ALIA 25 year award presentation wrap up

Across the country, ALIA has been recognising the long and devoted service of its members.
Last Wednesday, ALIA celebrated its New South Wales members at an awards presentation at the State Library of NSW.

More than 60 individuals received gold or red pins to signify more than 25 years of ALIA membership.

You can read more about the incredible contributions to the profession made by award recipients at this ALIA news piece.


-CW

NSW Annual Member Forum (previously NAC)

The Annual ALIA member forum is next week, have your say on what you want from YOUR industry association!

23 October 2014 at                         Ultimo College Library, Sydney TAFE Members of the ALIA Board are pleased to host the NSW Annual Member Forum on Thursday 23 October 2014. ALIA Board members Alyson Dalby, Beatriz Aroche and John Shipp will host the forum and ALIA CEO Sue McKerracher will be attending. Event details When:          Thursday 23 October 2014 Time:            6:00pm refreshments, 6:30pm start Where:         Ultimo College Library                      Sydney TAFE                      Building D                      Mary Ann Street Ultimo Cost:            Free Register HERE   If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Diana Richards, ALIA NSW State Manager.

Meet Diana Richards, your new ALIA NSW State Manager

Today we find out a little more about our new ALIA State Manager Diana Richards…welcome Diana!

  

I began working at ALIA in June 2013 as the ALIA ACT Manager. Julia Garnett’s decision to return to Canada has meant that ALIA needed to find a new NSW State Manager. As I have worked as a librarian in NSW for most of my career, it seemed a great opportunity to work with ALIA members in both ACT and NSW. 

I’ve worked in many libraries in 3 states. Before coming to Canberra last year, I was Assistant Director at the Northern Territory Library in Darwin. I spent 6 great years in the NT. We had a very close knit and active ALIA group in Darwin and we worked very closely with the ALIA NT Manager. Prior to working at the Northern Territory Library, I worked at the State Library of NSW for 14 years in various positions with the last being, Coordinator Operations and Acquisitions in Collection Services.

Previous work places include James Bennett Library Services, Shearers Children’s Bookshop, UTS, ANU, ADFA, Ku-ring-gai CAE  and Macquarie University.

Please feel free contact me at any time by phone or email and do let me know of any events at your library or in your region. I’m looking forward to meeting ALIA members across NSW at events, meetings and conferences.

Diana Richards

ALIA ACT and NSW State Manager

Blog Every Day in June Day 20 : Making an impact on your professional association

To an outsider, ALIA can look like a large and somewhat complex organisation. We use terms that only make sense once you understand the organisation, like how there are groups and advisory committees and board sub committees, and how it’s apparently obvious what the differences are between those (totally not the case). But the fact is that ALIA is guided in its activities by volunteers – aforementioned committees, mostly. If you think that ‘ALIA should do x’, it’s not that hard to make that happen. 

So I present for you here a guide to how to make an impact on ALIA. You can see this as a way to ensure that ALIA represents its members, or for you to develop influencing and negotiation skills, or a sneaky way to one day rule the world (Of librarians. In Australia. It’s not a big world).

Step 1: Be a member

It might sound petulant, but if you’re not a member of ALIA you just don’t get as much of a say in what they do. You need to be inside the tent. This is enshrined in the ALIA constitution, which says that non-members do not get a vote at the AGM and can’t sit on the board of directors. There are also other regulations and guidelines about non-members sitting on committees, some of which have to do with insurance. If you want to change ALIA, put your money where your mouth is.

Step 2: Identify your areas of interest
I find this hard, because my areas of interest change rapidly. But some areas are broader than others, and some of ALIA’s groups or committees are based on geography or career stage. Align yourself with one or more groups – perhaps a local group and a topic-based group – and find out more about what they are doing.

Do you have an interest that isn’t currently represented by ALIA? No problem – all you need are 25 signatures from other members interested in the same topic, and you can start your own group. You don’t need money, but you do need at least one other person to be the group’s committee with you. And that’s it. You can get an elist, you can hold events, you can have a blog or a newsletter, and you’ll be supported by ALIA. 

Step 3: Volunteer

ALIA groups all have organising committees. The majority of these committees would fall over themselves with excitement if you volunteered to help them. Sometimes the people on those committees have been in the role for many years, not because they love it that much but because they can’t find anyone to replace them, and they don’t want to let the group disband. Ask the current committee what they do, and then ask where you can help.

Step 4: Be brave
Don’t limit your offers to roles that you already know how to do. To my astonishment, most ALIA groups really struggle to find someone to fill the mandatory role of treasurer. This, despite the fact that most ALIA groups don’t have any budget. A treasurer with no budget? It’s the easiest job in the world! Use the opportunity to develop skills that may help you in future career steps. It’s like a free training course.

