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The final paper is Research-in-Practice paper and explores the B I Use of social media by academic libraries in Australia i b . Finally, there is also a Research-in-Practice paper describing the use of social media by academic libraries in Australia. We kick off 2023 with a rich issue consisting of diverse research papers that cover many aspects of Library and Information Science, including library history, library accessibility, library research and LIS education, and also a paper by a researcher and user of academic libraries detailing a complicated project about compiling sociology PhDs in Australia, which involved expert help from some amazing academic libraries and librarians. [Extracted from the article]

This paper is a selective review of recent publications, focused on the economic value of public and special libraries which are treated separately, since context and organisational objectives differ widely for different types of libraries. Those who wish to further explore this topic will find many studies into the social value of libraries which establish their general 'worth.' A good place to start is Roswitha Poll's examination of ways of assessing economic value, social value, and outcomes for literacy, information retrieval, and academic and professional success (Poll 2003). An extensive bibliography of earlier work is given in Fitch and Warner (1997). Promising methods of evaluating the economic benefits of libraries and expressing them in financial terms are at last emerging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Christine Mackenzie on exploring Web 2.0 capabilities in partnership with library users and another by Julie Sloan on workforce planning.

The article focuses on Warren Michael Horton, director general of the National Library of Australia commitment to help young librarians and his contribution to the Aurora Library Leadership Program. The contribution to the Festschrift is a lightly edited transcript of a short speech made at the celebration of Warren Horton's distinguished career held at and hosted by the National Library of Australia on 26 March 2004. Aurora is a Library Leadership Program modelled on the Library Leadership Institute at Snowbird and supported by the Salt Lake City Public Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. Horton demonstrated the value of working together and the camaraderie and fun involved in supporting each other. He proved that librarianship is a deeply personal as well as a professional commitment. Through Aurora, Horton made a major contribution in identifying and developing young librarianship in both Australia and New Zealand. Aurora was the last professional concern, Horton relinquished, just days before he died.