Conference: Friday - Day Three

(Me and Tricia from RMIT who I am the Victorian LT Committee with)

We staggered to the conference venue on Friday morning, a bit weary after our night of dancing. I forgot to mention that at lunchtime on days two and three of the conferences there were massages!! They had these "3 minute angels" and boy were they good! Anyway...

Keynote: Reaching Beyond the Library Walls - Empowering Workers through Information Literacy, Anne Lloyd (CSU)

Anne is one of my lectuerers at the minute so it was great to put a real face to a name! She discussed a research project that she had worked on too so it was really interesting. Take risks, work in collaboration with others. Remain committed to success regardless of format. Acknowledge that libraries are now physical and virtual spaces. Enable! Empower! So go beyond the library walls to empower power. Use other opportunities, expand!

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Panel: Libraries in 2017

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Need to be more creative and proactive with funding. Retiring workforce - succession planning etc. we need research skills, marketing skills etc. There are lots of different grants out there - apply! How is the stuff created today going to be available tomorrow (like emails from soldiers in Iraq - will these be at the War memorial?) Unfortunately there wasn't enough time given to this discussion, it could have gone for another hour!

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Concurrent: Libraries as a training nexus, Andrew Thurley

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We have the skills, people, place, power so use it! Empowerment (self reliance, self assessment) Confidence (promote Q&A'a, increases productivity, utilises goal setting) Flexibility (different learning styles, different personalities, we observe/learn then adapt), Rapport (bonding, apprachability), Patience (encourages further questions, ensures training is not compromised).

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Keynote: Who do you think you are? Mary Carroll, (VU)

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Mary discussed the history of the LT Course and is doing a PHD on it. It was really interesting, lots of photos etc. No notes - I just listened!!

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Keynote: Our future - the 21st century library and information workforce, Gilliam Hallam (QUT)

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I think this was brilliant and she broke down her survey to focus on LT's. Again a great insight into research for me. No notes - I just listened!!

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There were then the usual closing remarks, thanking of the commitee and handover to the next conference committe in Adelaide 2009!

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Overall I really enjoyed the conference and am still exhausted from it!

Conference: Thursday - The Dinner!!

(Me, Jill and Kim - warming up for the dinner)

(Jill, Tania and me - feeling very warm!)

(Kim, Deidre and me)

(Shannon and me - capturing our selves!)

Ok - the night was smashingly good! Jill came to our hotel room (she wasn't attending the conference - just came to dance) and Kim, Jill and I got ready. We headed to the hotel bar for a few warm up drinks before heading off to the Melbourne Aquarium. We started with finger food in the walk through fishes bit. So there were lots of sharks, stingrays etc. Really cool, then upstairs for dinner. It was funny though because they served fish! I didn't think it would be on the menu! But there you go. The band was great - lots of dancing, lots of wine! We even tried to get the security guard dancing (I mean - there was a limited supply of males!) Thanks to everyone for dancing with me - I just loved it. My poor feet were a bit tired the next day though!

Conference: Thursday - Day Two

(The Ballarat clan - six on the one day - had to get a picture!)

Again, just some of my thoughts. There are fewer mentioned today because I found a few of them uninteresting so I have just included the ones I got something out of (I won't rubbish the boring ones in public!)

Dunn and Wilson Scholarship Oration: Multi-skill us - Library Technician National Secondment Opportunities, Sharon Uthmann

Sharon was awarded the scholarship at the Sydney LT Conference and presented her findings at this one. She discussed that many Universities and Government units have job exchange or secondment policies but that there are not many in the library world. She discussed QULOC and VITLS but really there are so few out there. I enjoyed most about hearing of the problems she faced (apart from having a baby in the middle of it). Things like maybe not using the right words in the first place (for instance taking on higher duties), and also about not approaching the right people. I think it was great that she discussed these as foraying into the world of research is huge - and not easy!

Presentations/Awards:

Rebecca Evans from Tassie was presented with the next Dunn & Wilson Scholarship. She plans to create an image database of the activities and contributions Library Technicians have made to the Library sector since they were established in 1979. This would form the beginnings of an historical record which could be built upon and expanded over time and would be ready in time for the 30th anniversary of Library Technicians. It sounds really interesting. She has started a wiki devoted to it.

