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Over the last 80-plus years, there have been many people who have helped shape the Association and the library and information science profession in Australia – award recipients, past Presidents, Honorary Members and Fellows. In this document, you will find their inspirational stories of leadership, innovation and achievement.
This document includes individual biographical information about Honours Board recognition recipients with surnames beginning N-Z.

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 24 May 2021.
 
This document has been superseded by the amended "Constitution of Australian Library and Information Association Limited" (2022), passed 16 May 2022.

Well-resourced school libraries staffed by qualified library professionals are essential to rebuild the literacy levels of Australian students and achieve an appropriate level of reading competency. School libraries are necessary to create safe, confident users of online content and ensure that young people are media literate.
 
The statement calls on commonwealth, state and territory governments to ensure equitable access to appropriately funded and well-resourced school libraries, enhanced by the services of fully qualified teacher librarians and other library professionals.

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and ALIA Australian Public Library Alliance (APLA) respond to the Regional Telecommunications Review issues paper drafted by the Australian Federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications.
ALIA and APLA support equality of access to the benefits arising from our increasingly digital society and view public libraries as having an important role in bridging the gap for those who don’t have the skills, knowledge, money, devices or high speed connection to be regular and confident users of the internet.
 
ALIA and APLA ask the Regional Telecommunications Review committee to reference the role and value of the public library network in its report and to encourage federal government, telecommunications industry actors and other stakeholders to approach libraries, through councils, as key delivery partners in new initiatives in this space.

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) Board accepts that climate change is a dangerous reality and that its effects pose an increasing threat to libraries and the communities they serve. 
The statement outlines actions being taken by ALIA to respond to climate change by supporting its members, reducing the association's own environmental footprint and being and active participant in collective efforts to improve the outlook for the planet.

[Peer reviewed] Abstract: The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic forced public library staff to rapidly rethink the services they offered as lockdown restrictions meant that libraries as social venues briefly came to an end. Online content was developed overnight to fill the void. This study examines the impact that the contactless operational model has had on library services across Australia, as seen through the eyes of eight public library staff. The qualitative study contributes in-depth data to scant literature about public libraries and the pandemic in an Australian context. The study highlights the value of libraries to the community. The need for in-person contact is discussed in terms of future service design in library and information practice.
 
This document is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in the Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association on 2 August 2021, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/24750158.2021.1955436.
 
Citation for published article:
Maree Wilson (2021) Australian Public Library Staff Living through a Pandemic: Personal Experience of Serving the Community, Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, 70:3, 322-334, DOI: 10.1080/24750158.2021.1955436
 
© Maree Wilson 2021

Australian Library and Information Association Biennial Conference, 2 – 5 September 2008, Alice Springs Convention Centre, Alice Springs, NT Australia: Dreaming 08.
 
This conference paper presents discussion by the Special Collections Librarian and the Indigenous Services Officer at Alice Springs Public Library on establishing and developing the Alice Springs Public Library’s Akaltye Antheme Collection. The Akaltyne Antheme Collection aims to facilitate Indigenous people’s use of the Library and all its collections and to provide insight into local culture for non-Indigenous patrons and visitors. The paper contextualises the collection's role within the broader scope of the library and its information services for Indigenous people and highlights its successes.
 

ALIA 2012 Biennial Conference, Sydney, Australia, 10 - 13 July 2012.
 
ALIA National Conference provides the platform as a meeting point for all Library and Information professionals, from all sectors and all areas of Australia and the international community. 

ALIA Information Online 2015 Conference, 2-5 February 2015, Sydney: at the edge.
 
In 2014 the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) recommended the introduction of an American-style fair use, an architecture of non category-based permissible exceptions to the exclusive rights of copyright owners. The conference presentation discusses the ALRC report and possible futures for Australian copyright law.

This advocacy document [poster] illustrates the ways that Australian school libraries power high performance government, Catholic and independent schools through providing modern learning environments, digital hubs, developing student research skills, promoting reading for pleasure, providing curriculum support and cybersafety education, celebrating diversity, enabling participation and access, coordinating special programs, and building communities.

On 24th March 2020 the Prime Minister of Australia declared the immediate closure of libraries across the country as part of the national attempt to slow the rate of COVID-19 infections. This meant over 1,600 public library service points across the country in urban, regional and remote locations, were no longer able to offer services on their premises.
 
This research aimed to explore the response by public libraries across Australia to the COVID-19 crisis. Its findings will assist public libraries in understanding their own roles and performance in a community crisis and will enable them to better prepare for and react to similar crises in the future so that community needs are met as efficiently and effectively as possible. In addition, the research aimed to identify possible trends in future service and resource provision resulting from measures put in place during the COVID-19 crisis.
 
It is important to note that the protracted nature of the pandemic has meant that many public libraries across Australia are still facing significant operational challenges. We therefore recognise that examples of innovation and best practice are still emerging, and that in many cases public library staff have yet to be afforded the space and time needed for effective reflection on their response to the crisis.

ALIA Information Online 2015 Conference, 2-5 February 2015, Sydney: at the edge.
 
