Blog Every Day in June Day 2: Seven reasons to come to NLS7 – by Hiba Kanj (NGG Convenor)

We are lucky to have Hiba, ALIA’s National New Graduate Group Coordinator, tell us about the positive influence that attending NLS has had on her professional development. Check out her seven values of NLS below.

This peice was originally posted to the NLS7 blog with the title 'The value of attending and speaking at NLS'.

1.  Peer networking. As the Convener of the NGG I was always communicating and meeting library professionals via email, Twitter and Facebook. At NLS, I was able meet my fellow professionals and create some long lasting work relationships that are sustained through social media and also establish a great peer network. 
2. Oh the places you’ll go! NLS is a chance to visit another city and explore new museums and libraries you haven’t had the chance to see. Taste what the city has to offer for the library professional. Take tours of the landscape and the libraries, archives, digital hubs and makerspaces and have the chance to ask questions.
3. Have a Librarian crush! NLS is your chance to meet some of the most experienced industry professionals, rub shoulders with movers and shakers and, heck, even ask for a job! Meet leaders in their field of expertise and an opportunity to share experience, innovation and knowledge, develop better contacts with industry experts.
4. Making the boss happy! NLS is a chance to really immerse yourself in information activity that is happening now. It is fresh and raw and new professionals are just itching to try it out when they get back to work but make libraries more diverse and more technically advanced.
5. PD perfection. Keeping up with job knowledge and current skills and aligning them to your workplace learning and development proposals. NLS helped me think about my library’s commitment to employees and customers.
6. Joining/Being part of NGG – It is not easy being a bright eyed new graduate or student. Joining a group that supports and creates an atmosphere for new graduates is RAD! Becoming a coordinator in your state allows you to engage in things that new graduates need as well as meeting the most amazing people on the face of the planet. Being part of an organization that supports new professionals.'
7. Taking charge of your leadership. Attending and especially speaking at an NLS conference gives you the ability to really shine and take a lead but also do this in a supportive and welcoming environment.

Follow Hiba Kanj on Twitter

'Let’s Talk' Wrap Up

City of Sydney Customs House library opened its beautiful reading room for Library and Information students for a panel discussion and networking event on Tuesday the 19^th of May.

Panellists included Hiba Kanj (ALIA Students and New Graduate Committee Convenor), Alex Cato (Australian Law Librarians Association NSW Division President), Kate Byrne (International Librarian’s Network) and Jeffery Cruz (Manager, City of Sydney Library).

Also in attendance were several CSU School of Information Studies and TAFE Library and Information Services Staff.

Each panellist offered the attendees their unique perspectives on all manner of library and education related questions, from career and professional development, to their dream libraries.

Key points covered for getting a first library job were:

• Address selection criteria directly! If unsure, use the STAR method. Most organisations will also have an information pack for addressing criteria.  
• Work experience outside the LIS field is valid- many skills are transferable (teamwork, customer service etc)
• Showing/ admitting to nerves during an interview is OK, however crying may not secure you the job.

On Professional Development, the panel all stressed the importance of continuous learning and engagement. Joining ALIA groups and going to events or trying out session of the International Librarians’ Network can lead to highly rewarding discoveries about the industry and expand your professional network.

A very special thank you to Kathy Tritsaris and staff for hosting this event, and to Mary Carroll, Jeff Cruz, Kathy Tritsaris and Diana Richards for making it happen.

CW

Library 2.014 Recorded Sessions Now Available

The Library 2.014 team have now made a series of recorded sessions available on You Tube.

If you missed out on a session last week, or if you want to view one again, head to their You Tube channel Library 2.0.

-Lauren Castan

Free PD with Library 2.014 This Week

Another year has rolled around and that means the Library 2.014 Worldwide Virtual Conference is upon us again.

This means two (and a half) days of round the clock sessions and keynote speakers on a range of library topics delivered direct to your computer. By tuning in to the presentations in real time you can participate with comments and questions, and all sessions are recorded for later viewing. Thanks to their sponsors, partners, and volunteers, this conference is completely free.

