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'Finding MY Place' (FMP) is a library based program designed to assist some of the most disadvantaged members of the community -- young people who are disengaging from the school system before they complete a reasonable level of education. With its origins in Western Australia, this paper looks at the program as it has been adapted by Fairfield City Library and partnering agencies. Run as a series of motivational workshops held in the library or, at times, as an excursion, the program aims to engage these young people with the broader community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia has four major library sectors, public, academic, school and special. All of those sectors have major strengths and rate well by world standards. Many new and redeveloped buildings have been constructed in them. The academic libraries have been strongly focused on the information/learning commons concept, electronic resources and information literacy education. Public libraries are now available to everyone in Australia, and are receiving increasing attention and new buildings as multidimensional centres for community learning capacity growing. School libraries have many new buildings and a strong focus on information literary education but they often now have inadequate teacher librarian and library technician staff and resources. School library needs were reviewed during 2011 by a committee of inquiry of the Australian federal parliament. Special libraries have experienced cutbacks and institutional changes and mergers but the sector continues to innovate and grow in areas such as law libraries. Australia has the benefit of a strong multisectoral professional library association based in the national capital Canberra, and which is helping all sectors to address areas such as the ageing and education of the profession, library education, professional development, and advocacy. Australia also unusually has a national association for Friends of Australian Libraries to focus citizen advocacy for stronger investment in public libraries in particular. A challenge for the Australian library sectors is to become better informed about the issues and many users they have in common, and to collaborate in practice and in advocacy for better, more accessible, libraries for all. Revised version of a paper commissioned by the French 'Bulletin des Bibliotèques de France' and published in its number 6, 2011 pp59-63. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Geelong Regional Library Corporation in partnership with the city of Greater Geelong (CoGG) Aged and Disability Services, was selected for the State Library of Victoria's 2010 Pierre Gorman Award to develop a disability awareness training scheme for library staff (Dats). Dats aimed to increase the awareness of a broad range of disabilities which exist in communities and through that awareness and understanding improve the ability of staff to respond to library users with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pubs and restaurants in Hong Kong, wine import businesses in China, hotels in Dubai, fish farms and music studios in the UK — what do these businesses have in common in their pursuit of success? Regardless of the industry, the competition and the market, three things are critical to creating successful, sustainable business: getting more customers; getting existing customers to visit more often, or purchase more on each visit; increasing efficiencies and stripping away barriers to improvements. The same principles can be applied to public libraries if they think differently about what it is they do. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2007 the 'More than just equipment' report was released. This identified issues for people with a disability in accessing their public library resources and services via the internet. Library representatives worked through the report and established priority areas to address the issues. One of these was the development of an online resource/directory to provide all Victorian library staff with the tools and information to enable their library service to support the independent use of public libraries by community members with disabilities, along with their families and carers. The result was the Pleased (Public Libraries Enabling Accessible Services Encompassing Disability) website, launched in October 2009. It is a high quality accessible web portal and is a first for public libraries in Australia demonstrating the innovative use of web technology to assist library staff in providing services to users with a disability. Edited version of a paper presented at the Alia Access conference Brisbane 1-3 September 2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An overview of a shift from bulk ordering of community languages resources to a customer centric approach for South Australian public libraries. Edited version of a paper presented at Alia Access conference Brisbane 1-3 September 2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frontline is an online course developed in the UK in the theory and practice of reader centred work in the public lending library. It is designed to challenge library staff to rethink their jobs and change the way that they work by putting readers first rather than books. Following a successful pilot and rollout in Melbourne Library Service, a three year program of the course across the state of Victoria began in October 2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey of Sunshine Coast library users indicates that there is a high level of interest in ebooks and e-audiobooks and also that there is strong demand for technologies such as the iPhone, iPad and Amazon's Kindle. These local trends, mirrored internationally, present public libraries with a challenge to dramatically improve their virtual offerings, or lose relevance in this emerging high growth area. They also have a responsibility to play a leadership educational role in informing their communities about e-readers, content and associated trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An executive summary outlining the main findings from phase two of the NSW Public Library Network research program's 'Sustaining communities: measuring the value of public libraries project'. The project recognised that contemporary government practice expects publicly funded bodies to demonstrate their value to the community. Its outcomes identify how NSW public libraries sustain their communities in social, cultural and environmental terms and estimate the associated economic contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lismore City Library has been involved with Lismore's Living Library project from its inception in 2006 as Austalia's first such project. This Library of Living Books is another facet of public libraries providing a meeting place, a learning resource and a comfortable and relaxing public place. The Living Library gives the city's diverse community the opportunity to talk to people and learn from them - people they would not normally meet. This is promoting and leading to better communication and understanding within the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been said that the role of the librarian is to provide the right book to the right person at the right time. It is certainly true that librarians are information providers who utilise their skills to connect library users with fiction and nonfiction texts through a variety of stock management and reader development techniques. They also make a positive contribution to the mental health and wellbeing of those who utilise the library in their community, through informal acts such as helping people find books, discussing books with readers, and fostering reading groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classification of adult fiction by genre in public libraries produces more confusion than clarification. Whilst the system purports to model itself on bookstores the actual arrangement is quite different. In the bookstore model, genre is a marketing category and not a literary category as it is currently used in many Western Australian public libraries. The use of a genre system also alienates many readers as the nature of the system is ambiguous. The adoption of a reader centred method for adult fiction classification would mean that the library collection was more accessible because the underlying principles are easier to understand. Edited version of a paper first published in the 'Australian library journal' May 2008 pp 169-177. