Congratulations to the fabulous team that brought us the ALIA National
Library & Information Technicians’ Symposium. The organising
committee Colleen Gammage (Convenor), Lucinda Bell, Noellen Newton, Naomi
Newton, Anita Godley, Shannon Ross, Leisa Stack, Catherine James, Sharon Doig,
and Debra Meany did truly remarkable work, with the assistance of ALIA National
Office staff, to deliver a world class event.
It provoked, informed and stimulated networking brilliantly.
The Library tours provided insights into a range of ACT libraries: The library tours were arranged by Michela Laus,
Bluebell Tour
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Menzies Library, ANU –
Hancock Library, ANU – CSIRO, Black Mountain – The Library and Gardens’
Library, Botanical Gardens – National Film and Sound Archives – AIATSIS
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Canberry Tour
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Gungahlin Public Library –
National Film and Sound Archives Warehouse, Mitchell – Australian Catholic
University, Watson – Heritage Library, Woden – The Canberra Hospital, Woden
– Geoscience
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Floriade Tour
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Chifley Library, ANU –
Menzies Library, ANU – Supreme Court, Civic – Legislative Assembly, Civic –
CIT Learning Centre, Reid Campus – CIT Training Library, Reid Campus – War
Memorial, Campbell
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Ginninderra Tour
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University of Canberra, Bruce
– Lu Rees Archive, UC – Radford College, Bruce (P-12) – Australian Institute
of Sport, Bruce – Department of Immigration and Border Control, Belconnen
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Burley Griffin Tour
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Australian Government
Solicitors, Barton – High Court of Australia, Parkes – National Gallery of
Australia, Parkes – The National Archives of Australia, Parkes – Museum of
Australian Democracy, Parkes – The National Library of Australia.
|
The first day started with Kel Robertson, an ACT author, giving his
perspective on the importance of reading, writing and libraries. He challenged
us to think about the new values of libraries based on the needs of society and
different communities, particularly those who need support and access to
information. My presentation can be seen at http://www.slideshare.net/roxannemissingham/alianlits-missingham
- it proposed thinking like Guerillas.
From the first day I came away with great ideas about smart approaches
to assist with copyright (thank you Vanessa Tuckfield), different ways of delivering
services – models of self service and extended hours (thank you Christine
Potter & Tim Leviston) and the radical contribution of cataloguing.
The afternoon panel focused on issues of demonstrating the value of
libraries, our significance, changing economic pressures in Australia and our
organisations, the future for library technicians in employment and ideas for
changes in education for library technicians.
The Halloween dinner was inspired – such talent and imagination both
from the committee and attendees! Do go to the website and follow links to the
Twitter stream, photos and the blog - http://alialibtech2013.wordpress.com/
Well done all!
Roxanne Missingham
