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National 2016 Conference, 29 August-2 September 2016 Adelaide: Engage Create Lead.
 
This conference presentation (PowerPoint slides) supports the paper which discusses how the NSW Parliamentary library went about building a learning organisation. The NSW Parliamentary Library is the oldest specialist library of its kind in Australia. The staff of the library are also specialists, who possess remarkable amounts of knowledge about parliamentary resources and history. Like many libraries today, a great deal of this knowledge is tacit, with vast amounts of corporate knowledge embedded in the memories of comparatively few individuals.
 
In the 2014/2015 Business Plan, in line with the strategic plan of the Department of Parliamentary Services, the Parliamentary Librarian set a goal-based activity to “Build a learning organisation”. A project team was formed, and an original plan for knowledge-sharing and capacity-building was implemented. The results have been overwhelmingly positive, promising and even unexpected.

National 2016 Conference, 29 August-2 September 2016 Adelaide: Engage Create Lead
 
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers should be aware that this paper contains images and names of people who are now deceased.
 
This conference presentation (PowerPoint slides) supports the paper which discusses the value, relevance and role of historical images of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people along with the decriptive metadata that was recorded at the time of capture.
 
It examines the challenge of absent and fabricated metadata in these photographs as they are discovered, delivered and published online. It draws on research into the role these collections play in European anthropological museums, including the Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford University and the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris, to consider their transactional provenance. It also explore cultural rights and the value of photographs to Indigenous communities and considers the seminal Ara Irititja and new Indigenous databases and ask how we can best connect with experts in Indigenous communities to fill gaps in the descriptive metadata of our national memory.

National 2016 Conference, 29 August-2 September 2016 Adelaide: Engage Create Lead.
 
This conference presentation supports a report prepared by the eGov Ready Project Team that emerged as part of the State Library of Vicoria and Public Libraries Victoria Network 2015 Shared Leadership Program.  The conference paper discusses how public library staff are reporting increasing demand to help patrons navigate and find online resources relating to eGovernment. Framing this is the federal policy for all high volume government services to be online by 2017, and 80% of all government service interactions to be through digital channels by 2020.
 
This presentation showcases a diagnostic toolkit to enable public libraries to assess their eGov readiness, which was produced as part of an action learning project sponsored by the State Library of Victoria and Public Libraries Victoria Network’s Shared Leadership Program, with the assistance of Cube Group, offers public libraries a practical and scalable means for evaluating their capacity to provide support, resources and training.
 
The evidence base underpinning this project draws from the ALIA and Australian Public Library Alliance proposed report, The impact of eGovernment on Australian public libraries (2015).   The questions posed in this document were used to develop online surveys for Victorian public library management and staff to evaluate the impact of eGov on:

• Staff time and skills
• ICT
• Programming and partnerships.

 
While public libraries are well-equipped and accessible places for eGovernment community access and education, data gathered from over 300 frontline staff shows that despite the fact that over the past 3 years, more than 90% of respondents reported having to spend more time on enabling patron discovery and interactivity with government information, forms, data and records, less than 10% believed that they were adequately prepared and trained for providing effective eGovernment information services.
 
How do we ensure we understand the broader environment in which we operate and how do we connect with it?
 
Australian public libraries are valued community hubs, and the largest providers of free internet and Wi-Fi services.  The continued rollout of eGovernment will only increase demand on the sector to provide eGov support services to our communities.  It is thus imperative that public library services actively seek out ways to effectively engage with our communities in this socio-political agenda.  Our eGov Ready Libraries Toolkit offers public libraries a ‘traffic light’ rated diagnostic tool, the results of which link directly to practical ideas for suggested areas of improvement across all platforms: ICT, programs, partnerships, community engagement and staff development.

The fundamental principles according to which the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, is to be governed, as amended to 17 May 2017.

Results of a survey conducted in 2017 to elicite views on how a united library field can tackle the challenges of the future.  Respondents were ALIA personal members or work for libraries that are ALIA instutional members.  The report is a contribution to the International Federation of Library Association and Institutions (IFLA) Global Vision conversation.

This report, produced by ALIA Australian Public Library Alliance (APLA) demonstrates how public libraries are supporting the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) agenda as centres of informal learning.  It showcases what can be achieved through local government investment and public library staff skills and creativity.
 