This year there are six strands:-

STRAND 1: Digital Services, Preservation, and Access

STRAND 2: Emerging Technologies and Trends

STRAND 3: Learning Commons and Infinite Learning

STRAND 4: Management of Libraries and Information Centres in the 21st Century

STRAND 5: User Centered Services and Models

STRAND 6: Library and Information Professionals – Evolving Roles and Opportunities

Keynote presentations are spread throughout the schedule, and local participants may be interested in the keynotes from Australian presenters Helen Partridge Pro Vice-Chancellor Scholarly Information and Learning Services, University of Southern Queensland,  Christine Bruce Professor, Queensland University of Technology, Hilary Hughes Senior Lecturer, Queensland University of Technology, and Ian Stoodley Researcher, Queensland University of Technology. The International Librarians Network will also be presenting a session on their program at 12pm-1pm (Sydney time) on 9 October.

Take the opportunity to set up the Blackboard Collaborate software ahead of the conference, and look through the schedule to see what appeals to you. I spy some that I will make an effort to attend in real time, such as How To Win Elections and Influence Politicians presented by Patrick Sweeney on behalf of  Every Library. Because all the sessions are recorded for later use, there already exists a great portfolio of sessions from previous years for you to explore, but I have also found this useful to go back to sessions in my reflective practice, or just when the topic is suddenly more relevant to me.

Hope you find the time to join in.

-Lauren Castan

ALIA National 2014 Conference Wrap up

Caitlin Williams and Amy Croft both attended the ALIA National 2014 Conference: Caitlin via social media, and Amy in person. They compared notes on their experiences:

Attending from a distance...

From 15-19 September, information professionals from around Australia and overseas converged on Melbourne for the ALIA National 2014 Conference.

Attendees and spectators from social media sources are now left to digest the excellent debates, workshops and sessions they attended, and hopefully apply what they learnt to their workplace.

While I didn't have the chance to attend in person, I was able to follow the conference on Twitter, and catch a glimpse into sessions thanks to livetweets. Many people took the opportunity to showcase the notes they had taken through Instragram, which offered a personal touch to this event.

ALIA Sydney's very own workshop, focusing on careers and networking, was highly engaged with technology allowing an online audience to put forward questions on PD and interviewing, and even connecting with special guest speaker Julia Garnett all the way from Canada!

Here are some of my favourite tweets from the conference:

Which tweets did you find most memorable?

Attending in person...

I was lucky enough to be in Melbourne to enjoy the coffee, ubiquitous art and, um, changeable weather in person, as well as to soak up the atmosphere of the conference and meet some amazing library and information people. Actually being at the conference allowed for all sorts of opportunities to run into people, window-shop for new shiny things at the exhibitor's booths, and share ideas over lunch, dinner or drinks. Like Caitlin, though, I found the Twitter backchannel to be a valuable way to start or continue conversations sparked by some excellent keynotes, presentations and workshops. I will definitely be trawling the #national14 tweets, both for sessions I missed and those I attended, before reporting back to my colleagues.

The conference was such a whirlwind that I'm only just starting to slow down and reflect on some of the issues raised, but the main points which stuck with me about the theme 'Together we are stronger', and the daily (and overlapping) sub-themes of Content, Collaboration and Capabilities, were:

• We need to find a 'common language' for working together with other parts of our organisations, as Monash University Library has done by developing a research skills development framework to enable library-faculty collaboration. We need to gather the right data to measure impact, identify the problems of our communities and collaborate to solve them, and show the value of libraries (and get funding in a time of continual cuts). For plenty of inspirational case studies, check out the Urban Libraries Council's Top Innovators.
• We need to find out what our customers/clients/patrons/communities/organisations are interested in, and make it happen - whether that's offering a Minecraft Gaming Day for (and driven by) young people at North Melbourne Library, designing a new library space with a focus on 'making and doing' in Aarhus, or redeveloping academic library spaces based on how students use those spaces.
• How? By building capabilities through education and development, such as cross-institutional mentoring in Victoria, the University of South Australia teaming up with the State Library of South Australia to give students 'real life' library experience, and Queensland public libraries cultivating a culture of learning and development to allow staff to build higher order skills... and especially by individuals taking responsibility for their own careers and for building their own leadership capacity.