Step 5: Speak up

Once you’re in these positions, be the person that drives change. If you feel that a group could do something a better way, propose this and convince your committee colleagues. Have a great new idea? Use the framework to make it happen. You don’t even have to be on the group’s committee to make a suggestion. If you can’t convince anyone that your idea is worth implementing, either the idea needs work or your influencing skills need work. Once again, it’s like a free training course.

Step 6: Look for other opportunities (part 1)

I’ve written here about ALIA groups, because they’re often the first step for members getting involved in ALIA. But they don’t have to be. ALIA advisory committees are great places for those that like to explore issues and give advice on policy and strategic approach. Advisory committees are used by the board to give advice on their area of expertise, and they make up for the fact that board members are not there to represent one particular issue. Advisory committees are also a good step for those that want a new challenge after being on a group committee.

Then, of course, there is the board of directors. Any member can nominate for the board, at any point in their membership. Personally, I would not recommend nominating for the board until you have at least a bit of an understanding and some experience with ALIA, merely because there is so much to learn and you’ll have to spend so much time catching up. I would also suggest that you learn how to read a financial statement, and what fiduciary duties are. Once you’ve ticked those boxes, talk to a current or past board member who can tell you more about what being on the board requires and entails.

Step 7: Look for other opportunities (part 2)

Volunteering your time isn’t always the best path, and sometimes isn’t possible. That doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways that you can have an impact on the association that claims to represent you.

You can vote. Vote in board elections, and vote at AGMs (by proxy if need be). If you’re not sure how to vote, ask someone – talk to your friends, managers, staff, ALIA representatives (such as advisory committee or board members). We can explain the issues. Voting is better than not voting, always. 

You can nominate for things. Nominations are currently open for ALIA’s Excellence Awards (closing 30th June!) – do you know someone who is really good at what they do? In past years some of these awards have struggled to attract nominations, and I’m fairly certain it’s not because no one deserves to be recognised. I don’t know the people you work with, so I can’t nominate them. But you do. Use ALIA to help someone’s good work become noticed.

You can get things for yourself. Nominations are also open for ALIA’s Research Awards (closing 30th June!). ALIA will give you money, actual money, to undertake research. Granted, it’s not enough money to retire on, but like the Excellence Awards, these funds often go unawarded due to lack of applications. If you have an idea for a research topic, get cracking on your application.

I hope this blog post has helped you understand how you can impact ALIA, and how you can use ALIA to further your career. If you’ve ever found yourself saying ‘ALIA should do x’, remind yourself that you, as a member, are ALIA. What are you going to do to make x happen?

Alyson Dalby is a current director of ALIA. She learned how to navigate ALIA by jumping in and doing it, making several mistakes along the way. She also has an actual job at UNSW Library.

Blog Every Day in June Day 1: National Simultaneous Storytime

Welcome to day one of our thirty day blog fest! We're starting today off with a bang and a review of ALIA's National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS).

This year's National Simultaneous Storytime book was 'Too Many Elephants in this House' by author Ursula Dubosarsky. While the author and illustrator (Andrew Joyner) was reading and drawing with children at Customs House Library, ALIA joined up with Manly Sea-Eagle Brenton Lawrence, NRL One Community, zookeepers, AND elephants at Taronga Zoo to read the book! 

The book was being read to eight schools via video conference and the students attending were able to hear the book read, and talk to both Brenton and elephant keeper Sheryl about books, elephants and footy. 


Seeing the enthusiasm of the children as they listened to the book and learnt all about elephants reminded me of the importance of this program and of reading to and with children in general.

Brenton Lawrence reading

Not being a rugby league fan, I hadn't known about the Rugby League Reads program that the NRL is currently running with Macmillan Publisher. This program encourages school children to further their literacy skills with a series of curriculum based texts and activities. Each of the NRL clubs has a 'Reading Captain' (Brenton Lawrence is the Reading Captain for Manly) who support the program by attending schools and events, which made teaming up with ALIA for NSS a perfect fit. In addition to having Manly's Reading Captain at Taronga Zoo, the Melbourne Storm Reading Captain read to school children at Melbourne Zoo and many other clubs had players attend schools and public libraries all over the country.

Jessica (NRL One Community), Cate (Zookeeper) and Brenton

It was great to see such an important event getting the attention it deserves and has made my first NSS experience one I'll remember for ever. National Simultaneous Storytime can only get bigger, and I can't wait to see what's lined up for next year! 

