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Fires, floods and failures: future proofing against disaster, 1 May 2019 Canberra

This conference presentation (PowerPoint slides) outlines the disaster responses, challenges and lessons learned in relation to the flooding of the Australian National University (ANU) Chifley Library.

Article by Jessica Coates, Australia Libraries Copyright Committee, from INCITE January/February 2019 Volume 40 Issue 1/2 - State of Australian Libraries.

2018 was a big year for copyright in Australia. It saw the start of several major changes that directly affect libraries, including improved provisions for providing access to people with a disability; simplified educational statutory licences; and a ‘fixed’ preservation exception.

The Australia Reads campaign, incorporating the Australian Reading Hour, was a huge success in 2019 with more than 240 registered events across all Australian states and territories, featuring appearances from more than 60 authors. Many of these events were held in Australian public libraries, with attendance from more than 1,400 people.

Libraries created the Australian Reading Hour as part of the National Year of Reading in 2012, and it has turned into a massive event, supported by federal government, state government, media channels, shopping centres, transport networks and other big name partners. Following on from the success of the Australian Reading Hour 2019, the campaign has been rebranded Australia Reads to allow a greater and more diverse coverage of activities.

Health Libraries Australia Professional Development Day, 18 & 19 July 2019 Melbourne: All about data - what do health librarians need to know in the data driven world of ehealth?

This presentation (PowerPoint slides) accompanied the talk 'Your authors will love you - classifying search results to reduce numbers to screen'

Submission from the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), National and State Libraries Australia (NSLA) and the Australian Libraries Copyright Committee (ALCC) on the development of a more accessible Standards system.

• ALIA, NSLA and the ALCC are supportive of a non-exclusive model for the distribution of Standards information in Australia. This has the potential to result in a more accessible Standards system, which we welcome.
• We are also supportive of Standard Australia's (SA) proposed principles – greater reach, awareness and use of Standards, ensuring long-term sustainability – but believe ‘access’ should also be included, setting a minimum requirement for public access to the Standards.
• We support the calls in other submissions to make the Standards publicly available under a Creative Commons (CC) licence, to maximise public access.
• In addition, SA should not limit its licensing to a single commercial licensor model. It should also provide one or more separate licences for non-commercial users, designed to meet the needs of these users and meet SA’s important public access mandate.
• To ensure SA’s financial sustainability, these licences could be provided at a reasonable rate designed to recover the cost of producing the Standards. Additional revenue could also be obtained through commercial licensing for products aimed at trade professionals, for whom the base level access provided through a library is inappropriate.
• Finally, we propose that SA partners with libraries and archives to make archived Standards freely and easily available to professionals and the general public, utilising purpose-built systems such as the (NED) service.

Vocational education and training (VET) libraries provide essential support for educators and students. They provide print materials and electronic resources; individual and group study spaces; computers and fast internet connection; information and digital literacy support, and expert assistance from qualified library and information professionals. VET libraries make a significant contribution to learning outcomes and to the employability of students.

These guidelines were developed by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) in 2015, and updated in 2019, with the assistance of the Vocational Education and Training (VET) Libraries Advisory Committee. 

The Association provides an award to recognise the highest achieving graduating student in every ALIA Accredited librarianship and library technician course, as a means of rewarding excellence.

Educators should complete the application form four weeks before a graduation ceremony or conferring in absentia and email it to education@alia.org.au.

Library Lovers' Day 2019: library love stories

Library Lovers’ Day is an opportunity for libraries and library users to celebrate all the ways that love can be found in the library. Organised by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), this annual event involves hundreds of libraries and thousands of library users.

In 2019, ALIA ran a 200–word story writing competition, story submissions were based off the prompt ‘there was love to be found in the library’.

This joint submission from the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and the Australian Public Library Alliance (APLA) discusses the role of public libraries in the digital space, enhancing people’s online experiences, helping people connect to this new virtual world, and providing a safety net for those who are in danger of being left behind, particularly in terms of the ability to access government information.

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.

Fires, floods and failures: future proofing against disaster, 1 May 2019 Canberra

This conference presentation (PowerPoint slides) outlines risks to the preservation of cultural heritage due to armed conflict and the effects of climate change and introduces the three phases of cultural property protection:

1. Before an event - prepardeness, mitigation and prevention
2. During an event - emergency first responders and first aid
3. After an event - recovery and reconstruction

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to this Inquiry into Local Government in WA.

We have two concerns. One is for ongoing and sustainable funding of resources and services through the State Library of WA. The second is for the significant additional investment in innovative new approaches which is needed in order to maintain a successful public library network across the state. This new funding cannot come exclusively from local government and there will need to be a substantial contribution from the state government.