This conference paper discusses how the State Library of New South Wales has adopted the ATSILIRN protocols in its use of social media to engage with Indigenous communities and in sharing Indigenous material with the wider community. It provides case study examples of ways in which staff have built capacity and made informed decisions about utilising Indigenous content in social media. The paper aims to inspire others to deliver client services that incorporate the user needs of Indigenous people and communities.

ALIA Information Online 2015 Conference, 2-5 February 2015, Sydney: at the edge.
 
Abstract:
 
Introduction: Established in 1978, CAVAL is a not-for-profit consortium of eleven Australian academic libraries, offering a range of specialised products and services for the benefit of its members and for other libraries in the region. The CAVAL Reciprocal Borrowing Program, enabling higher education staff and students a simple and effective means of borrowing from the print collections of all participating libraries on a walk-in basis, has been coordinated by CAVAL for over 35 years. In addition, from its Melbourne base, CAVAL administers the purpose-built CARM (CAVAL Archival and Research Material) storage facility, preserving and providing access to over a million research volumes deposited into the CAVAL Shared Collection by member libraries, for the benefit of future generations of scholars.
 
Method: In recent years, the number of physical loans transacted between libraries in the Reciprocal Borrowing Program has declined, commensurate with similar declines in lending from their own collections, and partly due to new services such as the BONUS+ request and delivery service. Although these trends are expected to continue, it is anticipated that an ongoing need for physical books will continue in a reduced “long tail” manner. Libraries are buying less and less print, but a portion - particularly in some specific disciplines - remains available in print only. Additionally, as university libraries face continuing budget challenges, services and solutions which optimize access to print collections are needed to improve the cost-effectiveness of both past and ongoing investment in print resources. The use of sophisticated search and discovery systems can enable technical interoperability between disparate library systems to provide un-mediated identification and delivery of materials, and to promote their use in a collaborative resource sharing environment. In response to changes in the use of print both within and between academic libraries, CAVAL has initiated a pilot implementation of the Relais D2D (Discovery to Delivery) software, involving three of its member libraries, and incorporating access to the CAVAL Shared Collection. The pilot system offers un-mediated discovery and request from the collections of the participating libraries and delivery of physical print resources to eligible users via their home libraries. Similar to the service offered by some Australian libraries through the BONUS+ consortium, the Relais D2D software is operational at a number of large US library networks, including Uborrow and BorrowDirect. However, the D2D software is not based primarily on the use of a common library management system, but instead utilizes the NCIP protocol to enable interoperability between different library systems.
 
Results: This paper will describe the aims, implementation and outcomes of the CAVAL D2D pilot, from the experience and perspective of both CAVAL and the participating libraries. The paper will review the pilot process, its strengths and weaknesses, and examine the outcomes in terms of enhanced access to print materials and the potential benefits for both the libraries and their users.
 
Conclusion: The paper will conclude with a consideration of the pilot outcomes in the context of the changing landscape of the sharing of print resources between academic libraries, and will look at how discovery and request systems might not only displace traditional co-operative lending programs but also create potential for new service models and partnerships.

ALIA Information Online 2015 Conference, 2-5 February 2015, Sydney: at the edge.
 
Abstract:
 
In 2013, the University of Sydney Library invited Anne Melles and Yasmin Moore from Monash University Library to deliver a workshop on Design Thinking (DT) and its applicability to the academic library setting. DT draws on a diverse range of disciplines to provide a methodological framework for user-centred problem-solving. Following the workshop, a small group was formed to investigate the way in which users move through various spaces within the library (physical and virtual), and to track their experience, broadly described as ‘wayfinding’. Primary aims of the Wayfinding group were to:
 
A. Experiment with DT as a way of identifying user needs and propose user-driven solutions in relation to wayfinding, and
 
B. Develop tools and processes to help colleagues look at user behaviour from a fresh perspective.
 
The group conducted a series of surveys to find out what ‘wayfinding’ meant to library staff. This produced a working definition that guided later activities. A literature scan uncovered methods for uncovering user requirements (McGinn & Kotamraju, 2008; McQuaid, Goel, & McManus, 2003; Vyas, De Groot, & Van Der Veer, 2006). These methods included developing personas which are rich descriptions of users that allow ‘designers’ to step outside their own knowledge domain and see a situation from the user’s point of view. Personas were developed utilising several streams of data, including the University’s statistical reports, the recently completed University of Sydney Library Client Survey 2013 (Insync Survey),1 and focused observation of library users. Further analysis of the Insync Survey data guided the creation of ‘scenarios’ in which users attempt to 'find their way' to complete a task. Personas and scenarios were then brought together to create rich narratives of user journeys through library space. Common themes and issues were then extrapolated from these narratives.
 
In applying DT principles to wayfinding, the Wayfinding group was able to propose more intuitive services grounded in the user experience. The Wayfinding group shared insights with other library project groups, helping colleagues to employ DT in the development of their projects. One instance of such collaboration informed the composition and placement of touchscreens to enhance user navigation in the library.