating of the Mimimum Standard Guidelines for Library Services to Prisoners.  
 
In 2015 the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) established a working group to review and update the Minimum Standard Guidelines for Library Services to Prisoners, first published in 1990.  The guidelines are designed to assist with the planning of new prison libraries as well as in the evaluation and development of existing services. They are based in part on the third edition of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), Guidelines for Library Services to Prisoners (Lehmann & Locke, 2005).  This paper describes the activities of the Working Group and the challenges they faced. It examines how Corrective Services New South Wales has responded to the publication of the Guidelines. Other activities relating to prison libraries that are underway or proposed are discussed and opportunities for further research are suggested.

National 2016 Conference, 29 August-2 September 2016 Adelaide: Engage Create Lead.
 
[Peer reviewed] This conference paper discusses gaming as a pastime that encompasses a wide range of activities including video games, board games, pen and paper role playing games, and card games.   It evaluate the ways in which an urban public library can assess and meet the varied social and emotional needs of patrons using board and video games and examines issues surrounding gaming in libraries. It considers the role that game playing can have in the creation and building of communities when participation is facilitated by a public library through the provision of games and gaming events.
 
A survey was used to gather information to present a snapshot of the gaming habits of a community of individuals who utilise the services of an urban public library.  The results can inform other organisations when they are creating a game collection or expanding an existing one to help them choose titles which promote shared experiences and foster communication between community members. 

National 2016 Conference, 29 August-2 September 2016 Adelaide: Engage Create Lead.
 
This conference paper reports on an information literacy and employability project undertaken by the University of Western Sydney Library to improve support for the School of Business by reviewing the information literacy programs offered to students with a view to developing a more relevant curriculum.  The project explored which information literacy skills are of practical value to newly graduating students in the work place and of greatest value to their employers.  Interviews were conducted with new graduates and employers.  

National 2016 Conference, 29 August-2 September 2016 Adelaide: Engage Create Lead.
 
This conference paper describes a project in 2015 at the University of Adelaide Libraries to demonstrate innovative and relevant use of Virtual Reality (VR) technology in support of the University's mission.  The project aimed to demonstrate opportunities for the University Libraries to utilise emerging technologies.  
 
The pilot project existed as part of a greater movement driven by the University’s Technology Services division, and allowed an examination of how established groups could best exploit a technology on the very forefront of change.  To meet this goal a two phased project was proposed focusing on the rapid acquisition of VR production skills and the creation of a body of resources which could assist staff and students in the creation of content for this new media format.  Using the freely available Unreal Engine (UE4) an experience was created which allowed users to view a fictional world which rendered the effects of Boolean searching on a range of objects.
 
This project existed within, and due to, upheaval within the library industry. The direction of the project and the decision to produce documentation supporting an unreleased product came from the idea of the academic library as a place that creates opportunities for self-directed clients, easing the process of learning and research.  The process highlighted the value of documentation designed to lower the initial barrier to entry for this rising technology. Following the pilot project the University Libraries will consider VR as a component of the 'Library of the Future’ and determine how best it may be utilized to meet client needs.

National 2016 Conference, 29 August-2 September 2016 Adelaide: Engage Create Lead.
 
This conference paper discusses how in 2015 State Library of Queensland (SLQ) led and facilitated Fun Palace events at libraries across Queensland. Originating in the United Kingdom, Fun Palaces are free, welcoming events combining arts and sciences, made for and with local people held in the first weekend in October. The Fun Palaces campaign is an ongoing movement for culture at the heart of the community. Held at libraries, museums, town halls, theatres and more these family events are as large or small as the organisers want to make them. In 2015 SLQ provided funding to seven public libraries, these were libraries from Gold Coast, Mossman, Beaudesert, Lowood, Longreach, Weipa and Thursday Island. The libraries hosted jugglers, archaeologists, cartoonists and robotics experts and enthusiasts from their local community to celebrate art and science in all its forms. Participants at SLQ could tumble, skip, leap and hoop with Vulcana Kids Circus, meet a giant virus and help it grow, program, control and battle a robot, go air surfing with walk-along gliders, paint a mural with veggies and much more. SLQ also developed a comic maker as our contribution to the global event.
 
This paper shares what happened, what was learned at the first Fun Palaces and why this program is an important part of SLQ’s commitment to inspiring Queenslanders’ creativity. The future direction of Fun Palaces will be discussed including the aim to incorporate more community led and created activities as part of our commitment to increasing community engagement in libraries. The paper also includes details of the 2016 Fun Palaces programs.