Friday 29 November 2013

ALIA Sydney Committee: Call for Expressions of Interest


ALIA Sydney presents a selection of formal and informal professional development events to encourage discussion and critical engagement and create networking opportunities across the library and information sector in Sydney and beyond. The ALIA Sydney committee is a group of vibrant and committed volunteers who make it all happen.

ALIA Sydney is currently looking for new committee members to join our team. Through these roles you will have the chance to develop skills in event and project management, and make vital professional connections -- plus you can have a lot of fun along the way.

Each of the below positions is voluntary in nature, and each role is for a 12-24 month period. These roles are to commence in 2014.

Expressions of Interest (EOIs) should be received by COB Thursday 12 December 2013. EOIs should briefly introduce yourself and cover the criteria outlined for the position of interest. All EOIs and any questions should be directed to the ALIA Sydney Convenors, Kirsty Butler and Amy Croft at aliasydneyconvenor@gmail.com, or call 0431 226 255.

Coordinator x 1

This role shares responsibility for coordinating the professional development events of ALIA Sydney under the guidance of ALIA Sydney Convenors.

Coordinators are expected to:
  • Plan and organise 2 events each year in conjunction with the rest of the committee.
  • Liaise with the ALIA Sydney Convenors for event ideas and ongoing support.
  • Liaise with the ALIA Sydney Treasurer for event budget submissions.
  • Submit updates for the ALIA Sydney blog at least monthly, including upcoming events (http://aliasydney.blogspot.com/).
  • Post on/update ALIA Sydney social networking pages regularly, featuring both ALIA Sydney event promotion and current awareness of library and information sector news and issues, as required.
  • Ensure a consistent and professional format for all ALIA Sydney communications in line with our communication strategy and templates.

Average Time Demand per month: 8 hours (prep plus actual events)

The interested person should:

  • Be, or be willing to become, a current member of ALIA.
  • Have an active interest in professional development within the Library & Information sector.
  • Maintain an active awareness of new issues and development within the sector.
  • Have strong interpersonal and communication skills so they can be good at kick-starting conversations and making introductions to put attendees at ease.
  • Have a head full of ideas for ALIA Sydney events, promotions and online content (eg blog posts).
  • A strong interest or expertise in technology, career development, emerging or other topics related to the sector.



Event Officers x 2

This role helps make events happen. On a rotating basis, the Event Officers will be teamed up with a Coordinator to help with event organisation and management.

Events Officers are expected to:

  • Assist with the organisation of at least 2-3 events each year in conjunction with a Coordinator.
  • Post on/update ALIA Sydney social networking pages regularly, featuring both ALIA Sydney event promotion and current awareness of library and information sector news and issues, as required.
  • Submit updates for the ALIA Sydney blog at least monthly, including reports on ALIA Sydney events (http://aliasydney.blogspot.com/).
  • Ensure a consistent and professional format for all ALIA Sydney communications in line with our communication strategy and templates.


Average Time Demand per month: 4 hours (prep plus actual events)


The interested person should:

  • Be, or be willing to become, a current member of ALIA.
  • Have an active interest in professional development with the Library & Information sector.
  • Maintain an active awareness of new issues and development within the sector.
  • Have strong communication and collaboration skills.



Social Media Officers x 2

Social media in an integral part of promoting and reporting on ALIA Sydney Events. We are looking for two motivated individuals with an interest in social media to share the responsibility of maintaining the ALIA Sydney social media platforms under the guidance of the Convenors in accordance with the ALIA Sydney Social Media Guidelines.

Social Media Officers are expected to:

  • Organise and run the ALIA Sydney Blog Every day in June event under the guidance of a Coordinator.
  • Contribute to and maintain the ALIA Sydney blog (http://aliasydney.blogspot.com/).
  • Post on/update ALIA Sydney social networking pages regularly, featuring both ALIA Sydney event promotion and current awareness of library and information sector news and issues, as required.
  • Investigate and make recommendations on the suitability of other social media platforms for ALIA Sydney.
  • Ensure a consistent and professional format for all ALIA Sydney communications in line with our communication strategy and templates.

