Planning for the reintroduction of a sustained silent reading program
A tour through the 2024 award winners
ALIA News
Library partnership sparks aged care conversations around the country 11
Workability, sustainability, inclusion: A tour through the 2024 Library Design Award winners 12
Helping students connect: ALIA partners with NBN for the School Student Broadband Initiative 20
Stress and serendipity: Reflections from the 2023 Charlotte Henry Award winner 21 On our
22
Director of Events and Training zola.maddison@alia.org.au
, Deputy CEO
Welcome to the third edition of INCITE for the year. As President Jane Cowell writes in her introduction on the next page, we have been busy at ALIA in recent months developing and running our Library and Information Week (LIW) program on the theme of ‘Roots of Democracy.’ It was a joy to work on this program with my colleagues and to see such enthusiastic engagement with the content throughout the week and beyond.
Working on LIW in tandem with the September edition of INCITE was yet another reminder of just how much work is going on in our sector, whether that be through day-to-day practices, research, collaboration, design — the list goes on. All of this abounds in this edition, and I am pleased to be able to share it with you all.
Our regular features run the gamut from energy saver kits and leadership tips to urinals (yes, you read that correctly). In our ‘Library stories’ feature, we hear from Laurie Atkinson, Director of the Law Library of Victoria and Supreme Court Librarian on her career in government, law and special libraries and how she approaches leadership and staff development. In the ‘On our collections’ feature, we hear from Jessica Anderson and Rachel D’Arcy on the growth of ‘Libraries of Things,’ from Michael Barry on the importance of junior collections, and from James Baker on how to effectively communicate the value of both types of collections.
Finally, in our ‘From the archive’ feature, we get a slice of Beatlemania, of South Australian history, and one very special urinal. Erin Reardon, the Museum and Archives Coordinator, Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society Archives (RA&HS) of South Australia, takes us through the fascinating lineage of the
By Liz Bradtke Editor
Society (including its oversight of the Royal Adelaide Show and Big Day Out) and a very special item commemorating the Beatles’ visit to Adelaide in 1964.
From ALIA, you will find updates on our partnerships with NBN and the Department of Health and Aged Care; reflections from the Charlotte Henry Grant recipient for 2023, Jade Smith; and an article on the winners of the Library Design Awards that includes reflections from the architects on how they were able to bring these magnificent designs to fruition.
In the feature, we have Roxanne Missingham on advocating for copyright reform, Coralie Kouvelas (Wiradjuri) and Robyn Ellard on co-design at Yarra Plenty Libraries, and Tamara Kelly on how libraries are supporting the homeschooling community. Michele Gaca, Glynis Jones and Karen Kissau take us into the health library sector — the former two with tips on how to get a job in a health library, and the third with tales of being a solo librarian.
We hear from Jade Smith again, this time on the intersection of music research, creative exhibitions, and non-traditional research outputs and from the team at St Ives school on their sustained silent reading program.
I sincerely hope you enjoy reading everything this edition has on offer.
Liz Bradtke, Editor incite@alia.org.au
Acknowledgment of Country
The Australian Library and Information Association acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises their continuing connection to lands, waters, cultures and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; and to Elders past and present.
Artwork: Richard Allan Jr.
Congratulations to the ALIA team on an outstanding Library and Information Week (LIW) program, conducted from 29 July to 4 August. Our theme of ‘Roots of Democracy’ really struck a chord with the sector, with each lunchtime webinar attracting more than 100 participants.
As you may have read in the March edition of INCITE, ALIA’s new Strategic Plan is built on the idea that libraries strengthen democracy. The topics for LIW showcased how libraries continue to be critical institutions that support a thriving democracy. Our right to vote, the freedom to speak, and the freedom to read are issues that are increasingly being challenged worldwide and Australia is not immune to these global trends.
The in-depth LIW program showcased how libraries continue to support a healthy democracy through giving people the skills to recognise misinformation and disinformation, creating inclusive spaces, advocating for equitable access to information, closing the digital divide, and actively working towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. It was a timely reminder of the national and local impact of what we, as library staff, do every day.
I want to thank all involved, the ALIA staff, the presenters who gave their time, and to all of you, our ALIA members, who participated in the program. I hope you all learned something new, reflected on your own skill set and the development of your professional skills to further this outcome, and were recharged for the challenges ahead with good information and expanded professional networks. I certainly did and I am still thinking and reflecting on all the presentations.
My library service got involved with LIW through a program that discussed Victorian-based topics, such as the Treaty negotiations between First Nations Traditional Owners and the state. We created two unique artworks for two branch library windows, with local artists informed by feedback and insights from library users illustrating the library’s commitment to democratic values through accessible information for all. We also introduced our junior library members to media literacy resources. I made sure to get my ‘Roots of Democracy’ badge and hope you got one, too.