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) welcomes the opportunity to respond to the review of the Higher Education Provider Category Standards and to express our view that:

• Providing a fit-for-purpose library and information service is a key characteristic for a quality higher education provider.
• An excellent student experience can only be achieved if students have access to the latest information resources relating to their field of study.
• Australian universities’ ability to compete with the best in terms of research requires a research infrastructure supported by libraries and library and information professionals.

As the Association representing library and information professionals, we seek to ensure that the Higher Education Standards Provider Category Standards reflect the need for students, researchers and educators to have ready access to quality library and information services, and to highlight the role of libraries as one of the differentiating factors between universities and other higher education providers.

The aim of these Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) guidelines is to provide all libraries, regardless of type, size or resourcing, with minimum standards for the provision of accessible and inclusive services for people with disabilities. These guidelines can be used to:

• analyse the present level of service,
• facilitate forward-planning,
• develop strategies for more effective services

These guidelines provide a benchmark to ensure that a standard minimum level of service is provided across the entirety of the library and information services sector.

When people arrive in Australia, whether through choice or for reasons of hardship, as migrants, international students, refugees or humanitarian entrants, they seek to make a place for themselves and their families in their new communities. They have to set up home, find employment, become familiar with cultural norms that are second nature to Australians but alien to new arrivals, and often their first language is not English.

For library users, coming from a country where there is a good public library network, the local library is an obvious place to find essential information, sign up for English language conversation classes, use the public computers, engage with other children and families at storytime. Joining the library is part of the settling in process. For others, coming from countries where there may not be a library network, libraries are an unknown quantity and it can be hard to build up the courage to step over the threshold.

Australian libraries recognise the needs and the barriers for migrants and refugees and are working to fulfil the first and break down the latter. This report shares just a few examples of the library projects to be found in different states and territories.

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) guidelines for preparing, writing and submitting grant applications.

ALIA Universities and Research Libraries (URLS) & Blue Shield Australia Conference - Fires, floods and failures: future proofing against disaster, 1 May 2019 Canberra

Fires, floods and failures: future proofing against disaster, 1 May 2019 Canberra

This conference presentation (PowerPoint slides) discusses how Libraries Australia can help organisations guard against information loss due to natural disasters, human error, library closures or system issues.

Fires, floods and failures: future proofing against disaster, 1 May 2019 Canberra

This conference paper presents case studies of disasters that have affected university libraries in Australia and around the globe and discusses the issues to be considered in formulating emergency management responses.

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and the Australian Public Library Alliance (APLA) joint statement in support of the removal of overdue fines in public libraries.

A growing number of Australian public libraries are removing fines for overdue items. This is in line with the global movement to make libraries more accessible for all people in our community. A number of trials have established that often the cost of collecting overdue fines is greater than the revenue received. Overdue fines are also a distraction from the core work of public libraries: lending items, encouraging reading and facilitating free access to information.

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) believes that employers are critical partners whose active involvement contributes positively at both the initial education stage and to the continuing professional development of library and information professionals.

Library and information employers have a key responsibility to support and assist education providers in producing graduates capable of providing quality information services. They also have a responsibility to provide opportunities for learning that support library and information professionals to enhance their knowledge and skills throughout their career in order to meet the changing needs of their clients, employers and society. This investment is essential in order to continually improve the quality of the profession and its capacity to support employer organisations.

Australian Library Design Awards and Conference, 19 March 2019 Brisbane

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. There are three categories – public libraries, academic libraries, and school libraries. There is also an ALIA Members’ Choice award, voted for by ALIA Members. Entries can be for new buildings, refurbishments or major renovations. Each entry is judged against the same set of criteria and there is the option for the judging panel to make special awards where there are several outstanding entries in one category. Any library in Australia, recently built, renovated or refurbished can be entered for the awards. This includes fixed locations but not pop up, temporary or mobile libraries.

The Australian Library Design Awards 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. 

Library Lovers' Day 2019: library love stories

Library Lovers’ Day is an opportunity for libraries and library users to celebrate all the ways that love can be found in the library. Organised by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), this annual event involves hundreds of libraries and thousands of library users.

In 2019, ALIA ran a 200–word story writing competition, story submissions were based off the prompt ‘there was love to be found in the library’.

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) welcomes the inclusion of education, arts and culture in the review of Social Infrastructure and the recognition of the vital role of libraries and other cultural institutions in supporting the quality of life, education, health and wellbeing of communities.

The 2019 Infrastructure Australia Audit report is a good summary of the issues facing National, State, Territory and public libraries. The growth in demand for physical spaces and digital access has rarely been accompanied by any increase in operating budgets and this is something we regularly raise with governments at all three levels. While investment in school libraries is briefly touched on, there is no mention of the disparity between library facilities in public and private schools. We would like to see this articulated in the Australian Infrastructure Plan and a focus on government school libraries included in the Infrastructure Priority List.