Cate and Sheryl (Elephant Keeper)

Kirsty Butler

ALIA Sydney Co-Convenor

Twitter: @Bo0k1sH

Librarian Design Challenge 1: Signup

On 1 April, Toby Greenwalt set Librarians the following challenge on his blog theanalogdivide: Create a online library card signup. This is to be the first in a 'semi-regular' design challenge called The Librarian Design Challenge, to encourage more design thinking in the library world. ALIA NSW State Manager Julia Garnett and ALIA Sydney Co-Convenor Amy Croft were inspired to rise to the challenge - meeting in the State Library of NSW on 4 May armed with paper, coloured pens, and a 2-hour study room booking to figure out exactly what libraries and their members need from each other, and how to get members signed up as easily as possible online.

Paper, coloured pens, and info on public libraries

We started by comparing notes on the libraries we work in and have used over the years, to reach a core set of requirements, including the requirement of proving residency set in the challenge. We focused on public libraries, and referred to ALIA's Little Book of Public Libraries to think about what communities need from their local libraries. We agreed that library membership doesn't necessarily require a physical card, as long as we can provide a unique ID number/barcode to allow members to access library resources. We also came up with a few other issues such as one membership for all libraries in the state, overcoming language barriers in explaining membership conditions, differences in signing up children and adults, and ways of securing printing credit with a PIN or password, which were outside the scope of this challenge.

Brainstorming public library membership issues and needs

What the library needs and what the member needs - a membership mindmap

We ended up with a workflow for online membership signup for those using computers, and those using mobile devices. Common features are an easy-to-find 'Join Here' button on the homepage, followed by a brief outline of membership benefits and conditions of membership. Potential members agree to those conditions to get to the membership form itself, where signing up is a 4-step process. This would be on one page for those using a computer, but could be on separate screens for mobile devices.

1. Provide name
2. Provide identification by either uploading scanned document(s) or using computer webcam or mobile device camera to provide an image of the documents. One document is photo ID, the other is a bill or bank statement with current address, if this is not already on the photo ID.
3. Provide contact details (phone number and/or email address)
4. Confirm signup. This generates a barcode and unique membership number.

The following screen confirms membership, displaying the membership number and barcode, which the new member can print, have it sent to them by email, or have it sent to them by SMS. These barcodes would be compatible with many systems already in place in libraries, accessible as an image file that could be stored on a mobile device. Members who prefer to have a physical card can visit the library to have one made.

Online membership signup - for computer

Online membership signup - for mobile devices

While these are only prototypes, this was a very useful exercise in really thinking about how to make things easier for our users, rather than making our users fit in with our requirements. We look forward to further design challenges!

-Julia Garnett, State Manager (NSW), ALIA

-Amy Croft, Co-Convenor, ALIA Sydney

Further reading on design thinking:

An introduction to design thinking: process guide (pdf) by Michael Shanks, archaeologist at Stanford University and contributor to its famous d.school.

Do you have suggestions for improving our designs, or examples of your own designs? Please comment below!

Wondering what happened with Rockdale Library? It's good news.

One year and one month ago, I posted on this blog about the vote at Rockdale City Council to go ahead with funding to build a new library. ALIA members in Sydney turned out to support the library at pretty short notice, and community members and ALIA Executive Director Sue McKerracher spoke passionately in favour of going ahead with the new building and the need for great public libraries. The Councillors agreed and the vote was carried 7 votes to 6.

So what's happening now?

In the time since, a Central Library Development Advisory Committee has been formed, made up of council staff and community members. Architects and interior designers have been engaged to begin planning the building. CK Design and Lefler Simes Architects have been appointed to prepare detailed drawings, and some of you may have attended the ALIA Sydney event in June last year 'Advocate, Promote, Brand' at Parramatta where Cecilia Kluger the principal of CK Design spoke. Construction work is projected to begin in January 2015, and the new library is expected to be opened in March 2016.

The artist's impression of the building looks wonderful.

This weekend a Community Open Day will be held in the Rockdale Town Hall Foyer from 10am to 1pm on Saturday to meet the architects and the design team and find out more about what they are planning. The website contains extensive documentation about the process and the planning of the new building. The local newspaper, The St George and Sutherland Shire Leader has followed the story and this has generated plenty of letters to the editor, mostly in favour of the $16m project.

Then from 2pm-4pm there will be celebrations within the library itself to launch the new Nepali collection, with dancing and food. The community languages section is a very important part of the library, and librarian Stephanie Lee won an award for Most Outstanding Multicultural Librarian in November 2013 at the Metropolitan Public Libraries Association conference.

In 2013 I can remember three efforts for library advocacy by ALIA in NSW, with Rockdale in February, Goonellabah in June, and the ADCA National Drugs Sector Information Service seeing some activities in Young in December. Advocating for libraries is one area of focus for ALIA, and one of those things that you sometimes don't think about until it's needed. But when it is needed it is needed sorely and can only be effective if the network is already in place, so it's comforting to know that ALIA stands ready and can marshall resources to help when called upon.

