ASSOCIATES (2005, July, v. 12, no. 1) - associates.ucr.edu

*Victorian ALIA Library Technician – 2004 – The Year That Was!*

by

Tania Barry
Promotions Officer
Victorian ALIA Library Technicians
Tania.Barry@wyndham.vic.gov.au

The Victorian ALIA Library Technician’s group (affectionately known as ‘The Vic LTs’) was first established in October 1979 and celebrated 25 years in 2004. Since its inception, the Group has been extremely active, but never as much as in the last nine years, under Convenor Kerrie Kelly. Over the years, the introduction of many events has seen them repeated annually or biannually, depending on the event itself. This article will outline the events held over 2004, highlighting especially successful events held for members. The topics and venues covered have been very successful, with the events attracting various members of the library and information profession.

February

Mornington Peninsula Library - Hastings Branch

This is a popular annual event involving a tour of one of the branches of the Mornington Peninsula Library. 2004 saw the dedicated and fun loving committee take its members to the Hastings Branch covering a tour of the library, as well as a presentation on social capital – how libraries build communities through the promotion of interaction, enabling social networking. Visit the Mornington’s excellent website at: http://ourlibrary.mornpen.vic.gov.au/

March

Victoria Police Academy Library visit

There are a number of goals the Vic LTs try to attain throughout the year, and one very important one is to provide a variety of CPD events. This is achieved through visiting varying institutions and the Committee will often hold a meeting at a ‘special’ venue to ensure this. The Victoria Police Academy Library visit was a combination of a committee meeting and tour and was well attended by delegates. There was a rumour that group members attended in the hope of a real life arrest, but alas, their hopes were dashed!

Hot off the press: from publisher to library shelf

This was an extremely popular event which looks set to become an annual occurrence!!!! It was repeated in 2005 with a serials twist and plans are now underway for 2006!!

Known inhouse as ‘HOTP’ (and no, it doesn’t stand for ‘Heaps Of Technicians Partying’, although that would be a good analogy!), the day long event was attended by 62 delegates and followed the work of the technical services side – from the creation of a book till it ends up on library shelves. The session started at the State Library of Victoria (http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/) and included a talk from a self-published author, the ordering and acquisitions processes and the work of library suppliers. Participants were then taken on a bus ride to Raeco Library Supplies (http://www.raeco.com.au/) where they had a presentation on cataloguing and end processing procedures. The day ended with a tour and presentation of the Raeco warehouse, who were generous sponsors of the event. The event was popular with students, who said it was like being let loose in a lolly (candy for our US colleagues J ) shop! Delegates attended from all over Victoria.

May

River of opportunities III, Wagga workshop

This biennial workshop was jointly organised by the NSW and Victorian ALIA Library Technician groups. Thirty-five delegates attended, and, as always, it was very successful. The programme covered a variety of topics, such as ‘Life in a school library’ and ‘The good, the bad and the ugly: Audiovisual and the digital age’ (see more at http://alia.org.au/events/moreinfo.html?659). Delegates danced late into the night at the formal dinner (what did I say earlier about parties??), proving we play as hard as we work! The workshop ended with a tour of the Wagga Wagga Library. For more on beautiful Wagga Wagga, go to http://www.wagga.nsw.gov.au/.

July

Techs on Tour

Another very popular event which will see its eighth year in 2005! Affectionately referred to as ‘TOT’ between the group (is this perhaps an indication of how much we like to play???), Techs on Tour involves a behind the scenes tour of three specialist areas of the State Library of Victoria, and then the choice of one of three libraries.

Fifty delegates from around the state started the tour at the State Library of Victoria and visited three areas – the newly refurbished Dome Reading Rome (http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/about/visiting/spaces/latrobe.html), the Manuscripts Collection (http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/about/visiting/spaces/aus_mss.html) and the Information Resources Division. The pre-lunch speaker for the event was Shane Carmody, Director of Collections and Services, who gave a fascinating account of the colourful history behind the establishment of the State Library. This was an ideal topic, seeing as the day heralded 150 years since the first foundation stone of the library was laid by Governor Sir Charles Hotham. Read more of the history of the State Library at http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/about/pastfuture/history/chronology.html and take a virtual tour of its magnificent buildings at http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/about/visiting/tours/cultural.html.

Delegates to this ‘sell out’ event then had a visit to their choice of one out of three special libraries – Museum’s Infozone (a research facility offering opportunities to access Museum Victoria’s collections, see more at http://infozone.museum.vic.gov.au/), SBS Library and Swets Blackwell (a serials vendor). Each of these venues was as popular as the other.

TOT 2005 just took place on Saturday July 2, 2005. No international attendees this year, but maybe you can join us for 2006!!!