Jennifer Dwyer a school library technician was awarded the LT of the year.

Concurrent: Spoilt for choice - a comparison of two aggregations and the use of ScholarlyStats and Ulrich's Serials Analysis, Jennifer McMeekin

I missed the start of this one but wrote a few notes down for me to check up on later. COUNTER which is publisher/vendor generated stats. Ulrich's can be very customised (place of publication, peer reviewed, publisher, language, print versus electronic etc).

Keynote: Crossed wires - management, communication and culture in public libraries, Bob Pymm and Damian Lodge (CSU)

We tend to overestimate our abilities (otherwise known as the "above average" effect). We need 360 degree feedback from staff, colleagues, managers, supervisors etc. A good manager needs: leadership; administrative abilities; cognitive skills; interpersonal skills; personal traits; technical skills. I liked how the managers always rated themselves higher than the staff did! It was interesting as I am doing a research subject as Uni and it helped to put certain things into context.

Conference: Wednesday - Day One

(Des, from Darwin Medical Library and me!)

So we fronted up at the Grand Hyatt ready for a day of learning. Below are my notes (and thoughts if I had them written!)

We had the welcome by Gail Schmidt (Convenor), the Welcome to Country by the indigenous community. They had wonderful dances and an awesome didgeridoo player! Then the Welcome to Melbourne by Judy Maddigan, a Parliamentarian (and one time Librarian). She was really funny. Great energy, great quotes - perfect! Then lastly a Welcome by ALIA President Roxanne Missingham. She did an overview of objectives etc. As always Roxanne is wonderful to listen to.

Keynote: Future Directions for libraries, Anne Beaumont (SLV)

She discussed blogs (like Inside a Dog Blog who bring teenagers and books together), Ask Now! Virtual library services, Digitisation projects like Picture Australia, Google Images, Coming to libraries via other means (like the internet) and having things like Libraries Australia through World Cat. Wireless internet, wifi, and getting in people who access things like wifi who wouldn't normally enter libraries (ie. businessmen). Being where the user is - Facebook, 2nd Life. That there are lots of different initiatives out there like the SLQ The Garage where car manuals have been digitised! So try and experiment, its all part of the learning process. We are constantly running to keep up with expectations of our users but things change (live with it). Remember core values of libraries will stay the same though!

Concurrent: Obtaining Library Qualifications via workplace certification, Carolyn Werner

This was good in that it made me think that many libraries could do that within their workplaces. Sometimes people just need a little push! The trainer visited every few months. Supervisors had to do written references/progress reports. It isn't at the Diploma level yet but sometimes people need that push to get started and they may feel compelled to finish it themselves. Good possibilities - not pie in the sky stuff!

Concurrent: Don't judge a book by its cover - Lismore's Living Library Project, Louise Somerville

Naturally I had read about this so it was more just an overview of the program. Its a great idea though and great publicity. They have it as a monthly event now and one "book" is featured per month in the local paper. They have 60 "books" which are all volunteers. They have also been given funding to help spread the project across the country by doing "information" packs or something. Interesting.

Concurrent: Books behind bars II, Kevin Dudeney

Typical Kevin talk - very interesting and funny. Discussed that the most popular books had "hard language" in them, also a Sydney based writer Robert ? was popular as he was a crim (or maybe just writes about it in the local setting). They prefer male authors (thrillers). $5 shelf fillers - due to high attrition rate. Sex - but no romance! Thin paper books (bible etc) get used as Tally Ho papers! They get lots of donations (public libraries, book drives etc.) - they had 9,000 in 18mths.

There are 48 libraries across 33 centres. They get typical magazines (National Geographic, Motorcycle/Car mags). LOTE books and LOTE newspapers. They censor as in no "naked" photography books, no martial arts etc. They use there own classification scheme. They are running Cert. III in LIS. Ten long term inmates are doing it but they use CDROM's not the internet. If they don't return a book there could be a reduction of privileges. Really interesting - very different special library!