This barely scratches the surface of the ideas discussed at the conference, and I haven't even mentioned shenanigans at NGAC's cardi party, the awesome dance moves at the conference dinner, or the Raeco and QUT photobooths... and the fantastic libraries at the University of Melbourne and the State Library of Victoria deserve their own separate post (watch this space).


Sooo... did you attend, or wish you had? Would you be interested in a reprise event in Sydney? Let us know in the comments below!

- Caitlin Williams and Amy Croft (@amyecroft)

Creative Commons

Do you know much about Creative Commons? Does your workplace make use of the different licences out there to share information, education and creative content?

If you’re a little rusty, or you’d like a primer in to the world of copyright and ways you can share information, here is a good introductory article via The Conversation about Creative Commons and what it has achieved over the last decade. 

The School of Open is an online resource working in conjunction with Creative Commons that offers  stand-alone and facilitated courses about copyright. 

A nice one to start with is the aptly named ‘Get CC savvy’ but there are several to choose from and they don't take very long at all.

Earlier this year, Jane Park, Project Manager at Creative Commons gave an hour-long webinar with a special focus on libraries and librarians. 

You can view the slides from her presentation here, or better yet, watch the recorded webinar

Tools and Resources for Librarians +Libraries

And last but not least, drop in to the Creative Commons Australia site which is full of resources and tips to help you. Happy sharing!

-Maria Savvidis

Finding Free PD!

While we here at ALIA Sydney would love you to join us at all our events, we know that it isn't always possible. So in today's post we're going to share some great free professional development experiences you can enjoy from your own home.

Library 2.014
Conferences can be amazing events to attend. Meet new colleagues, catch up with the old and learn new things. Unfortunately, they can be ridiculously expensive. Registration fees often hit the thousand dollar mark and that's before adding up the incidental costs like flights or accommodation if you have to travel. 

Four years ago the team at Library 2.0 decided to create a conference that anyone could attend no matter of their physical location or the size of their wallets and thus the Library 2.011 Worldwide Virtual Conference was born. This year the Library 2.014 Conference will be held on 8-9 October covering multiple languages and time zones. The best bit...it's free. Completely 100% free. AND you can attend in your favourite pj's if you really want! 

This year's themes cover digital services, preservation and access, emerging technologies and trends, learning commons and infinite learning, management of libraries and information centres in the 21st century, user centered services and models, and evolving roles and opportunities. 


MOOCs 
MOOCs, or Massive Open Online Courses, have been around for a while now but they are still a great way of learning new skills at your own pace and in your own home. Even better, many MOOCs are still offered free of charge! 

MOOC list is a an aggregator of MOOCs from a range of different providers from all over the world. This aggregator covers everything from learning a language to the sciences. MOOCs provide a fantastic opportunity to branch out into new fields and many are offered from well respected universities providing accreditation for the studies you undertake. 


International Librarians Network 

The ILN is an international peer mentoring program facilitating librarians to forge international networks. The ILN pairs librarians from different countries together for a fixed term and during that period the pairs are supported by regular contact and guided discussion. While partnerships have an end date (after four months), it is hoped that librarians will have built connections that will be lasting. 

The ILN is a great way to build new relationships, learn new skills and share your own. At last count, there were 26 participating counties and this number is sure to grow. Participation can be as little as a weekly email to your partner librarian and as much as emails, twitter and blog interactions. 

These are but a small selection of free, at home professional development opportunities that you can undertake. Feel free to dd your own suggestions in the comments below. 

-Kirsty

Blog Every Day in June Day 30 : Glorias Assimwe, Ugandan Librarian

Today's guest contributor rounds up a terrific month of #blogjune by taking us through her fascinating professional journey as a librarian in Uganda. Thanks for sharing your story with us Glorias! -Maria Savvidis

My name is Glorias Asiimwe - a 29 year old Librarian from Uganda. I recently moved to a new role working as a Health Librarian at a newly established medical School in rural Eastern Uganda and have just submitted my Chartership Portfolio to the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) in the UK. 