Average Time Demand per month: 4 hours (plus actual events)

The interested person should:

  • Be, or be willing to become, a current member of ALIA.
  • Have an active interest in professional development with the Library & Information sector.
  • Maintain an active awareness of new issues and development within the sector.
  • Have strong communication and collaboration skills.

Wednesday 27 November 2013

Christmas Trivia Night Fundraiser



Hi Everyone!

Its not long till Christmas time and just a little over 2 weeks till the ALIA Sydney Christmas Party.

There will be great food, trivia and lots of fun! We are hosting this event to raise much needed funds for those in need over this Christmas time, especially for those that lost their homes during the recent bush fires in NSW.

You can donate online or on the night.

Please be sure to RSVP for catering purposes.

When: Friday 13 December 2013
Time: 6:30pm (then on to Max Brenner, for those with a sweet tooth)
Location: Morling College, 120 Herring Road, Macquarie Park
There is off-street parking or it is just a short walk from the "Macquarie University" Train station.


View Larger Map

Monday 11 November 2013

Become a NSW New Grads Regional Coordinator!

Are you looking for an opportunity to get involved with ALIA? Both NSW New Grad Regional Coordinators are simultaneously going on maternity leave at the end of 2013, and we’d like to share the load!

Two positions are available for a 12 month period.

To apply, please send a brief statement (1 page) addressing the position description (below) with your contact details to alianewgradnsw [at] gmail [dot] com

Queries about this position can also be sent to this email address.

Deadline for applications is Friday 22nd November, 2013.

Successful applicants will be contacted by the end of November to arrange handover in early December 2013.



Position description: NSW New Grads Regional Coordinator

The interested persons should:
  • Be, or be willing to become, a current member of ALIA.
  • Have an active interest in professional development with the Library & Information sector.
  • Maintain an active awareness of new issues and development within the Library and Information sector.
  • Have strong communication and collaboration skills
  • Be able to contribute to NLS7 organising for Sydney 2015

Regional Coordinators are expected to:
Event promotion:
  • Assist with the organisation of at least 2 events per year in NSW, either independently or in conjunction with another ALIA group (e.g.ALIA Sydney). Events should relate to the needs and interests of new graduates, or students in the Library and Information sector.
  • Post/Update on ALIA New Graduates Group (NGG) social networking pages regularly.
  • Use ALIA groups elist and social media accounts to promote NSW events and current awareness of library and information sector news and issues.
  • Ensure a consistent and professional format for all ALIA NGG communications

NGG reporting:
  • Report on events to the NGG using the appropriate Google Docs, and at NGG teleconferences.
  • Pass on to the NGG Convenor any issues that the New Generation Advisory Committee might need to know about
  • Keep detailed information on money spent/received to be passed on to the Treasurer once a year
  • Record all payments in the ALIA receipt book and provide invoices to all payees
  • Regularly check and maintain the group’s email account

Average time demand per month: 4 hours (2 hours prep plus actual events)
Term required: 12 months (Dec 2013-Dec 2014)

Monday 4 November 2013

ALIA Sydney 2013 Christmas Party/ Trivia Night

Come along and join us in at our last social event for the year.

After the rather devastating fires in New South Wales in recent times, this is a great opportunity to band together and raise some much needed funds for those that have been effected.

The cause is worthwhile, lots of fun will be had, canapes will be provided.

Date: Friday, 13 December 2013
Time: 6:30pm for a 7:00pm start

Where: Morling College Dining Hall, 120 Herring Road, Macquarie Park.
It is just a short walk from the Macquarie University Train station and the Macquarie Centre.
On-site parking is available.


View Larger Map

Cost: Donation for bush fire victims

Please register your interest HERE.


Tuesday 29 October 2013

Open Access - What Now?

