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The 10th ALIA (Australia Library and Information Association) National Library Technician Conference was held in Fremantle, Western Australia in September 1999. The venue on the Indian Ocean was lovely and the conference invigorating. There were four participants from the United States at the conference. Two traveled independently (Aimee Chan and Susan Anderson College Library) and one (Linda Haller) traveled with me. Aimee works for The Aerospace Corporation in Los Angeles, California. Susan is from Spokane Falls Community College Library in Spokane, Washington. Linda Haller works for Proctor and Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio. I (Linda Owen) am with the University of California at Riverside California. Linda and I both presented papers to the conference.
The conference theme was Projections - Reflections with each day having its own sub-theme. Day one was ‘New Horizons,’ day two was ‘Reflections,’ and day three was ‘Library Technicians= Day.’ Conference Convenor, Evette House and her committee made sure we all stayed busy. Each days' program included general session speakers, parallel sessions/workshops and library tours. There were a total of 11 general session speeches, 25 parallel sessions/workshops, and 21 library tours.
Kicking off the events was Carl Grant, President of Ex Libris (USA) Inc. He spoke on the need to know where we each stood in respect to the changes occurring in libraries. He said it was all happening too fast for us to be too cautious in our approaches to change. We should keep informed, examine the possibilities and move forward. The speech set the tone for the conference as we spent three days reviewing where library technicians had been, remembering events and people who had shaped the profession and looking to the future.
The Dunn and Wilson Oration was excellent. Lorraine Denny from the University of Wollongong Library was the 1997 recipient of the Dunn and Wilson Research Scholarship. Her paper was titled AJob Descriptions : improving their currency, accuracy and usefulness.@ Using literature searches, surveys and interviews Denny determined that job descriptions were often inaccurate and almost always under utilized. They were something to be pulled out and dusted off when a vacancy needed to be filled. Instead Denny suggested job descriptions should be dynamic documents that reflect the work being done and serve as a basis of the job review process. Denny's paper and the 1995 Dunn and Wilson paper by Jean Bailey, "Case study of Higher-Level Library Technicians" are available on the world Wide Web at URL: http://www.alia.org.au/awards/dunn.wilson/recipients.html
There were many excellent programs during the conference. Of particular interest to me as a cataloger was the one by Steven Cremer of the Australian Defence Force Library. His paper was Role vs Reality: library technicians in cataloging exposed the inadequacy of the old model of cataloging departments where the roles and tasks were sharply divided. He promoted a flexible team model where the strengths of each individual would be used best to meet every changing needs of libraries. He urged libraries to recognize and use the special educational qualifications in cataloging that are held by their by Library Technicians.
The programs presented by the representatives from Tasmania were interesting in that they provided an excellent overview of library service in the island state. Tasmania is the venue of the next Library Technicians Conference to be held in 2001. Programs described library service to immigrant communities and detailed the development of Tasmania Online (URL: http://www.tas.gov.au) and the State Library web page (URL: http://www.tas.gov.au/library/).
Three programs on the final day detailed the history and accomplishments of Library Technicians in Australia as a group and as individuals. The speakers were Judy Clayden, Coordinator of Library Technology programs at Edith Cowen University, Marion Boyd, Interlibrary Loans Officer at the High Court of Australia Library and Ursula Macdermott, Acquisitions/Cataloging Librarian at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Marion Boyd had recently been elected to the ALIA General Council and Ursula Macdermott, at the time, was serving on the ALIA Board of Education.
We have much in common with Australian library staff in the work we do in libraries and in the issues important to the paraprofessional community, but there are also some significant differences especially in education and professional acceptance. In Australia the title Library Technician is very specifically defined. While there is a wide range of library workers in Australian libraries, the title Library Technician refers only to someone who has a degree from a 2-year ALIA recognized library technician education programs which focuses on the operational and technical aspects of the information or library service. Within ALIA, Library Technicians have their own section, as do those with graduate qualifications. Other library workers may join ALIA as general members only. Library Technicians are encouraged to pursue continuing education opportunities after graduation. ALIA member Library Technicians are included in the association’s newly created Continuing Professional Development certificate program. Throughout Australia there is a movement to encourage employers to recognize the merits of employing qualified Library Technicians. Given the thoroughness of the Library Technician education process in Australia I can only believe that libraries would benefit from doing so.
Another area in which Australia promotes the professional status of Library Technicians is in research. Every two years a $4,000 scholarship is awarded for a project "relating to the practice of library technicians, which will increase the recipient's professional occupational experience." Past studies have been done on the topics of Library Technicians in reference services, how higher level classifications are utilized, and how model job descriptions are used in hiring and evaluation processes. The 1999 award was presented to Meredith Martinelli for research on transferring library technician skills beyond the library. The scholarship is administered by ALIA and funded by Dunn & Wilson (Australia) a company providing book binding services to libraries. Information about the award and past recipients is found on on the World Wide Web at http://www.alia.org.au/awards/dunn.wilson/
Even with all this progressive action, some Library Technicians in Australia are (as we are here in the United States) still hitting artificial walls, especially in the area of task assignment. One speaker addressed this by asking if librarians were holding on to old tasks because they were reluctant to face the challenges that moving forward to new ones would bring. He posited that if libraries are "going to preserve and maintain their stake in the information future, then librarians and technicians are going to have to respect each other's strengths in the effective teamwork that modern libraries require."