ALIA President Robert Knight has taken leadership as the theme for his presidential year, from May 2019 to May 2020, highlighting the vital role of strong leadership at every level, in order to secure a sustainable future for the library and information sector.

ALIA is investigating where the sector is performing well, and where there is room for improvement, in order to produce the ‘NextGen Leadership Scorecard’, highlighting where we need to invest our energies going forward. Five themes were identified: identifying future leaders; transfer of knowledge; development of skills; providing opportunities to experience leadership; leadership independent of the workplace. From these themes and the feedback through the pilot survey, we have identified eight desirable characteristics for an LIS sector with a robust approach to leadership. In order to assess our current position and the size of the gap between where we are now and our vision, ALIA is undertaking a survey. The results of the survey will provide a snapshot of perception and sentiment.

Health Libraries Australia Professional Development Day, 18 & 19 July 2019 Melbourne: All about data - what do health librarians need to know in the data driven world of ehealth?

This presentation (PowerPoint slides) presents the PD Day program and provides supporting promotional information.

eHealth and big data are driving massive change in the health sector. Librarians are continually challenged to be ‘data intelligent’ and to extend their skills in the use, visualisation and application of data and to support their clients’ data literacy. Librarian’s working in health science or inside health agencies and organisations are uniquely positioned to support the optimal use of data to support scientific research and the delivery of and improvements in health and medical care for individuals and the community.

This year the PD Day will combine keynote presentations with lightning talks and hands on workshops around the following themes:

• Data science - what does this encompass?
• Research data management - is this a niche role for health librarians?
• Open data, open science, the reproducibility crisis and the future of scholarly publishing - should we champion open access and research rigour?
• Bibliometrics, altmetrics, open access - what do these mean for collection development?
• Data as the new evidence - has the published literature been gazumped?
• Big data, predictive analytics, precision medicine and clinical decision-making - do librarians have a role?
• AI - are there opportunities for librarians in data curation, metadata and linking?
• Digital literacy for consumers and health professionals - are librarians the best health literacy teachers?
• Data visualisation – tools, techniques and the role of the Librarian.

Health Libraries Australia Professional Development Day, 18 & 19 July 2019 Melbourne: All about data - what do health librarians need to know in the data driven world of ehealth?

eHealth and big data are driving massive change in the health sector. Librarians are continually challenged to be ‘data intelligent’ and to extend their skills in the use, visualisation and application of data and to support their clients’ data literacy. Librarian’s working in health science or inside health agencies and organisations are uniquely positioned to support the optimal use of data to support scientific research and the delivery of and improvements in health and medical care for individuals and the community.

This year the PD Day will combine keynote presentations with lightning talks and hands on workshops around the following themes:

• Data science - what does this encompass?
• Research data management - is this a niche role for health librarians?
• Open data, open science, the reproducibility crisis and the future of scholarly publishing - should we champion open access and research rigour?
• Bibliometrics, altmetrics, open access - what do these mean for collection development?
• Data as the new evidence - has the published literature been gazumped?
• Big data, predictive analytics, precision medicine and clinical decision-making - do librarians have a role?
• AI - are there opportunities for librarians in data curation, metadata and linking?
• Digital literacy for consumers and health professionals - are librarians the best health literacy teachers?
• Data visualisation – tools, techniques and the role of the Librarian.

This checklist accompanies the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and ALIA Australian Government Libraries Information Network (AGLIN) publication "Not simple, not straightforward and not an instant cost saving: the realities of closing a government department library".

This document, created by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and ALIA Australian Government Libraries Information Network (AGLIN), provides information for government libraries which are threatened with closure. It highlights the difficulties, complexity and cost of closing a library; and the difficulties of continuing the provision of library services without a library and information science professional in place.

There are 246 TAFE libraries in Australia, supporting VET students in every State and Territory. At the beginning of 2019, ALIA's Vocational Education and Training Libraries Advisory Committee (VLAC), chaired by Brenda Burr, sought feedback about how changes in structure and funding have affected TAFE libraries and the library and information professionals who run them.

TAFE libraries were asked to complete an online questionnaire with 34 questions relating to budgets, staffing, collection formats, library space and size of customers served, library closures, changing user demands and the role of library and information professionals in the VET sector.

The survey ran in March 2019 and followed on from a similar survey carried out in 2016. Where possible, we have shown the results from both surveys to highlight similarities and differences. The 2019 survey data infers a sector reacting to both internally and externally driven circumstances. The survey results show a challenging environment in which TAFE libraries and their staff operate.

This documents presents information regarding the Australian Library and Information Association's employment advertisement services.