My journey into the library profession had not been by accident. I had realised that in Uganda our reading culture was low and wanted to inspire a change. Starting out in 2008 fresh from University with no practical skills, I decided to volunteer with a UK charity operating in Ugandan Prisons.

I worked up the professional ladder taking on different roles in the organisation to being a solo prison librarian in East Africa. Despite the excitement the full-time job could offer, I did face a number of challenges having to work in an isolated environment. I had assumed several responsibilities including developing the first ever built prison library in Uganda, initiating book clubs and literacy activities and training Prisoners and Wardens as Library Assistants amongst others – but no prison librarians in my region to benchmark from.

I felt overwhelmed in this role until I received an amazing opportunity to travel for the first time outside my country on a five-week professional study to the UK - which equipped me with hands-on skills and widened my professional network. This prepared me to embrace high positions of responsibility in my career including, overseeing eleven prison libraries, outsourcing for book donations since the organisation had a limited, at times non-existent budget for collection development to managing library grants.

In 2011, I was awarded an IFLA funded grant to attend the 77th IFLA World Library & Information Congress in Puerto Rico. What a life-changing opportunity having to present a paper I had co-authored at this conference! Joining other delegates on a school libraries tour during the IFLA conference, I was able to learn new ideas that I applied in setting up one of the biggest primary school libraries in Uganda serving a population of 1800 children from the prison and neigbouring communities.

Currently I serve voluntary as the Executive Secretary for the Association for Health Information and Libraries in Africa - Uganda Chapter, which I joined in 2010 having tested the ups and downs of working in isolation. Being affiliated to this professional network has provided professional solidarity and opened doors to more rewarding and excellent opportunities in my career – one of which is my new role as a Health Librarian.
My professional journey hasn’t been all rosy as I have had and still face challenges such as poor internet accessibility. However, this has been an incredible dream-come-true given the limited opportunities available to young LIS professionals in developing countries like Uganda face. 

The sky is the limit!!!

-Glorias Assimwe

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 8: The International Librarians Network

Jenny Mustey tells us about her experience as the Australia Country Coordinator of the International Librarians Network (ILN) which is now in its third round of participation.

The ILN is facilitated by four highly professional and forward thinking program coordinators who all work and live in Sydney.  Congratulations to coordinators Clare McKenzie, Alyson Dalby, Kate Byrne and Amy Barker as it is a credit to them for their vision and how they have developed the ILN program from the pilot round to what it is now.   Their strong strategic thinking holds it in good stead for the future.   The program coordinators oversee the whole program, facilitate and support the partnerships, constantly monitor and evaluate participants feedback and participation as well as maintaining an active website, twitter and facebook presence.

Initially I was drawn to the ILN during the pilot round in 2013.  The idea of exchanging information with another person from different country sounded very interesting and it provided an opportunity for a different type of professional development.  It was very exciting to take part in this initial program to meet an international colleague as well as assisting with the feedback and evaluation required to move it onto the next stage.  A positive pilot and first round experience encouraged me to think of becoming a Country Coordinator.   

As the ILN reaches 78 countries across the globe the Program Coordinators decided that a local contact person who could publicise and promote would be best served by having a Country Coordinator in each country if possible.  I noticed by looking at the ILN website that there was a vacancy for Country Coordinator in Australia so I volunteered for this role and was very happy to be accepted.   

My ongoing role is to encourage library workers and students to take part in the ILN and as round two was about to start this was my initial focus, however I will continue to promote it in further rounds.  There were a range of opportunities to publicise the ILN, either by communicating with the various networks and professional organisations as well as promoting it through social media. I also had the opportunity to write an article in the ALIA journal INCITE which had a positive impact as it reaches a wide number of people working and studying within the library industry.   

It was pleasing to see over 700 participants across the world take part in round 2 of the program with a large number coming from Australia. The program coordinators did an excellent job in matching ILN participants and they continue to encourage discussion and communication via discussion topics each month, as well as interesting and informative website entries, facebook stories and twitter chats.   