Last week (21 - 27 October) was international Open Access Week. So what is Open Access and what are a few things we, as library and information professionals, can do to support it for the other 51 weeks of the year?

What's Open Access again?

If you'd like a quick refresher on Open Access, or are looking for a great resource to which you can direct others, check out this video created by PHD Comics.



Or try this overview by Peter Suber, an authority on the Open Access movement.

What about Open Access in Australia?

The Australian Open Access Support Group (AOASG) is a great starting point for resources about OA - specific to Australia.

Free information!

Who doesn't like free information? If you're looking for Open Access journals, your first stop would have to be the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), which celebrated its tenth birthday this year.

If you've got time on your hands, browse the 141 Library and Information Science journals currently listed in the DOAJ.

And don't forget institutional repositories, where institutions collect and showcase their scholarly output. To browse or search repositories around the world, explore the Registry of Open Access Repositories (ROAR).

What can we do?

Check out a recent AOASG post by Dr Danny Kingsley outlining four issues restricting widespread green OA in Australia, along with her suggested solutions. Is there something here that you or your organisation could address?

See Peter Suber's extensive list of things that Librarians can do to support OA for many more ideas - this is specific to academic libraries.

Contribute to WikiProject Open - this project aims to improve Wikimedia content through the use of open materials, and to improve Wikipedia articles on openness. If, like me, you've never contributed to Wikipedia before, start with the section welcoming new Wikipedians.

Share in the comments - what are you going to do before next year's Open Access Week?

Amy Croft
Convenor, ALIA Sydney
@amyecroft

Friday 25 October 2013

National Advisory Congress (NAC) is almost here

There are still spaces available for the upcoming Sydney NAC on Monday 28 October.
Free registration and more details at Eventbrite.

ALIA’s annual National Advisory Congresses are held in each state and territory in order to provide ample opportunity for members to participate in discussion on policy, planning and topical issues relevant to the Association.




Join the ALIA Board of Directors' Alyson Dalby, and your New South Wales colleagues, to discuss ALIA’s Future of the Profession project. NSW’s State Manager, Julia Garnett, will be recording notes. You can follow us on Twitter and participate via the #aliafutures hashtag.

We'll be meeting at Surry Hills Neighbourhood Centre, one level above Surry Hills Library at 405 Crown St. The NAC will get underway at 6pm and run until about 7:45.

Afterward you are welcome to continue the conversation. Join us for dinner or a drink at The Clock Hotel, across the road at 470 Crown St.





Thursday 24 October 2013

ALIA Sydney Meetup Tomorrow!

ALIA Sydney will be having an informal meetup at the Lindt Cafe at Cockle Bay Wharf tomorrow (Friday 25 October) from 7pm.

This is a great chance to:

  • network with fellow awesome library and information people, including Julia Garnett, the ALIA State Manager for NSW
  • let us know what kind of events you'd like to see ALIA Sydney provide in 2014



View Larger Map

No RSVP necessary - just show up!

If you can't make it, please feel free to share your event wishlist via the comments below or email us at aliasydneygroup@gmail.com.

Hope to see you there,
Amy Croft
Convenor, ALIA Sydney
@amyecroft

Friday 11 October 2013

Library 2.013 Worldwide Virtual Conference One Week Away



The Library 2.013 Worldwide Virtual Conference will be held October 18 - 19 (Friday and Saturday). 

The conference is online, in multiple time zones over the course of two days, and free to attend! The School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) at San José State University is the founding conference sponsor. For those of us in Sydney or surrounds, the first presentation will be at the unfriendly time of 2:00am on Tuesday October 15th, being Connected Librarian Day (hashtag #cld13), with the Conference proper beginning at 1:00am, Saturday October 19th, and running continuously until 2:00pm on Sunday 20th October.

But don't despair! If you are keen to hear the presentations, but also need your sleep, all presentations are recorded and will be posted fairly quickly on the Library 2.0 website. On the other hand, with more than 144 presentations to choose from, there are bound to be some you would like to join and participate in. A list of keynote speakers can be found here.