Keynote: The Connected Library, Suzette Boyd

Boy was she funny! Great talk. I mean some of things were irrelevant to most libraries as Scotch College has heaps of money, where as most libraries are struggling but anyway she was great. She talked about having FUN! Being efficient, flexible, professional, people focused, service centered, share ideas, under promise - over deliver, helpful, knowledgeable, person of action. Do quizzes, have staff displays "Getting to know your library staff", " A few of my favourite things" etc.

Keynote: Interior Design for Libraries, Kevin Hennah

OK, so he is a salesman who redesigns libraries but boy does he speak well! Signage very important! Use ends of isle to display books (Slatwall), Go around the pillars - incorporate them. Think from the customer's perspective. Instead of Information or Reference what about ASK! Or Your Library instead of just Library?

Workshop: Internet access and participation for people with a disability, panel

OK, I didn't take notes on this one as I chaired the session (My first Chair!) It was really interesting though (pity the crowd wasn't very big) but anyway it was about a research project undertaken by Vicnet. So we heard about the project then representatives from Yooralla, Scope and Vision Australia spoke about ways we can help. As I said my library is different than a public library but I still took a few points away like keeping language simple, ways to get help etc. It was a really great session if its an area that interests you.

So all in all the first day was brilliant. Really good speakers. So Kim and I headed back to our hotel, got changed then headed out to China Town for dinner with a few other interstate delegates. Got back to the hotel exhausted, jumped into bed then continued to chat for hours, and hours, and hours!

Conference: Tuesday - Welcome Reception and First Timers & Friends Dinner

(Me and Shannon from Canberra's Parliamentary Library)

So I quickly went back to my hotel after the tours, met Kim and we got changed and headed up to the Grand Hyatt for the opening of the Trade Exhibition and the Welcoming Drinks. It was really good to be able to catch up with people who I hadn't seen since the last conference and also those friends from interstate who I chat to and see on a more regular basis. It was also great to meet so many new people!


After the Welcoming Reception we headed off to the First Timers & Friends dinner at the European Bier Cafe. There were even more people there who weren't at the drinks so it was just awesome to see everyone. The meal was awesome and the company even better! We staggered back to the hotel down the hill ready for the conference program to begin bright and early the next day!

Conference: Tuesday - Gratisnet Training and Library Tours

(Chris, from the Alice Springs medical library and me)

On the Tuesday morning I headed out early and caught a tram to the Royal Melbourne Hospital. There was a training session (separate to the conference) on the use of Gratisnet. Gratisnet is the ILL system used by medical libraries around Australia. It was a great chance for those coming from interstate, or for those who live in a rural area to get some hands on training. When we arrived at RMH we got a tour of their new library. It was very nice - lots of space! Then we had the training session. There were some familiar faces but also some from interstate so it was great to be able to put a NUCOS code to a face!

Then I headed off to the SLV for the afternoon library tours. I was leading the Medicos Group (Tour 6) with the assistance of Kelli who is studying to be a LT.

First off we headed of to The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Anne gave us an overview of the library which looked very much like a gentleman's club! Then, we were fortunate to be taken upstairs to look at the rare book collection and given some background insights into it by the person restoring and cataloguing it.

Next we headed off to the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital Library where we were warmly greeted by Imeri, Caroline and Adam. They gave us lots of handouts a a really cute RVEEH stuffed owl. We got to look at their collection, ask lots of questions and discover more about their connection with RANCO. The interesting point to this library is that we had to enter through the loading dock!

Our last port of call was the library at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. This was housed down in the basement. We were warmly greeted by Aina, Jo and Heather and most importantly a wonderful afternoon tea! After learning all about the library we had a tour and were told of the renovations about to take place.

We then headed back out into Melbourne and off to our hotels to quickly get changed for the Welcome Reception and opening of the conference. Thanks to all who willingly shared their libraries with us, it was an excellent afternoon and I have stolen many ideas to take back to my own workplace and implement!

Conference: Monday - Library Technician NAC Meeting

(Kim and I)

So after the tour of the City Library we headed back up to RMIT (who are always so wonderful at giving us rooms) for the ALIA NAC Library Technician Meeting. It was chaired by Damian Lodge who did an excellent job of keeping us on track and focused. It was very different to the Ballarat NAC and more of what I expected. And my conference buddy Kim had shown up by this time so all was good!