It was a privilege to visit the newly refurbished Ballarat Library with a tour hosted by Jenny Fink, Executive Manager Libraries and Lifelong Learning at Ballarat City Council. The newly refurbished library has beautiful, natural-light-filled spaces, extensive places to work and study individually and in groups, a new makerspace, more meeting rooms and a beautifully positioned collection for all visitors to interact with. It is such a hopeful sign when I see this type of investment in library buildings across Victoria.
A newly opened public library, The Mechanics Trentham in Hepburn Shire, is on my list to visit, as is the new award-winning narrm ngarrgu Library and Family Services in Melbourne’s central business district. Both are quite different communities but have committed councils that want to invest in community buildings that matter — a public library. The Australian Library Design Awards showcase this investment nationally by recognising the best in contemporary library interiors and exteriors. This edition highlights the 2024 winners and I encourage everyone to celebrate and take hope in the investment in libraries made by our nation’s institutions, corporations, local, state and territory governments.
Jane Cowell AALIA (DCP) ALIA President
Jane Cowell AALIA (DCP) ALIA President
Photo: Pexels
‘Don’t pass up opportunity for growth (within reason!)’
In this ‘Library stories’ feature, Laurie Atkinson — Director, Law Library Victoria and Supreme Court Librarian — talks about how she found her way into LIS, her time in government and law libraries, her approach to leadership and much more.
Library stories Laurie Atkinson
Hi Laurie! Thank you for speaking with INCITE. First, could you tell us a bit about how you found your way into the library and information services sector?
When I was coming to the end of my arts degree studying literature and history, I got a job shelving books in the university library. One morning the university librarian pulled me aside and said, ‘You know, I think you really would enjoy working in a library as a career.’ He recommended the RMIT School of Information Management, and so I arranged to move from Queensland to Melbourne, enrolled at RMIT, immediately got a job at RMIT libraries and made firm and lifelong friends in my first week of work. It set me up very well for a career in libraries.
I worked at RMIT library for four years and, towards the end of the fifth year, I left the profession for a couple of years to concentrate on being a mum. My next job was as the coordinator of the Collingwood Toy Library, which was as much fun as it sounds. From there I worked in public libraries at Boroondara in Melbourne and then found my way into special libraries, first at VicRoads’ Business Information Centre and then at the Department of Treasury and Finance Victoria to establish the Victorian Government Library Service. Right now I’m working at Law Library Victoria, based at the Supreme Court of Victoria.
You’ve held a number of senior roles in government, law and special libraries, including Manager of the Victorian Government Library Service and now Director, Law Library Victoria and Supreme Court Librarian. What is it about this kind of work and these types of libraries that appeals to you and what is one thing about
them that you would like people to know (that they may not know already)?
For around about 20 years now I have been the most senior technical specialist and leader of the library or information service that I work in. One of the things I enjoy about this type of role is that I continue to work in libraries, so that means working with librarians — who I think are some of the most intelligent, compassionate, thoughtful and resourceful people in the world. I love working with librarians, but I also get to advocate for those people to make sure the service is well resourced and, importantly, to sell the services to people who otherwise may not understand exactly what it is the library service can provide for them.
This has been a great joy for me at Law Library Victoria. In my time here in the past 10 years, we have extended the services substantially from a largely localised print-based collection to an open, accessible, digital resource. We provide high-quality legal information to lawyers and judges, accessible to anywhere they may be practising or working in the state of Victoria.
One thing that might come as a surprise to other librarians is the role our library plays in the distribution of Victorian case law to publishers. Most people, particularly anyone working in libraries, is likely to be aware of the resource AustLII, which contains decisions from all courts around the country. Well, the Victorian decisions get into AustLII via our library. The judges provide the decisions to the library and the library shoots them off to AustLII (and other publishers), making sure that they are machine-readable and can effectively land in databases for the purpose of discovery and use.
You have a great deal of experience in leadership, staff development and change management. In your view, what makes a good leader and do you have a particular management style or ethos?
Somebody once described my approach to change management as effortless, and this comment stayed with me because anybody who has been involved in managing change knows that a lot of effort goes into it. But I would find it takes more effort if what I had to do was simply stay still. I’ve always seen the change that I’ve led to be a natural evolution with its own momentum that I’m lucky to be a part of.