Last year I thoroughly enjoyed the Conference, mainly lurking around and not joining in much, and most likely I will do the same this year. I enjoyed hearing from presenters all over the world, and later in the year, I was easily able to return to recordings of those sessions as something cropped up that made me want to refresh my memory.

Register through the website if you like, but you don't need to register to enjoy the presentations.

Lauren Castan

Tuesday 1 October 2013

How do you feel about working in a dying industry?

Great actually!

If libraries are what people consider a dying industry, please let me share with you a few statistics that were compiled by the State Library of NSW.


There are 376 public libraries in NSW, 142 in metropolitan NSW and 234 in country areas.
The key indicators of public library use show that public libraries are highly valued by their communities. 2012 figures show:
  • almost 35 million visits to NSW public libraries (up 30% since 2000)
  • almost 48 million loans
  • over 3 million internet hours used by the public
  • almost 3.2 million library members (44% of the NSW population)
  • more than 52,000 public programs and events
  • more than 1.2 million people attended public programs (up 38% since 2008)
Now I don't know about you, but I would consider that a growing industry, if anything. We are currently in an era that could shape how people view and use libraries in the future.

What an opportunity and a privilege!

- Gabby



Wednesday 18 September 2013

Hallowed Ground Panel Confirmed

Hallowed Ground is almost upon us and we can now share with you our panelists on the Future of the Storybook.


Don't forget to register HERE to join us next Monday night, 6pm at Customs House Library!!!


Panel:

Chris Cheng is the award winning author of more than 40 children’s books in print and digital formats including the picture books One child, andSounds Spooky, the historical fiction titles New Gold Mountain and the Melting Pot and the non fiction titles 30 Amazing Australian Animals and Australia’s Greatest Inventions and Innovations. In addition to his books, Christopher writes articles for online ezines and blogs and he wrote the libretto for a children’s musical. He is co-chair of the International Advisory Board for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), an International Advisory Board Member for the Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC) and a recipient of the Lady Cutler Award for Children’s Literature. He is also the director of the digital publishing company Sparklight. He presents in schools, conferences and festivals around the world and he established the international peer voted SCBWI Crystal Kite Awards.


Heather Curdie is a Senior Editor for Penguin Books and is part of a small Sydney contingent of the Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Australia. She works on a wide range of children's books that includes picture books, middle fiction and young adult. While at Penguin, she has been fortunate to be editor to Oliver Phommavanh, Tohby Riddle, Aaron Blabey, Jane Godwin, Anna Walker, Andrew Joyner, Judy Horacek, Nicole Pluss, Michael Wagner, Ursula Dubosarsky, Robert Newton, and Morris Gleitzman. Heather love her family, music, swimming, chocolate (hence the swimming), and is a sucker for a good waterfall or spectacular sunset.



Alex McDonald is the Studio Manager of We are Wheelbarrow, a digital interactive studio that develops children's books into creative, innovative and entertaining apps. We are Wheelbarrow was founded in 2011 by Tim Kendly, Nick Bland, Adrian Shapiro, and Matt Tanner. Wheelbarrow works to translate pages to screens, providing a digital platform coupled with art direction and design, as well as cutting edge design. Wheelbarrow's latest project, to be released on the 8th October is a digital app of Shaun Tans' brand new book 'Rules of Summer'. Alex is also a Production Assistant and project Manager at the company. She is also Studio Manager of Wheelbarrow's sister companies XYZ Studios and Crayon.



