ALIA Sydney Event: Trivia Night

Celebrate the end of a fantastic year of networking and professional development with some trivia. There will be plenty of challenging questions, but no sports (we promise!)...
This is a great opportunity for networking with familiar faces - and new people!!!
Organise a team of 4-5, or we can arrange a team for you- just let us know when you RSVP.
Awesome prizes courtesy of Thomson Reuters.
Light refreshments will be served. 

Venue: CQUniversity Sydney, 400 Kent St, Sydney (near Town Hall)
Date: Tuesday 11 December
Time: 6pm (for a 6:30pm start) - 8:30pm
Cost: $7 ALIA members / $10 non-members
Spaces are limited, so RSVP now to aliasydneygroup@gmail.com

ALIA Sydney Group Committee 2013

The ALIA Sydney Group Committee has been doing some planning for 2013, and there will be a number of vacancies on the committee, which we'll be looking to fill with enthusiastic library and information professionals who would like to get involved.

We'll be inviting people to put in Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for a variety of roles soon, so keep an eye out for this upcoming announcement. In the meantime, if you're interested in finding out more about what the ALIA Sydney Group does, and how our professional development events run, please come along to our next event, which will be held this Thursday 4th October at Parramatta Library and check it out for yourself!

We'll be discussing some of the more challenging and controversial issues facing libraries, from censorship to dealing with difficult customers, but the committee members will be more than happy to talk about what's involved with being an ALIA Sydney group committee member before and after the event.

If you're interested in organising professional development events for LIS professionals, interested in your own career and professional development and would like the opportunity to network, work alongside and meet lots of other LIS professionals, please consider putting in an EOI- we'd love to hear from you. Details will be released shortly.

If you're thinking about coming along to our next event, I've copied the details below:

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The ALIA Sydney group is heading to Parramatta!

 

Come along and join us for a lively evening of discussion around some of the more controversial issues that libraries are facing. Details below:

 

Have you dealt with some tricky situations in the library where there was no black and white answer? Has someone challenged the inclusion of something in the library collection? Have you dealt with an unusual customer?

 

If you're interested in unpacking situations like these, developing strategies to address them and come up with solutions, then come along to ALIA Sydney's Shades of Grey workshop!

 

6.00-7.45pm Thursday 4 October

Darug Room
Parramatta City Library

Civic Place, Parramatta

 

MAP

 

ALIA members $5 entry, non members $7 entry

Special guests include

• Philip Anderson from Wyong Library who implemented a Gay, Lesbian, Bi and Transgendered collection
• Public Library Managers including Linda Bathur from Waverley and Debbie Best from Parramatta who will be talking about their experiences handling tricky situations including managing the homeless users of the library, managing young people in the library and maintaining the public image of their organisation

Following presentations from our guests you will participate in a workshop to discuss the issues and brainstorm some ideas so that YOU can help inform the decisions that affect your library.

 
Please RSVP to aliasydneygroup@gmail.com 

 

Light refreshments will be provided. 

 

ALIA Biennial 2012

I’ve just taken a stroll through previous posts on the ALIA Biennial blog and have learned so much.   So much stuff out there to help you through life!   Fides and I are looking forward to talking more about these developments at the Biennial Conference.  Only a couple of weeks to go now.  It is has been an interesting journey putting this conference together and we hope that for those who attend and/or who follow us through social media, that you will discover and re-discover all sorts of interesting things.  The key feature of an ALIA conference is that it brings together all sectors and we encourage you to explore the inspiring work that other libraries and colleagues in Australia and overseas are doing.  The program is exciting, wonderfully diverse, and should lay the seeds for many conversations during and beyond the conference about reimagining, re-envisioning, and discovering ourselves as a profession.

One comment about the conference we’ve regularly heard is that the conference is expensive because it’s being held at the Hilton.  Not true.  Conferences are costly events to host as yes, you do have to pay for a venue that’s large and flexible enough to hold the estimated number of delegates, concurrent sessions and exhibition space, plus you need to supply catering, ensure IT support, attract interesting speakers etc.  However, the cost of having the conference at the Hilton was extremely competitive compared with other venues, particularly as there are no hidden costs as most of what we require is already available at the hotel.  Being in the heart of the city means that getting to the conference is easy for delegates and once at the hotel, plenty of options for dining.  Of course there is the lure of the QVB with its upmarket shops, not to mention the new Westfield city complex, but we trust that our delegates and their accompanying family and friends, will shop each day after the conference has finished.  After all, there is only so much you can spend in three days!  The Hilton is not too far from the NSW Art Gallery where we are having our conference dinner, and there is also the Museum of Contemporary Arts, the Sydney Museum and, of course, the iconic Sydney Opera House.  So there’s a lot on offer within walking distance to keep delegates and accompanying family and friends well occupied. 