Anyway, there was a pretty good turn out with members from QLD, NSW and VIC present (sorry if I forgot anyone else!) It was a good chance to vent some issues and to discuss some possibilities! Also, to look at things from an LT point of view. We were asked of our main concerns and mine was to members in regional, rural or remote centres - in particlular lack of ALIA services.

By the time we finished we wandered back along the city streets, grabbed some dinner and some munchies and checked into our hotel at about 10pm - exhausted! But, ready to enjoy the week!

Conference: Monday - Visit to the City Library

(Matthew Griffiths from Sydney and me!)

Ok, so after the relaxed Overachiever session me and a few mates headed down to the new City Library (alright so it isn't really new anymore but I just hadn't made it there yet!). We got a personalised tour (thanks Brann) and it was just such a cool library. It was so busy! The collection was great - nice and new and they had a cafe and a gallery. It was awesome! I highly recommend a visit.

Conference: Monday - How to be a relaxed overachiever

(Me and Margie - our lovely ALIA Local Liasion Officer for Victoria)

OK - so it has taken me forever to get back to my blog and writing about my adventures at the ALIA Library Technicians Conference in Melbourne but I feel like I should at least make a start.


On the Monday (October 8th) I caught the 7:00am train down and lugged my bag to the State Library of Victoria for a pre-conference session. It was called How to be a relaxed overachiever: reconnecting with the big picture. It was facilitated by Geraldine Barkworth who was excellent. OK, so I arrive at SLV and I see the person who first gave me my break in the library world. When I was studying the LT Course you had to do placement so I trundled off to Box Hill Library and by the end of the week I was resigning from Safeway and entering the library world. Anyway, it was really great to catch up with the person who gave me a chance and has really helped develop me to the person I am today.

Anyway, the session!! So we did lots of group activities etc. but the best thing I took out was the 80/20 rule (yes, heard it before but this time it stuck!). OK, so I write down 10 things I have to do and I circle the most important two (the 20). And in reality, if I complete these two, the other eight sort of fall by the wayside or are consumed within the initial two anyway! So 20% of the total will give 80% of the value! OK - so probably a really BAD definition but that's what I got out of it! (Plus, I got to have some Boost Juice which sadly we don't have here in Ballarat!)

Banned Book Week (US)

Its banned book week in the USA (Check out Jessamyn's post for her views).

Just thought this was cool though as ALA lists the 100 most frequently challenged books from 1990-2000. http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.htm

Plus, how awesome is the Hatcher Graduate Library in Ann Arbor Michigan making a Flickr photoset of their staff reading banned books. Cool huh!

Personally I don't have strong views on banned books. I suppose as I don't work in a school or public library environment that it isn't an issue. I do remember when I worked at Whitehorse Manningham though that we had 4 or 5 copies of a book and they had all been stolen - can't remember the book though - I think it was something religious. I actually thought it was pretty impressive that someone drove to all 5 branches and procedeed to steal the book! Obviously someone with strong views and too much time on their hands!

Victorian Library Technicians Group

As most of you will probably know, the National LT Conference is on in Melbourne starting next week. As I co-edit Technotes and write lots of snippets about the group I was asked to do a summary to be handed out at the LT Conference. So I just thought I'd share what the Vic LT's have been up to since the last conference:

The Victorian Library Technicians: 2006/2007 Overview

2006 was a bumper year for the Victorian Library Technicians Group with 11 events occurring and rapid developments to the Victorian Library Technicians webpage. The season kicked off with a visit to the University of Ballarat in February to help library technician students ease into the new academic year. A panel session was conducted which heard professional library technicians discuss the real world of libraries and the roles library technicians play in them, including the importance of ALIA.

February also saw a visit to the Mornington Peninsula Library Services Mobile Library. Attendees heard about their floating stock, the Mornington Library network, the satellite communications, and the bus itself. April saw an after hours, behind the scenes tour of the State Library of Victoria’s current exhibition “National Treasures from Australia’s Great Libraries”. With SLV’s Claire Williamson as tour guide (who also happened to be the curator), delegates were in for a WOW of a time!!