Judith Ridge is internationally recognised as one of Australia’s leading experts on writing for children and young adults. Judith has worked as an editor, teacher, writer and critic. Her experience as an editor encompasses more than six years at the NSW School Magazine, in-house at ABC Children’s Books and as a freelancer for Random House, Penguin, Walker Books Australia and O’Brien Publishers Ireland. She has taught children’s literature at Macquarie University and established the Writing for Children and Young Adults course in the MA of Creative Writing program at the University of Sydney. For the past 8 years she has taught a short course in writing children’s books at the Australian Writers’ Centre. Judith is an Honorary Associate in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney. Judith has written about children’s and youth literature for journals such as Viewpoint and Magpies, Australian Book Review,Publishers Weekly (US), AustralianBookseller and Publisher, The Horn Book(US) and The Melbourne Age. She has spoken at numerous conferences, festivals and seminars in around the world. 
Currently, she acts as a consultant to the Sydney Writers’ Festival on their children’s and youth program, including coordinating the Festival’s School Days programs for the 2013 and 2014 Festivals. Judith has been a judge four times on the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, is a Churchill Fellow and has an MA in children’s literature. Since 2007, she has been Project Officer on WestWords: the Western Sydney Young People’s Literature Project.

Tuesday 17 September 2013

Thursday Night TweetUp

Looking for something other than late night shopping to do this Thursday (19th September) night?

Come on down to The Barber Shop for a Tweetup with Jason Griffey, the creator of LibraryBox!  




Jason will be bringing LibraryBox along for everyone to check out! 

So come on down to 89 York St for a few cocktails and tech talk with Jason!




When: 6pm, Thursday 19 September 2013
Where: The Barber Shop







Thursday 12 September 2013

Wanted: your election material!

Source: http://blogs.nla.gov.au/behind-the-scenes/files/2013/08/Election_Banner.jpg

So the 2013 Federal Election is over and now you're left with a pile of useless election campaign material. What to do with it all??


Instead of tossing it all into the recycling or rubbish bin, why not send it to a new and loving home!!


The National Library of Australia is attempting to collect an original copy of ever piece of campaign material produced to add to the national collection. Every three years the National Library attempts to collect all political ephemera produced during the election to record for future generations, the political landscape of our time. This year to make it even easier for you to send the Library any material you have, the National Library has established a reply-paid address. 

Federal Election Campaign Ephemera
Australian Collection Development
National Library of Australia
Reply Paid E202 (Box 6153)
Kingston ACT 2604

The National Library is looking for:
  • Any published leaflets, letters, ‘how to vote’ cards, posters, pamphlets, badges, stickers, hats, cardboard cutouts, DVDs and any other political material. The more unusual the item the better.
  • Material from marginal electorates, from communities with specific local issues as well as from regional and remote Australia.
  • Any material that arrives through your mailbox or is handed to you in person from candidates/parties, political lobby groups and especially from unofficial sources with a political agenda.
  • The Library’s PANDORA service also archives election-based websites – those hosted by registered parties, lobby groups and also politically focused blogs. Please send any suggested sites for archiving to the Web Archiving team.

So rather than adding to the plies of recycling and rubbish why don't you contribute to preserving our history! 

Monday 2 September 2013

Hallowed Ground: The Future of the Story Book

Source: http://database.designinglibraries.org.uk/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=7401
ALIA Sydney is proud to be partnering with the City of Sydney Library to bring Hallowed Ground back in 2013 to discuss the future of the storybook. 

Join our panelists as they discuss how the humble storybook is evolving and how this is affecting the way children interact with literature.

Stay tuned to find out who our panelists are...


Date: 23 September 2013
Time: 6pm - 7pm
Cost: FREE

Reserve your seat NOW!

Tuesday 27 August 2013

Upcoming Workshop- Succeeding with Embedded Librarianship: How to Initiate, Develop, and Sustain New Relationships in Your Organisation

As part of the Australian Law Librarian’s Conference being held in Sydney from 23-25 September. ALLA is hosting a workshop on Monday 23rd September on Embedded Librarianship which will be run by David Shumaker.

