If you are going to be in Melbourne for VALA, then you have to stick around for Library Camp Australia, which is happening the day after VALA finishes – Friday 10th February.
Registrations are open now, so get in quickly so you don’t miss out on what is going to be an awesome day!
The Hon. John Cain – former Victorian Premier and current President of the Library Board of Victoria, yesterday announced the new CEO for the State Library of Victoria.
The appointment comes in the wake of the departure of Ann-Marie Schwirtlich, who has taken on the role of Director General of the National Library of Australia.
Due to start by the end of March 2012, the new CEO is Sue Roberts, most recently from her position as University Librarian at Victoria University in New Zealand.
Libraries Interact wishes Sue well in her new position.
ALIA has announced that Sue Hutley has resigned as Executive Director of ALIA, to take up the role of Director: Collections and Access at the Queensland State Archives.
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.
Or at least a venue….
The unorganising committee for #LibCampOz12 would like to welcome and thank The University of Melbourne Library for agreeing to be our venue sponsor.
The University is located on the edge of the CBD. It is easily accessible by tram, train and bus and casual parking is available. The library is centrally located within the picturesque grounds and we will be providing maps and tram routes you can take to get there.
Hopefully this will be the first of many more exciting announcements about Library Camp Australia 2012.
There is still time to get involved- please contact Kim or myself if you wish to be part of the unorganising team.
It seems the future of libraries, particularly public, is dependent on sponsorship and partnerships. However, it also seems to be a double-edged sword, where the benefits of such arrangements could also cause harm to the parties involved.
Most recently, the British Library is under fire for including a link to Amazon in its catalogue. The link takes the user to the matching record on Amazon, where they can then purchase the item.
Unsurprisingly, the furore has not arisen over having a link to a bookseller, but that “a very British institution is driving readers away from local libraries and high street bookshops…… ………..it is a shame that the British Library choose to give their endorsement to one aggressively commercial organisation.” (James Daunt – Managing Director Waterstone – as quoted in the Bookseller.com)
British Library responded that is was generic to their Primo product, but took it down briefly in response to criticism and for review. It was reinstated days later, with a statement from British Library saying it had done so “with the aim of providing users with the choice of an alternative method of obtaining a title if, for some reason, it is not available in the Library’s Reading Rooms. It also offered users a rich source of additional information for many titles (book jacket images, contents pages etc) that supplemented the data the Library itself was able to provide.” (British Library reinstates Amazon Link – The Bookseller.com. They also noted that they did not receive anything from Amazon for this.
Many library catalogues have the functionality to enable users to pursue their search outside the immediate local library. My library is part of a consortia of 15 Victorian public libraries, so our link takes it to the next option, which is to search all Victorian public libraries via LibLink.
Does your library catalogue have such a link? Where does it link to? As nothing changes hands, is this a form of sponsorship or partnership? Should libraries have such arrangements, either compensated or not? Only public libraries or all? Would love to read your take on this situation.
Internet Librarian 2011, with the theme “Revolutionizing the Net with Content, Connections & Conversations”, is heading into its last day at Monterey, California – but its not too late to watch the Live Stream (if you’re a night owl), or follow the live action from the participants views on Twitter. (follow the hash tag #IL2011 or #InternetLibrarian)
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.
libcampoz the national library unconference which kicked off in Perth and has been held in Adelaide and other States is making its way to Melbourne. I would 
encourage you to put the date in your calendars.
I recently attended Libcampoz (Perth) and had a great time. Participating the unconference was invigorating. Benefits include:
It will be free and will be held on the day after VALA2012.
News
The website for the last library camp has been archived and the new logo is ready. So watch this space as more information comes to hand. We are calling on local library folk in Melbourne to join the un-organising group. If you have some time we would love to hear from you. Contact me and we will get you signed up for the wiki. To all those lovely interstate people who have indicated your interest in un-organising we will be in touch soon.
Definitely worth a look…
And have a play with the ngram viewer. I used the terms ‘libraries’ and ‘librarians’. There was a peak in 1970s and a decline since then. Uh oh! Or does this just mean that those topics are now being written about in non-book formats?
Applications from eligible NSW library staff for the 2011 Colin Mills Scholarship and the 2011 Kath Knowles Young Leaders Award have been extended until Friday 9 September 2011.
Kath Knowles Young Leaders Award
The State Library of NSW also maintains a page of awards and fellowships.
The wait is over. The signup’s for Library Camp Australia are open, so reserve your place fast.
Head on over to our registration page and let us know you’re coming. Places are limited, so be quick!
Library Camp Australia is going to be held at the State Library of Western Australia on Monday 19th September.
The fact that this is also International Talk Like a Pirate Day is purely coincidental.
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