I really enjoy working with people. I feel a lot of warmth and pride in the people I get to work with. I am in awe of their talent and skills and I respect them all very much. The highlights of my career have been those moments. On a number of occasions, I’ve been fortunate to have a relative of a staff member or former staff member seek me out (if I’m appearing in a speaking gig or somewhere where they can come and speak to me) to thank me for the impact I’ve had on their loved one, and for the concern that I demonstrate for my team members as whole people, with loving families that need to be their highest priority.
It’s such a cliché, really, but what I think makes a good leader? You have got to listen to people and you have got to be always learning. Pack your bag full of humility because you might be the leader, but that doesn’t mean that you’ve got all the answers.
You were previously Chair of the Trove Strategic Advisory Committee and continue to serve on that committee — can you tell us about the work you’ve been undertaking?
Earlier this year I stood down as Chair of the Trove Strategic Advisory Committee (TSAC), though I continue to serve on the committee. I was Chair for four years and enjoyed working with the National Library team so very much in that role. TSAC meets a number of times a year and works as a sounding board for the National Library team — particularly Trove consultative services group — to explore ideas, test hypotheses, challenge assumptions and serve as a conduit of communication where that is helpful. One of the things that I enjoy most about
this work is the opportunity to sit in a room with some real industry leaders and tease out ideas at the cutting edge of information management and the role of a national collecting institution on the scale of the National Library.
What is one of the biggest challenges facing library and information services over the next 10 years?
Such an interesting question to contemplate the biggest challenges facing library and information services over the next 10 years. I think there are some enduring challenges that will continue — specifically, equitable access to sources of information and stories to all members of the community. The way in which that particular challenge manifests in this era and in different places in the world is, of course, different. My mind is drawn to those who would seek to limit individual access to pieces of information and stories. I so admire the public librarians of our
It’s such a cliché, really, but what I think makes a good leader? You have got to listen to people and you have got to be always learning. Pack your bag full of humility because you might be the leader, but that doesn’t mean that you’ve got all the answers.
country who continue to preserve the right of access to all members of the community to our library collections.
In my area of law, my focus is the rise of innovative technical tools that look to restructure and repurpose what we are accustomed to in traditional database tools. Our role as librarians is more critical than ever as we explore, evaluate and implement new tools.
Finally, on a lighter note (!), what is one thing you’ve read or watched this year that you would recommend to our readers?
I’ve been addicted to Rick Steves’ videos on travelling in Europe. He has such great tips for what to see and how to get around (note, I’m just back from a long holiday in the Northern Hemisphere). I particularly enjoy how much Rick tries to convince Americans that they should use public transport in Europe. I agree with him! Highly recommend his work for anyone who is planning travel.
Photo: Supplied
The Beatles Urinal helping shine a light on one of South Australia’s oldest collections.
By Erin Reardon Museum and Archives Coordinator, RA&HS Archives
From the archive
The Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society of South Australia (RA&HS) traces its lineage to the very early years of South Australian colonisation, with an agricultural society forming in 1839. Prominent early colonists were directly connected to the establishment of the RA&HS, and the Manager of the South Australian Company, David McLaren, was its inaugural President. With South Australian colonisation being an overtly commercial exercise, the establishment of an agricultural society to improve cultivation of the land, and subsequently its value, was crucial to these commercial imperatives. Another agricultural society formed in 1842, and by 1844 local newspapers served as a forum to debate which of the two societies was ‘the’ society. This is an area of some historical confusion, reflecting confusion at the time — members of the original society assumed a merger had already taken place. In 1846, formal
Mark McKay (right), RA&HS Head of Strategy, and Erin Reardon, RA&HS Museum and Archives Coordinator, with items from the RA&HS Beatles Collection.
Photo: RA&HS Archives
they performed, with the lamps that sat at the entrance to Centennial Hall, either side.
Photo: RA&HS Archives
agreement of a single entity named the Agricultural and Horticultural Society was established.
Throughout its existence, the Society and the Royal Adelaide Show have been a social and economic driver for South Australia, with the Royal Adelaide Show regularly the highest attended of the Australian Royal Shows on a per-capita basis. This history forms the foundation of the RA&HS Archives collection. However, the cultural impact of the RA&HS and the Adelaide Showground (formerly Wayville Showground), extends beyond these agricultural roots. With a background in university and public libraries, I was familiar with collections whose range of subjects was theoretically limitless. An archive representing the history of a more singularly focused organisation naturally requires a more specific collection policy. However, it was evident the items collected over the years had almost exclusively focused on the Society and the Royal Adelaide Show, while items related to other events held at the Showground were lacking. There was little evidence of the huge music festivals held over the past 30 years, including the Big Day Out, which was held at the Showground 19 times
‘The
Photo: RA&HS Archives
between 1994 and 2013. The Big Day Out was the largest and most successful music festival in Australia for two decades yet, save for some photos and commemorative beer cans, this history was largely absent. The history of the Showground as a significant musical site, however, precedes these festivals by decades.
