Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Report on Taxonomy Workshop facilitated by Patrick Lambe

“Taxonomies are powerful instruments for breaking down siloes and fostering collaboration and learning - not just for information accessibility and navigation”.

I was one of the fortunate ones who attend Patrick Lambe’s workshop on taxonomy development on 17-18 October 2013. This  a rare opportunity to come my way and I  enjoyed it . It is also  a pleasure to get together with others who enjoy the discipline of taxonomy. The reasons people had come to the workshop were many, some were constructing or revitalising websites, others were looking into devising the structure of content management system or in my case undertaking a review of an existing thesaurus

The workshop followed a set regime of  theory on day one of what is  a taxonomy and the various forms they can take. Day 2 covered the practical aspects of  taxonomy creation. The workshop approach combines presentation of frameworks and proven methods with interactive exercises and opportunities to relate the content back to participants' own organisations. The exercises and experiential teachings really caught my fancy and encouraged my thinking on methodology  and ways to prompt  stakeholder engagement with the taxonomy.  I think an innovative aspect of  Patrick Lambe’s  approach is to stress that the taxonomy is a living system requiring  strong governance and evaluation.

Karna O'Dea

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

ALIA National Library & Information Technicians’ Symposium.

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
Menzies Library, ANU – Hancock Library, ANU – CSIRO, Black Mountain – The Library and Gardens’ Library, Botanical Gardens – National Film and Sound Archives – AIATSIS


Canberry Tour
Gungahlin Public Library – National Film and Sound Archives Warehouse, Mitchell – Australian Catholic University, Watson – Heritage Library, Woden – The Canberra Hospital, Woden – Geoscience

Floriade Tour
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

Ginninderra Tour
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

Burley Griffin Tour
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

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Xmas drinks for ALIA URLS, AGLIN and ACTive ALIA members - all welcome!

Yes, the silly season is fast approaching!  Please join us for a drink and some Christmas cheer at our combined end of year social event for all ACT library folk.  Members of ALIA URLS, AGLIN, OPALS and all who work in the library and information sector are welcome.   

Date:                     Wednesday 11 December
Time:                    5.00pm – 7.00pm
Where:               ALIA House Conference Room, 9-11 Napier Close, Deakin ACT  (come and check out the newly renovated conference room!)
For:                        Drinks and nibbles

RSVP:                    Please RSVP by Friday 29 November for catering purposes to Heather Clark, hclark@nla.gov.au

Make a note of the date and plan to come along for a fun evening of socialising and networking with friends and colleagues – all welcome!
Aileen

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Aileen Weir, Convenor
ALIA URLS (Universities and Research Libraries)