“In accordance with its Constitutional requirements the ALIA Board called for nominations for three upcoming Director vacancies and one Vice-President (President elect vacancy). Sufficient nominations were received to fill the vacancies but insufficient for an election to be held.”

The new ALIA Board members for 2012 are:

Vice President (President-elect) – Julie Rae – Director, Information and Research for the Australian Drug Foundation and formerly with VISION Australia, Central Highlands Regional Library Corporation, Bayside Libraries and GEAC.

Directors:

Edmund Balnaves – Founder and Principal of Prosentient Systems

Elke Dawson – Deputy Director (Resource and Access Services) at Central Queensland University Library

Aileen Weir – Acting Director Reader Services at National Library of Australia

We at Libraries Interact congratulate the new Board members on their appointment and look forward to the work they will do for our national organisation.

All of us here at Libraries Interact send our sincere thanks to Sue, for her dedication and hard work for our professional association and for all of us, over the six years she has been in the role.

We also wish her our very best for her new role, which she begins in January.

Much as we would like to be there, we can still get the latest on what’s coming out of the conference through the Conference Blog. Alternatively, the conference is also being well covered by the likes of David Lee King and Librarian in Black, or one of the officially listed conference bloggers.

If you want to see the presentations, you can download them, but have to login. (User name/Password: il2011/il2011)

Don’t forget that Internet Librarian International in London is coming up, on 27th and 28th October, where more great content will be shared.

And once you have been suitably inspired, ALIA Biennial is seeking abstracts for the conference in Sydney in 2012.

The simultaneous bit starts at 11.00am AEST today.

Some of the Day 3 Panel: @missophiemac, @michaelmace, @thelib

It’s been two days since I returned from Information Online and I woke up from a dream about writing a blog post so here it is. My takeaways from the conference are:

1. Break the rules @thelib – Sarah Houghton encouraged conference participants to be prepared to break some rules in order to deliver the services that clients want. She used the example of implementing social media. They didn’t get permission. They just went ahead. Her terrific presentation is available on her blog.
2. Heat maps of eye-tracking and clicks look very impressive. I was encouraged by the number of libraries testing usability of their websites and services. There were a number of papers that had some impressive heat maps. They certainly add a wow factor to presentations.
3. Seb Chan told us about some of the incredibly impressive work of the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney and how they are getting people to visit their collections online. These include WordPress plugins, Flickr Commons and the amazing mobile story game – China Heart.

I was also thrilled to participate in the Conference Mentoring Program being piloted at Online by Naomi Doessel the winner of an ALIA study grant. I offered to be a mentor and it was a rewarding experience. I met two amazing young librarians.

For me the main benefits of attending Online were:

• Networking opportunities
• Catching up with some library rock stars
• Meeting some rising library stars
• Spending face-to-face time with my twitter PLN (personal learning network)
• Crafting with fellow librarians at the lunch time Stitch’n'bitch

R2D2 and cup cake amigurumi

I have attended quite a few conferences in the last two years and I am beginning to wonder if the current format is sustainable. I for one would like more opportunity to engage, interact and discuss the content/ideas. Maybe we need to consider an unconference stream running along side more traditional streams (as was trailed at ALIAAccess in 2010).

I also presented a paper at Online and I have decided that from now on I will co-present and I am already discussing an abstract for VALA2012 with a colleague.

I would be really interested in hearing about your takeaways, the benefits and whether you think the traditional conference format is sustainable.

Please leave a comment.

Date: Monday, 31st January 2011
Time: 6.30pm
Venue: Cohibar
Location: Cohibar, Harbourside, Darling Harbour. (Next to the convention centre).

Date: Tuesday, 1st February 2011
Time: 8.00pm (after Official Welcome Drinks)
Venue: Crinz Bar
Location: Crinz Bar, Harbourside, Darling Harbour. (Next to the convention centre).

Date: Thursday, 3rd February 2011
Time: 7.00pm (after Official Closing Drinks)
Venue: Crinz Bar
Location: Crinz Bar, Harbourside, Darling Harbour. (Next to the convention centre).

If anyone is aware of other events please let me know and I can add them to the list.

Enjoy!

I’m looking forward to seeing some other top 10 lists, and will be checking the #top10for2010 tag on Twitter over the next few days. Check out the ALIA Library Top 10s for 2010 blog for ideas and links.

Louse suggests that libraries: Be covert. be viral. Let information literacy seep through. Don’t call it information literacy, as it can be off putting. Look at ways of using web 2.0 to build information literacy skills covertly.

Their blog: Book coasters is a way of fostering lifelong learning skills virally. The online book club can:

1. promote reading and informal learning
2. allow people to develop new transliteracy skills
3. builds community

If you were hiding under a rock, for some background reading – and watching – check out here, here, and here. And if you open up the Old Spice Channel on YouTube you may never leave!

While there’s a LOT of fun to be had by checking out the abs – *ahem* I mean brilliant marketing strategy – of the Old Spice Guy, there’s also some real opportunities.

@wawoodworth managed to get so many retweets of their original post that @oldspice gave libraries this shoutout:

I am pretty! How did he know?

And while, sadly, the Old Spice Guy phenomenon of over 200 video message replies to tweets is now over, (excuse me while I cry all over my iPhone), there are already examples of libraries jumping on the boat cart – and how!

So – how do we take advantage of this?

And how do we make sure that when we do, it’s not embarassing and does more damage to our brand than good?

I’m currently Chair of ALIA’s New Generation Advisory Committee (NGAC) and I have some ideas but am interested to hear your thoughts too. And while yes – we are a group to advise the board on issues relation to new generation/graduate involvement in the profession and the organisation -we are also a committee that welcomes ideas from experienced members of the profession.  So if you don’t identify as “new” anymore, but you have ideas on this topic, please don’t hold back!

NGAC is in planning stages for the next year or years of new generation involvement in our profession, so I ask you, interactive librarians: Where to, from here?

Personlly, I’d like to be on that cart.

@naomidoessel
Chair, ALIA New Generation Advisory Committee

@flexnib rightly tweets:

#aliaaccess will be one big tweet up

However as the conference dinner is Dine-Around, the conference is multi-streamed and we come from all walks of LibraryLand, we may not all get a chance to meet at the social events organised, so I’m organising a #tweetup.

#ALIAAccess #TweetUp

The Brisbane Twitter User Brigade #BTUB meets monthly at Greystone Bar which is conveniently located at South Bank very close to the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

When: Tuesday 31 August

From:  6pm

Where: http://foursquare.com/venue/307181

RSVP: Tweet @naomidoessel to let me know if you’re coming so I can book us an area.

New Grads at the Pub

Additionally after the Welcome Reception 5-6pm on Wednesday 1 September, due to popular demand New Grads at the Pub is back!

Yes, the event made so popular as NLS4 in Melbourne is being revived, with a special after-drinks dinner & drinks (self-funded) at Brisbane’s historic Plough Inn, also at South Bank and only a short walk from the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Not a new grad? No worries! While this event is targeted at those attending the What Next! New Graduates Stream at ALIA Access and is a chance for those in the profession less than ten years to get together and have a relaxed dinner, if you’re laid back and friendly and want to chat to the up-and-comers in LibraryLand then come along!

When: Wednesday 1  September

From:  6.30pm

Where: http://foursquare.com/venue/279834

RSVP: Tweet @naomidoessel or email naomidoessel at gmail dot com so we can book.

Please use the hashtags #ALIAAccess and #tweetup.

Cheers

@naomidoessel