My paper, ALibrary Support Staff in Associations: a positive force for change@ was well received. While I could not point to an ALA certification program or accreditation program for Library Technical Assistant education, I did note that opportunities for support staff involvement in library associations have grown greatly over the past ten years. I attributed that growth to changing attitudes of the value of such membership by the individuals, the institutions in which they work and by the associations. I noted that this positive attitude meant that support staff was now less inclined to form their own associations instead of joining existing ones. Discussed were three types of changes that occur when library support staff join library associations: those to the associations themselves, those derived from the activities in which the individuals take part and those brought about by the personal and professional growth that occurs. The examples were drawn from the experiences of state and national associations, and from individuals.
Linda Haller presented a paper based on her library’s innovative use of Microsoft Access. The title of the paper was "Centralization of Libraries and Standardization of Work Practices using Microsoft Access." She provided examples of the databases they had developed and gave insight into how the system allows groups to work together efficiently with little duplication of effort.
All was not the seriousness of programs and speeches. There were tours and social events that enabled us all to renew acquaintances and make ones. There were two receptions, the banquet and dance, and many more informal gatherings. A post conference tour provided Linda Haller her first glimpse of the Australian outback complete with kangaroos, koalas and wild rides over sand dunes.
Linda and I shared a condo with four Australian technicians whom I had met at previous conferences. Two, of the group had previously served as ALIA General Councillors, the others were officers of their Library Technician sections. We had some lively discussions the trials and rewards of our association experiences. Since the condo was right on the Indian Ocean, we were treated to spectacular sunsets. One night a storm blew through and gave life to the rigging of the boats moored right off our apartment. Each boat "sang" with a different tone in an accompaniment to the wind. We enjoyed our stay so much we promised to share accommodations again in Tasmania in two years.
After the conference, Linda and I spent a week touring Australia. We had stopped in Sydney for the weekend when we first arrived. Our next stops were Uluru in the Northern Territory and Cairns in Queensland. More commonly know as Ayres Rock, Uluru is the spiritual center of Australia. It is easy to see why. The huge red monolith dominates the horizon. Close up one can see the fractures and rock falls that all have wonderful stories attached. We rock gazed at sunset and sunrise, and stargazed at night. Dinner under the stars was the highlight of our stay at Uluru. We arrived at an isolated spot nestled among red sand dunes greeted by the eerie sounds of a digeridoo. After dinner, the lights were extinguished, providing an unpolluted view of the stars. The southern sky held few familiar patterns, though with the guidance of an astronomer and master storyteller I soon could identify the Southern Cross. The Milky Way was not hard to identify since from the Southern Hemisphere we were looking at the most dense part of the galaxy. When the lights were re-lit, a murmur of disappointment moved through the group. The next day we found the local resort library. Besides books for the staff to read and to use for reference, there were six public computers. They get heavy use by both staff and visitors especially for e-mailing home. The central region of Australia gets it the name the Red Center from the color of the earth and rocks. There is so much iron in the earth it is literally red from oxidization. The red color makes a dramatic contrast for the wild flowers and smog free sky. It also penetrates your shoes and cloths. I have socks and shoelaces that are permanently dyed pink from the dust.
Cairns was a welcome change from the dry desert of the Red Center. Our hotel overlooked the harbor and ocean. We could watch the boats go out each morning. Each evening we sat on the balcony and watched the boats come back as we listened to a saxophone being played in the bar patio below. We went snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef, road the sky rail in the mountain rain forest and visited an Aboriginal cultural center. We also shopped. The headline of the newspaper when we arrived was about the new library opening downtown. Of course, I had to visit. The building had originally been the city council office. The rich wood doors and stained glass windows had all been refurbished and more was added. I really liked the fact that none of the shelving was over shoulder high. The only complaint the librarian had was about the decorator dictated bookends. They were so flimsy they would not hold the books up straight. There were large windows throughout the building that gave good views to the outside. The collection was well protected from the light since it was housed toward the center of each room with seating on the perimeters. The library staff was happy to display their new facility. It was quite a contrast to the old dark facility located right across the street.
Over the past few years I have attended three Australia conferences. I have found each to be enriching and fun in the information gained and by the sights I visited. Most important are the friendships that have developed. I have met some wonderful people who take not just their own careers seriously, but who give back to the profession. We have been able to keep in touch via the Internet, sharing information about our work and our families. The professional relationships have grown into real friendships. The next conference will be in Hobart, Tasmania in late August 2001. I am making plans now to be there.
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