I also decided to take part in round 2 as a participant and have had a fascinating exchange of information from the Director of Public Libraries in Afghanistan. I anticipate that we will continue to communicate after round 2 finishes.  Many other participants decide to continue their digital relationship due to it being a positive learning experience. It is not overly onerous in time but you do need to be committed to it and make the most out of it.  

The Country Coordinators (CCs) also have the opportunity to have catch up meetings using live meeting technology to connect with each other. These have been wonderful opportunities to exchange ideas of how to promote the ILN within your country and also discuss the barriers and issues that make it challenging for CCs to get the word out.  This was an eye opener to me on how difficult it can be when websites or social media platforms are not permitted in some countries; we do tend to take this for granted sometimes.  

In terms if widening your own knowledge and creating your own global network I recommend people to consider taking part in the round 3, expressions of interest are now being taken.

There is a great deal of information on the ILN website or people can contact me directly if they have any questions about the program. It will continue to grow and be successful due to the individual participation. It is free to join and you will be very well supported by the Program Coordinators.

-Jenny Mustey

Australia Country Coordinator , ILN 

Tech Snapshot - Wrap up

On Tuesday the 8th of April, ALIA Sydney held its Tech snapshot event. It was a fabulous evening all round, there was great food, drinks and even better company!

Insight into the world of technology is somewhat daunting but Alan Chan, IT specialist from FireEye made it interesting and applicable.
He gave us insight into the real world threats facing those on a global scale and everyday people, like us. Here are some practical yet simple ways to prevent that sinking feeling when you realise that you have just be duped:

• Have software security installed on your PC.
• Update software and applications
• Windows are constantly being targeted because they hold the largest market share - you can schedule updates to run automatically.
• Use a strong password 
• Google common passwords - do not use those;
• Furthermore do not have a strong password then write it down on a post-it note and stick it under your keyboard, its like using those fake rocks with a hidden key for your front door - not very secure!
• Back-up data
• There are many ways to do this now, particularly for Libraries where a lot of sensitive information is held, we need to assess risk and the value of the information to determine how much needs to be invested whether it is to use external hard drives or the cloud, a back-up should always be done.
• Stranger danger applies in the virtual world too;
• be careful of emails from strangers or emails with strange subject lines
• many phishing emails look legitimate but banks and other similar organisations will not ask you to send usernames, passwords or account details via email.
• Do not announce travel plans on social media!

Our very own Vesna Cosic took us through her process of going from 'Card Catalogue to IT'. She is bravely pursuing further studies in Information Technology after realising that technology is not going anywhere and the only way to handle it is to embrace it.

Last but certainly not least Marilyn Taylor has and is moving 'Leichhardt Digital Direction'. They have established 2 parallel collections (digital and non-digital) and take a forward approach with E-book vendors. Marilyn advises talking directly with vendors to see if e-books can be bought, rather than just taking a contract.

Thank you to all that attended! We here at ALIA Sydney hope you had a good evening.

Tech Snapshot - ALIA Sydney Event - Tuesday 8th April

What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats around technology right now for individual librarians, for libraries, and for the world?  Join ALIA Sydney for an evening where we look at technology right now, and spend some creating our own network, with each other.

Presentations for the evening include:-

IT security firm FireEye about technology threats worldwide.

Librarian (and ALIA Sydney Treasurer) Vesna Cosic will speak about her experiences studying for a degree in IT, and the benefits and opportunities it has brought to her career.

Librarian Marilyn Taylor speaks about the strengths and weaknesses of e-books for libraries.

Then we invite you to enjoy some networking opportunities for the hard working information professionals of Sydney.

Hope you can join us.

Tuesday 8th April
5.30 for 6.00pm start
CQUniversity, Level 6, 400 Kent Street, Sydney
Cost: $7 for ALIA members, $10 for non-members



Please RSVP to aliasydneygroup@gmail.com by 12 noon on 8th April for catering purposes.

-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)