March brought Hot of the Press in which the first stop of the day was at Stomp in Abbotsford, a specialist AV supplier which boasts a large range of music and film titles all at wholesale prices. The second stop was at Vision Australia in Kooyong, where we learned about the services provided to clients and the ways in which technology is advancing to better assist the blind with accessing the written word. The afternoon was spent at Raeco in Scoresby where we were treated to a delicious lunch. While at Raeco we saw a presentation on the cataloguing of non-book materials by SCIS (Schools Catalogue Information Service), learned about the services that Raeco provide to the library industry, and heard about RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) from 3M Library Systems. The day provided delegates with the opportunity to learn about non-book materials from a variety of angles including the production, processing, storing and loaning of these materials.

May brought Library Week and National Library Technicians Day was celebrated with a visit to library technician students at Victoria University. Again the role of library technicians was discussed and the important role ALIA plays in library technicians lives. That night, library technicians from around Victoria gathered in Melbourne for dinner to catch up with old friends, to meet new ones and to simply chat about life in libraries.

Techs on Tour (in its 9th year) again took place in June. A behind the scenes look at work in libraries with tours of the State Library of Victoria’s Genealogy Centre, stacks, Rare Books, Mirror of the World exhibition and an overview of SLV 21st century strategies. Afternoon tours included guided visits to the RACV Library, University of Melbourne Rare Book Collection, SLV Manuscript Collection and RMIT’s Greek Resource Collection.

August fast approached and Victorian technicians gathered for their Annual General Meal in Southbank, to catch up at the halfway mark of the year. In October a fully booked tour group headed to the Public Records Office of Victoria in North Melbourne to learn more about the Victorian Archives and this wonderful resource valued at more than $140 million.

The year was rounded out with the 4th River of Opportunities weekend workshop in November, a collaborative event from the Victorian ALIA Library Technicians Group and the NSW ALIA Library Technicians Group. This year it was held in Albury, NSW. The Saturday saw a full program of informative speakers in the morning with library tours in the afternoon. The Sunday kicked off with more great presentations before we all bundled back (up or down) the highway home.

And last but not least, 20 enthusiastic Library Technicians, 2 Raeco representatives and about 200 Santa’s (male and female) met at the Clare Castle Hotel on the 15th December for an end of year celebration dinner.
Before we knew it 2007 was again upon us. The committee had decided on a quieter year as it would be capped off with the 14th National Library and Information Technicians Conference in Melbourne.

However March rolled around, and so did Hot off the Press: Children’s Literature Style. The day included talk by author/illustrator Trudy White, a presentation by Sue Flockhart, editor at Allen & Unwin, a presentation from the Little Bookroom, a tour of Dromkeen, presentations by the Centre for Youth Literature, plus many more interesting talks and tours. Thanks again to our wonderful sponsors, Raeco.

In May we celebrated Library and Information Week and in particular, National Library Technicians Day. On National Library Technicians Day, staff and students of Victoria University's Library and Cultural Studies department were treated to a morning of guest speakers and fun to celebrate the day. Speakers included Kerrie Kelly; convenor of the Victorian Library Technicians section of ALIA, Gail Schmidt; convenor of the ALIA National Library and Information Technicians Conference, Trish Murray; treasurer of the Victorian Library Technicians section of ALIA, James Owen; technician at the State Library of Victoria, Jenny Barron; representing the One Umbrella employment agency and Margie Anderson; a teacher at Victoria University and Victorian Local Liaison Officer for ALIA.

That night, 23 library technicians from around Victoria gathered at the Silky Apple Chinese restaurant in Armadale to catch up with old friends, meet new ones, and simply chat about life in libraries. With a library related quiz and some fabulous prizes from One Umbrella, the night was filled with a lot of laughs and plenty of stories.

In July, delegates gathered at the State library of Victoria to celebrate the 10th Techs on Tour. The day covered presentations on marketing and Web 2.0 as well as those fascinating tours of usually inaccessible areas of the SLV, such as Conservation and Preservation. The day concluded with a choice of 3 off site tours, Victoria University – Flinders Campus, Freehills Law library and the Melbourne University Bookshop.
August fast approached and Victorian technicians gathered once more for their Annual General Meal, this time at the Casino, to catch up at the halfway mark of the year. It is a good chance to simply drink, eat and chat about life in libraries.