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main areas of interest to borrowers in a suburban public library service centre on the domestic and the personal: their health, their homes, their holidays, their money and their leisure. While Dewey is a satisfactory method of linking a catalogue record to an item on the shelf, it does not facilitate browsing in the areas of most interest to public library users. In 2005 Bayside Library service did not use Dewey in the traditional sense to determine shelf order in its redeveloped Beaumaris branch. The result was six new nonfiction collections which combine Dewey sequences within subject areas that are meaningful to a contemporary Australian audience. The success and user acceptance of the reorganisation has resulted in Bayside deciding, in principle, to implement the same at its other branches. Edited version of a paper presented at the Alia 2006 Perth biennial conference [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Akaltye Antheme (Giving Knowledge) collection of the Alice Springs Public Library in Central Australia is an Indigenous local knowledge collection established in 2002. It aims to provide resources relevant to the interests and English language literacy levels of Indigenous library users. These resources include any material in any format by, about, and for the Aboriginal peoples of Central Australia. The collection has been a catalyst for a major increase in library use by Indigenous people, and helped to develop it as one of the few places in Alice Springs where Indigenous and nonIndigenous people come together. Edited version of an award winning presentation at the Alia Library stars forum Perth 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outsourcing of technical services functions such as cataloguing and processing is becoming more commonplace in libraries across Australia.Strategic procurement adds further value to the whole process of outsourcing the purchase of goods and services. In 1999 Brisbane City Council Library Services outsourced its acquisitions and technical services, enabling staff to move into user focused positions in the branches. It also introduced a more strategic management of acquisitions and collections which continues to be fine tuned to meet the needs of library users. In 2005 Yarra Plenty Regional Library Service became the first Victorian library to fully outsource its acquisitions and technical services. Brisbane and Yarra Plenty, although 1700 kms apart, are working together to adopt a standard AACR2 Level 2 catalogue record to be created by library suppliers, with costs shared between the partner libraries. Edited version of a paper presented at the Alia 2006 Perth biennial conference [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating public libraries and service council centres can be contentious. When a council has a main office, seven libraries and four service centres serving a population of only 28,000 people in a large area it also has major service and cost implications. Discussed are the concept, implementation and progress of Customer First at South Taranaki District Council in the North Island of New Zealand and the effect it has had on its public library service since 2002. Customer First was a project to improve South Taranaki District Council's customer service and the Library Plus initiative was one of three major parts of the program. It has proven to be effective in delivering library and other council services and has increased the profile and reputation of the library service [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review of the Future of public libraries conference held in New York 18-19 May 2006. This addressed technology and communication trends, their impact on public library buildings, library use patterns and physical and electronic collection issues [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging technologies provide librarians with a unique opportunity to substantially enhance user centred services and to facilitate and promote collaboration between libraries and their users. This paper explores the range of free and inexpensive technologies that have been implemented with practical and immediate benefits for library staff and users. Examples of integrating technologies include blogs, wikis, RSS aggregators, podcasts, vodcasts, web conferencing, and instant messaging. Also reported is the take up of these technologies by public libraries nationally and internationally. Australian public library use and promotion of these services is examined. A case study around the Queensland Opal Training Project Emerging Technology course examines library staff buy in and involvement in the development of new series, and explores the difference emerging technologies can make to users. Edited version of a paper presented at the Alia conference Perth WA September 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wireless access to library networks provides opportunities for the use of notebooks and PDAs to access library information and the internet. With the ability to provide wireless high speed internet access public libraries can provide their users with access to online resources in the same manner as fixed desktop pcs. A total secure wireless solution requires ease of use, authentication, policies based on library card attributes, bandwidth management, future proof, regulatory compliance, scheduling, flexible network configurations, web based management, support for both wireless and wired devices, and centralised status, reporting and diagnostics. Wireless networks provide a solution popular with users, and give libraries more flexibility in network management. Edited version of a paper presented at 'Places and spaces: public libraries for the 21st century in Australia and New Zealand' Adelaide South Australia 31 March-1 April 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With 133 nationalities and over 70 languages spoken among its 193,000 population the City of Fairfield in metropolitan Sydney is Australia's most multicultural and multilingual local government area. In 2004 its library commissioned a survey funded by a State Library of NSW grant to discover why older immigrants use the library less than others, and how their use could be increased. In an Australian, and possibly world first, the survey explored the behaviour of library users and nonusers in three language groups, Arabic/Assyrian, Spanish and Vietnamese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on a study that examined development strategies for library collections in a digital environment. Strategic approach to collection development; Benefits of a collection development strategy; Collection and service issues in technology; Problem with regard to Internet access.

This article discusses the possible responses of Australian libraries to an anticipated recession. The authors anticipate that economic issues will increase the services provided by public libraries in Australia while diminishing the resources available to those libraries. The availability of resources from the Friends of Libraries Australia (FOLA) to help deal with budget cuts and increased user levels during the recession is described. The authors offer advice to library administrators facing the need to advocate against budget cuts during the recession. The organization of an Australian Library and Information Association summit intended to plan for the development of library resources during the period 2010-2020 is also described.

Describes a local library in Geraldton, Western Australia. Changes implemented at the library; Benefits of the provision of Internet access at the library; Information on several databases available at the library.