Advocacy round-up

It has been a busy few months for advocacy in the sector with some significant wins and hard work on ongoing campaigns. Thank you to everyone who has been campaigning with us, from writing letters to contributing to submissions. Together we are strong! For anyone who’s still catching up, we’ve rounded up some highlights.

Advocacy wins

A major win for everyone in the sector was the announcement in March that the Federal Government has promised $33m over the next four years to fund Trove, with $9.2m ongoing and indexed funding from July 2027. The announcement came as an enormous relief to not only the library and information sector but the wider library community who use and recognise the value of this essential infrastructure. The Federal Government also addressed the ongoing funding shortfalls for National Cultural Institutions, with $535.3m in funding shared across institutions including the National Library of Australia.

Increased LOTE films in public libraries is a step closer with the Federal Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland, announcing a proposed change to include exemptions from classification for foreign language films distributed by public libraries and routine exhibitions hosted by cultural institutions.

Statements

ALIA Board Statement on the upcoming Referendum on the Voice to Parliament

The statement highlights the sector’s commitment to access to information, democracy and truth-telling and encourages all Australians to make an informed vote in the Referendum by seeking out information and resources. ALIA has created its own set of Memberonly resources to support library and information services and staff to manage risk during the referendum, and will be distributing further resources to support libraries’ roles as trusted sources of information.

Joint Statement on

School

Library

Inclusion

in the National School Reform Agreement (NSRA)

ALIA, as a member of the Australian Coalition for School Libraries, published a statement calling for clear and achievable action to arrest the decline in literacy and numeracy rates. The statement was sent through to the Federal Minister for Education, Minister Jason Clare.

Joint Statement from the ALIA and the Australian Public Library Alliance (APLA) in support of free access to information in Australian libraries

In response to the uptick in people challenging books in libraries, we released a joint statement with APLA in support of free access to information in Australian libraries.

Libraries defend equity of access to information to support a thriving democracy and to cater for all members of the library community. We are continuing to monitor any actions around book challenges, and are working on developing resources for the sector that will be made available shortly. If you are interested in talking more about this, contact education@alia.org.au

ALIA Statement: Respect for Public Library Staff

In light of recent incidences of deliberate aggression, violence and other anti-social behaviour from some members of the community, the ALIA Board released a statement recognising the value of public library staff, the work they do and offering resources to support the sector. ALIA is monitoring the current situation carefully, and is working on further sector resources.

Reports

NSLA and ALIA-APLA release Australian public libraries statistical report 2021-2022

The Australian Public Libraries Statistical Report is an annual project that identifies and measures the usage and activities of Australia’s public library services. This year’s report demonstrated Australians’ continued love affair with the public library, with almost 150 million books, ebooks, audiobooks and other resources borrowed across 2021-2022.

Recent submissions

Inquiry into the Australian Government’s National Cultural Policy Revive Highlights the critical role of libraries in supporting Australia’s cultural and arts sectors.

Submission to the Copyright Enforcement Review Argues for essential library copyright reforms in the context of copyright protection for authors and other creators, along with other sector submissions from ALACC, NSLA and CAUL.

Submission to Australian Universities Accord Discussion Paper Stresses the importance of library services to equity, learning and research, and urges action to support open research and support for LIS students.

ALIA-NSLA submission to the inquiry into the influence of international digital platforms, March 2023

Makes recommendations including increased measures to protect libraries, artists and consumers, increased transparency from digital platforms, and the development of a National Strategy for Media Literacy. ALIA also contributed to the submission from the Australian Media Literacy Alliance.

Please contact education@alia.org.au if you would like to discuss any of our advocacy efforts, we are always happy to hear from you.