As you all know, Melbourne is the host of the 2007 National Library and Information Technicians Conference. So on behalf of the organizing committee, and the Victorian Library Technicians committee, welcome to Melbourne and we trust that you will enjoy all that it has to offer. We are sure that you will benefit from this conference immensely and learn lots about the way things are done in different library sectors, along with a list of things to take back and implement into your own workplace. We look forward to meeting and mingling with you throughout the week.

Once again, the Victorian Library Technician committee will finish the year off with a Christmas dinner to toast and reflect the year that was! More in-depths articles have been written regarding our events in our quarterly publication Technotes. Check it out at: http://alia.org.au/groups/libtvic/ and whilst there, look up some happy snaps on our social pages.

NGG & CSU Dinner

After the LT Conference volunteer meeting, I headed to the European Bier Cafe for dinner with the ALIA New Graduate Group of Victoria and the Charles Sturt University Melbourne Study Tour students. As I am still studying at CSU, it was a great chance for me to meet some fellow students, and of course lecturer Damian Lodge. It consisted of undergraduate students, teacher-librarians and masters students. A great mix! I always love to hear where people work and in what environment. I mean to me school libraries are so alien! I don't think its a job I could do but I really admire those who do! Just to listen to the different issues facing libraries across different sectors is always amazing.

Plus, I was in a position to offer advice to students doing the undergraduate course as I had done it through CSU too. I told them what subjects were easy, hard and how to get credits! In the CSU course you also study a non-library major which is always interesting to hear why people chose certain areas. Also we discussed the choice of electives - I mean I personally wouldn't touch an IT subject but others felt there weren't enough!

There is always the discussion of "When are you finished?". Many of the students were finishing this year, or next year. There are always a few unfortunate souls who have 3 more years left to go! I suppose though as the CSU course is by distance education, it's just nice to sit down with fellow students who are going through the same as you. Most people work full time, study a couple of subjects and either have kids or other commitments. It's nice to know you aren't the only one who spends a Saturday night at home completing assignments!

Library Technicians Conference

This conference is coming up next week (very exciting), but I was in Melbourne last Thursday night for the volunteers meeting. I am chairing a session and taking a tour group (more on that after the conference). Anyway, I got to see where the conference will be held - at the Grand Hyatt. WOW! Very plush and impressive! Anyway, I got a groovy ALIA polo shirt to wear as well. More on this next week, it looks set to be a fabulous week!

The Information Professional: Do we have a culture of learning?

Last Wednesday night (The 26th of September), I headed down to Melbourne for the State Library of Victoria's next talk in the Outside the Box series. Here are my notes (far too much effort to properly transcibe!):

Damian Lodge, CSU Lecturer, and Board member of ALIA

• discussed his PHD (in Universities)
• leadership, technology, staff motivation, staff development
• supporting staff, funding them and giving them work time to write conference papers etc.

Many Manning, from SLAV

• they have selected topics for groups to pick from and help get speakers (this could be good for regional groups of ALIA)
• gain PD from formal and non-formal activities, like reading journals
• schools pressed for $
• mainly offered PD to librarians and teacher librarians but have now moved to assistants, LT's, audio technician's etc.
• credibility - putting yourself out there, giving a presentation

Craig Anderson, Director of RMIT Libraries

• going to different events (or sector events) to broaden your view
• first aid, OH&S, fire safety (standard training)
• open program (whole uni - 100 sessions), things like IT, excel etc.
• on site training (databases, ILMS)
• external training (conferences, other events)
• full time staff development trainer
• doing the learning 23 things
• who's responsible? management or staff?

We also discussed the ALIA PD scheme.

• selling the scheme to both employers and employees
• making it compulsory? but if so numbers would drop
• major problem. they are aiming for 10% involvement

Comments (from the crowd!)

• people don't know what they don't know!
• the need to discuss change and informing others by having 'strategic conversations'.
• some people just go to work for the $ - they aren't interested in PD
• regional PD - the distance!
• you need to upskill for internal promotion, or an external job
• I would take 3 years of a star, than 10 years of a dud!

It was a really interesting talk, however we discussed that people were preaching to the converted!! All those interested in PD were there already! How do you get the others interested?