It is based on presentations at the STEAM into Sydney Conference held at the State Library of New South Wales in March 2017 in conjunction with the mid-term meeting of the IFLA Standing Committee on Public Libraries.  

ALIA National 2016 Conference, 29 August-2 September 2016, Melbourne: engage, create, lead
 
This conference presentation [PowerPoint slides] supports the paper on the development of Victorian Public Libraries 2030: Strategic Framework (VPL 2030), a strategic approach to the planning of public library projects in Victoria.  It shows how the framework operates to maintain a consistent approach across the Victoria public library sector and provide updates on statewide public library development projects undertaken collaboratively by Public Library Victoria Network (PLVN) and the State Library of Victoria (SLV).  
 
The strategic objectives of the VPL 2030 framework address the following social trends: creativity, collaboration, brain health, dynamic learning and community connection. The objectives themselves consist of: storytelling that fosters buy-in to the shared vision; accessing additional revenue and funding schemes; products, services, and programs aligned to community needs and aspirations; facilities and resources that underpin community creativity and learning; and staff with the skills and attributes to enable services into the future. 

ALIA National 2016 Conference, 29 August-2 September 2016 Adelaide: engage create lead.
 
A poster paper describing a research project funded in part by the 2014 ALIA Research Grant Award.
 
This research lies at the emerging field of human information interaction and retrieval (CHIIR), with particular emphasis on user-centred approaches to information retrieval. The project included designing and conducting a user experiment to assess the effect of displayed Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms on gaze and search behaviour.
 
The results include several kinds of research data that inform the understanding of the relationship between interface, reading patterns, search behaviour and search performance. 

ALIA 2016 National Conference, 29 August-2 September 2016, Adelaide: Engage, Create, Lead
 
[Peer reviewed] This paper engages with the issue, raised by Lonsdale in 2003, of a lack of data regarding national staffing trends in Australian school libraries. The authors review the literature available, including general census data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, library sector-specific information, and data from the education sector (including school libraries). Particular focus is given to the Staff in Australian Schools survey, as well as its limitations. 
 
The authors discuss three main findings from their research: 1) declining numbers of teachers in primary school libraries, 2) a growing inequity between numbers of staff in low-SES and high-SES school libraries, and 3) the prevalence of teachers with little or no tertiary qualifications in library studies working in school libraries. The authors also examine residual gaps in the data and provide the following recommendations: work to collect and share data across relevant sectors; partner with the library industry to commission and fund broader kinds of research; and connect research to national and local priorities such as those related to school students' performance. 

 
Contents: About ALIA -- President's report -- Chief Executive Officer's report -- Director Corporate Services' report -- Director of Learning's report -- How we performed against the strategic plan -- Our membership -- Advocacy campaigns -- Government and stakeholder relations -- Special projects -- Conferences and events -- ALIA in the regions -- Education, professional development and training -- Awards -- Communications -- Financial statements.

Submission by ALIA to the first round consulation of the Australian Public Service Review, 31 July 2018.
This review is looking at the capability, culture and operating model of the APS.
The submission presents a case against library staffing and service reductions in government libraries and requests that the APS Review consider the following five recommendations:
1. That the review recognise the importance of knowledge and information to the efficient and effective operation of the APS.
2. That the review endorse the ongoing need for qualified library and information professionals serving the Commonwealth Government.
3. That the review propose exploration of new service models for library and information services, with advice from ALIA and other relevant organisations.
4. That the review note the opportunity for the recruitment and employment of Indigenous professionals in the library stream.
5. That the APS recognise the need for specialist skills in the management of library and information services.
 

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) submission in response to enhancing online safety for children and older Australians. The submission recommends further integration of community focused programs into the Office of the eSafety Commissioner's portfolio.

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) submission to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) discusses the invaluable role of public libraries in enabling digital inclusion. The submission recommends consultation be undertaken between the ABS and ALIA Australian Public Library Alliance about a funded education and communications plan for 2021 Census, to articulate the role of public libraries and allow for information sessions, factsheets, FAQs and handouts to be provided well in advance of any public-facing campaign.

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) submission in response to the Digital Health Agency consultation discussing the value of Australian Public Library Alliance (APLA) and Health Libraries Australia (HLA) as partners in the provision of access to authoritative health information.