Maybe I'll see you at Rockdale on Saturday.

-Lauren Castan

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)

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.

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

Goonellabah Library Saved

In early May this year, Lismore City Council announced the closure of Goonellabah Library as part of it's budget cuts for 2013-14. But last night, after an impassioned plea from our own executive director Sue McKerracher and along with a petition with almost 1000 signatures, Lismore City coucillors opted to keep the library open with reduced hours. 

Had Goonellabah Library closed, it would have been the first NSW library in more than 15 years to shut its doors without a new library opening to take its place. This would have made a huge impact on the community who rely on  the library to serve its large retired community and help boost its high levels of disadvantage and low literacy levels. So for the second time this year ALIA stepped up to help the community protect a valued asset. 

We in library world know how important public libraries are to the communities they serve, especially those regional areas and are grateful to all those who have lent their support and signatures to this effort. 

Keeping Up

In the library and information world, even if we aren't familiar with the term Moore's law, which refers to the exponential growth of computing technology, we're familiar with the incredible rate of change in society, and in our profession, where we are constantly changing and adapting to new ideas and technologies.

The question is, how do we keep up with changes? Or better yet, how do we figure out what's coming and prepare for it?

There are different ways to keep up with what's happening, both inside and outside the library and information landscape.

Like 'The Busy Librarian', Matthew Winner, I would now say that Twitter is my PLN (personal learning network). I follow LOTS of people who share interesting thoughts, blog posts, articles, to the point where I'm not really worried that I'm missing out on anything important.

Here are some other ways I keep up (or kept up - pre-Twitter) which may be useful, especially for those not too keen on Twitter:

Steven Bell's Keeping Up Web Site is a thorough listing of resources for librarians about librarianship. It's a great starting point. And if that's not enough, check out the related topics on the left menu, such as Design, Teaching & Learning and Information Technology.

But be aware, on the page he makes the following announcement:

The Keeping Up Web Site is no longer being maintained on a regular basis. It is reviewed annually for link rot and minor changes. To be occasionally alerted to new keeping up resources subscribe to Steven Bell's Twitter feed: http://www.twitter.com/blendedlib

Sally Pewhairangi has a great blog, Finding Heroes, which is a daily roundup of links to interesting, thought-provoking stories or blog posts relevant to the library and information sector, in New Zealand and the rest of the world. You can subscribe via email, download the app, or follow her on Twitter (@sallyheroes). Sally finds the stories on Twitter and lists the Twitter handle of whoever tweeted the link.

The not-so-subtle subtext of the above three suggestions, is that you may want to use Twitter as a way of keeping up-to-date, if you aren't already.

Two other great sources of information are the ALIA Weekly newsletter (anyone can subscribe - ALIA members are automatically subscribed), and the PD Postings (ALIA members only).

There are many other ways (I haven't even touched on RSS feeds, going to conferences, going to awesome ALIA Sydney events, podcasts, and many more) - please add your tips for keeping up in the comments.

Amy Croft

@amyecroft

ALIA - Benefits for Non-Members

Whether you choose to become an ALIA member or remain a member when it comes time for renewal is a choice for the individual. But the work of ALIA has benefits for all in the sector regardless of membership status.

I joined ALIA last year as a student member, and am still a student member. This has been a worthwhile thing for me. At only $82 a year it is a bargain for the student investigating the possibilities and challenges out there. I have been able to borrow ebooks and journals I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to access, I have been able to read the monthly magazine Incite and get a feel for the state of the sector, I have attended professional development seminars and unconferences run or supported by ALIA, and my library course is certified by ALIA.  I have met library staff from all kinds of different institutions and received plenty of great advice. But before I joined, I had a good snoop through the services that could be accessed by everyone, and tried them out.

You can join elists or follow the special interest groups through their social media, details are available on the ALIA website. Through this, you can be aware of when events are happening near you. They might be social events or professional development events. You do not need to be a member to attend these events, but you will usually pay a little more than members. For the forthcoming unmeash 2 unconference members pay a gold coin donation, but non members pay $5. Similar pricing has applied to other recent Sydney events. You can access some content from Incite each month, and then the whole edition after a certain period (looks like 12 months at the moment). Many of the other activities of ALIA as the representative body of the sector bring benefits for members and non members alike, and I’m certain I don’t know the half of  the activities currently being undertaken or planned.

Maybe it’s not the right thing for you to be a member right now. There are certainly times in your career when there are more direct and tangible benefits from membership. Networking and professional development opportunities may have a greater priority when you are gearing up for a change in work, or entering the profession. But even if you decide not to be a member, don’t lose touch.

Lauren Castan