When planning the conference dinner, it was clear that delegates wanted something different to a traditional sit down dinner but wanted to be all together rather than separating into smaller groups.  A few of the Conference committee members explored options and felt that the NSW Art Gallery would do the trick.  The menu looks delightful and there will be plenty of opportunity to chat with one another and enjoy the beauty of art.  There will be time for dancing too!  Volunteers at the Art Gallery have kindly offered to show delegates around, our very own personalised tours.  You can’t get better than that. 

Another important social event of the conference is, of course, our welcome reception party.  This is because it is the official opening of our exhibition.  Our sponsors and exhibitors are essential for having a successful conference, they all put a lot of effort into putting together their stands and are keen to talk with delegates about their products and services.  At the Biennial Conference the exhibition will be set across two floors and we encourage everyone to visit EVERY stand.  Our sponsors and exhibitors are crucial to the holding of the Conference and we encourage everyone to check out the massive exhibition space.  You will be amazed at what you see and who you meet!   

Looking forward to meeting you at the Biennial.

Best wishes,

Janet and Fides

Janet Fletcher and Fides Datu Lawton

Co-Convenors, ALIA Biennial 2012

*This post was cross-posted on the ALIA Biennial blog.

“Living Books” at CQUniversity Melbourne

During Library & Information Week this year we introduced the concept of “Living Books” to the Melbourne Campus Library of CQUniversity. Interesting members of the community came along and talked to students and staff about their life. Each “Living Book” chose a title and wrote a blurb. A copy of the blurb was posted outside the meeting room where the book met “readers”. For Melbourne's international students talking with the “Living Books” gave an insight into some Australian characters and an opportunity to practice English.

Gamil Abou-Lehaf  gave himself the title Why I call Australia Home:

Gamil Abou-Lehaf’s coming to Australia in 1966 was to be for a temporary period while he saved enough money in order to study in France.
Things did not work out this way and he had no choice but to go on making a living and try to settle in.
He thought when he left Egypt, that he had an open, liberated mind as a result of his French educational background in Cairo and his enjoyment of listening to foreign music and watching foreign movies.
Instead he encountered a totally unexpected cultural shock that made him despair. He was at a loss as to how he could achieve any successful outcome. It was not the language he couldn’t understand but the delivery of it and the directness of people’s opinions that he couldn’t handle.
A very patient Australian wife and many years of teaching children at secondary school to helped him come to terms with the situation and sort out the mixed cultural bag that he carried from Egypt. Getting rid of double standard attitudes, impractical beliefs helped him adjust and become a very satisfied and happy citizen of Australia.

Gamil Abou-Lehaf and students

David Cherny called himself King of the Homewares:

David Cherny is the Director of Tabletop Homewares. The company imports and distributes leading kitchenware brands across Australia and New Zealand. Customers include Coles, Woolworths, Target Kmart and smaller gift outlets.David is an Australasian Business Council Member for Gresham Lehman, Austin, Texas. In this capacity he advise overseas investment companies regarding investing in Australia companies.David was educated at Scotch College until year 8, he transferred to Kingswood College for year 9 and 10. Despite not completing secondary school David is the Director of thriving import business.

David Cherny and students

Roger Wilson’s title was To Live a Life Upon the Ocean Waters:

Roger Wilson was born in 1930 at East St. Kilda. He went to sea shortly after the 2nd World War at the age of 16. By 21 he had travelled the high seas and been around the world. He’d worked his way up from deck boy to Able Seaman.
The philosophies of equality, fair play and fair pay became important to him. In 1949 he joined the Communist Party of Australia and in 1950 he attended the 2nd World Peace Congress which took place in Warsaw, Poland.
Roger worked as the Assistant Secretary of the Seaman’s Union of Australia between 1959 and 1984.
He continues to work to improve the living standards of people with the national “Fair Go for Pensioners” coalition. “Fair Go for Pensioners” seeks to influence all levels of Government concerning the lives of senior Australians.

Roger Wilson and students

The experience and my Halal compliant cake were both a huge success with students and staff.

Jane Wilson

Library Manager, CQUniversity Melbourne

Photographs by Barb Watson
Library Technician, CQUniversity Melbourne

ALIA Sydney presents: Think Big, Act Small: Sustainability in the Library

 

Image source: http://www.theurbn.com/2011/07/sustainable-sustainability-the-fourth-r/ 

 

It’s a new year and it’s time to reign in the excesses of the holiday season and think green! Join us for the first ALIA Sydney event of 2012 to learn about some amazing projects our guest speakers are doing in their workplaces to improve sustainability.

Come along to learn, share and brainstorm practical ideas that you can implement now, to ensure we create a sustainable future.  Kick start the year with some green energy and get inspired to take action in your workplace and community!

Numbers are limited so please register your attendance by RSVPing to aliasydneygroup@gmail.com  

Monday 27th February 2012 6:00pm- 8:00pm (arrive from 6pm for a 6:30pm start)

Badham Library, Badham Building, Science Road

The University of Sydney 2006

Cost: $5 for ALIA members/$7 for Non-ALIA members (Pay at the Door)

http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/libraries/badham/badhamloc.html