Embedded Librarianship offers new opportunities for librarians to become better connected and more valuable than ever. Librarians in leading law firms and academic institutions are adopting the embedded model to upgrade their role in today’s always-on mobile digital information environment. Yet this new way of working poses unique challenges every step of the way: from initiation, through development, ultimately to sustaining the embedded model. The path to success holds obstacles and dead ends for the unwary. In this workshop, David Shumaker, author of The Embedded Librarian (Information Today, 2012) and blogger at www.embeddedlibrarian.com , provides a road map and helps you chart your own course to successful embedded librarianship.

The workshop will run from 9.30am to 1.30pm at Herbert Smith Freehills, 161 Castlereagh Street, Sydney NSW 2000.

See the conference page for more information.

Sunday 28 July 2013

Time to renew your membership?

If you haven’t yet renewed your ALIA membership, this walkthrough can show you how to renew online.

Questions about membership? Your state or territory manager is happy to help. In NSW, that's me, Julia (julia.garnett@alia.org.au). To find the contact details for other states, visit ALIA:People.

Email Renewal Notices

Email renewal notices have been sent out, so if you haven’t received yours, please contact the ALIA National Office or your state or territory manager. Each notice is personalised to include your membership number and the cost of your renewal. At the bottom of the renewal notice you’ll find payment options.

Renewing Online

  1. Go to the ALIA website http://www.alia.org.au
  2. Click the “Log in” button in the top right-hand corner
    Now that you’re logged in, you will be able to access all the services available to you as an ALIA member. It’s a good idea to log in every time you use the website.
  3. Click the Main Menu button (next to Home in the top right corner) to show the new ALIA website's menu.

  4. Under Membership in the centre column, click Renew your membership.
  5. Enter the information required to pay by credit card. The form should already be populated with your name, address, email, membership type (e.g.; student) and the cost to renew your membership for the year.
  6. After you've filled everything in, hit the button! Once the payment has been processed, you'll see a Renewal Confirmation screen with a credit card verification number.

Thanks for being a part of ALIA!

- Julia

Sunday 30 June 2013

Volunteering at the Hurstville City Library



I’ve been doing some time volunteering at my local public library while I’m studying for my Diploma of Library Studies at TAFE. It’s been great for me to get into a library and get a feel for the day to day activities, get a bit of experience to fill in a thin resume, and to set a path for my future career. Lots of library students and prospective library students give time to the volunteer program for the same reasons, and lots of local community members join the program too. I came to hear about the volunteering program from a staff member who I met at the Unmeash Unconference last year. I received a lot of good advice at Unmeash 2012  and was able to turn some of it into action.

At the induction session I attended last year, reasons for joining the volunteer program ranged from improving English conversation skills, assisting with special community language programs within the library, meeting people after moving to a new area, and giving time to something meaningful in the community. The volunteers wear different coloured name tags if they have a particular expertise, such as computing skills, or if they speak a community language (or if they are library students).

I’ve learned many things in the program that perhaps should have been obvious. I quickly changed over to much more supportive shoes. I sought out clothes with pockets to carry small things with me. I realised that not everyone understood the differences between graphic novels and manga, and I can now predict which sections need the most frequent shelf tidying. In the time I’ve been there I have received training in assisting patrons with technical questions, such as downloading ebooks from the library catalogue, and have assisted staff to present the beginner computer classes which just happen to coincide with my regular shift. As I especially enjoy this, I am already thinking how I can use my time studying to gain more formal training in providing training.

But apart from all that, one of the main things I enjoy is working with the other volunteers. Hurstville City Council actively fosters volunteers in many areas, and the library is part of a library/museum/gallery group. They work hard to make sure that the volunteers are shown appreciation through morning teas and activities that give us the time to get to know each other and the staff.  It’s pleasant to get to know the other volunteers that are there on the same day as me, and to meet up with others volunteering at different locations and hear about their experiences. Plus, I get to keep an eye on new releases and never have to make a special trip to return my books.


If you are a library student, or even thinking about studying in the future, perhaps there are volunteering opportunities near you.  Seek them out, for fun and function.