Adelaide Showground’s Centennial Hall (built in 1936 and demolished in 2007) was a prominent live music venue, particularly from the 1950s to the 1970s. The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, Roy Orbison, The Who, Louis Armstrong, The Seekers, The Monkees, Bill Haley, The Kinks, Nat King Cole, and Bob Dylan graced the Centennial Hall stage, to name but a few. Most prominent of all Centennial Hall performances, however, was undoubtedly The Beatles. Not only are they the biggest band of all-time, their Adelaide visit is considered one of the most culturally significant events in Adelaide’s history — and it nearly didn’t happen.
Initially left off the Australian tour, an estimated 80,000 people signed an ultimately successful petition to bring The Beatles to Adelaide. A dispute between promotors and the RA&HS over the hire of Centennial Hall followed, with promoters threatening to
remove Adelaide from the tour. John Martin’s (an Adelaide department store chain) subsequently agreed to sponsor the visit, and a mutually palatable fee was agreed upon with the RA&HS. This off, then on, then off, then on-again merry-go-round added to the fervour that greeted The Beatles when they finally arrived.
Before The Beatles in 1964, the Queen’s visit a decade earlier was arguably the largest South Australian welcome for an international guest. For Her Majesty’s visit, tens of thousands of school children were directed by the government to put on a show for the Queen at the Showground. The Beatles, on the other hand, received a public outpouring of emotion borne from a grassroots campaign to put on a show for Adelaide.
An estimated 300,000 people lined the streets from the airport to Adelaide Town Hall to see The Beatles’ motorcade, accounting for approximately 40% of Adelaide’s population — this was unprecedented for any band, in any city. Some students were given leave to view The Beatles, while others risked disciplinary action to witness their heroes.
At one school, 200 students staged a sit-down strike after being forbidden from listening to
Right
Beatles Urinal’ — the Centennial Hall green room urinal used by performers.
Below RA&HS Archives Beatles memorabilia featuring floorboard from the Centennial Hall stage where
the radio broadcast of The Beatles arrival.
The Beatles’ visit to Adelaide was predicated on a suitable venue to perform. That venue was at Adelaide Showground; however, few related items existed in the RA&HS Archive. The collection consisted of newspaper cutouts, correspondence between the RA&HS and John Martin’s, and floorboards from the stage on which The Beatles performed, which were framed as Beatles memorabilia to raise money for the RA&HS Archives Foundation. Items such as concert posters, ticket stubs, photographs, and merchandise were not collected. However, one rather unusual item was salvaged in 2007 during demolition — the urinal from the Centennial Hall green room.
It is unclear if this urinal was kept purposefully or set aside to be scrapped later. I first viewed the item 17 years after its removal from Centennial Hall. It was sitting unassumingly above the State Basketball Centre, which doubles as the Dog Pavilion during the Royal Adelaide Show.
Some may question if this item is suitable for archival collection, whether for reasons of taste or historical significance. If part of the value of a historical item is to draw attention to the history it represents, ‘The Beatles Urinal’ has justified its existence. During the recent 60th anniversary commemorations of The Beatles’ Adelaide visit, the History Trust of South Australia made a video to mark the occasion. Mention of the urinal caught the attention of the filmmakers and became a significant feature of the Adelaide Showground portion of the video. This video then led to a drivetime interview on ABC Radio a few days later, with all questions relating to The Beatles Urinal. At a recent social gathering of galleries, libraries, archives and museums professionals, I was introduced to a librarian who responded, ‘You’re The Beatles Urinal guy!’
There are, of course, questions surrounding this item to be addressed — did The Beatles use this urinal? Appropriately, no photographic evidence exists and thus it cannot be proven, but the answer is almost
certainly yes given it was the only convenient facility for the four shows played over two days. Are The Beatles the only famous people to use this urinal? Definitely not. The list of famous performers who graced the Centennial Hall stage is a long one. Finally, the big question of whether this item belongs in our collection. The short answer is simple — if The Beatles (almost certainly) used something, you keep it. The longer answer is that the quirky, unconventional nature of the item, and the light-hearted appeal to toilet humour (quite literally), draws people to our collection and causes them to ponder the events, names and places connected to it. We have begun a process of collecting items that celebrate the rich musical history of the Adelaide Showground, including the recent acquisition of a collection of Big Day Out posters and programs. I hope to acquire items to build our Beatles collection, but regardless, The Beatles Urinal will continue to be an item of interest, and I humbly accept my custodial role as ‘The Beatles Urinal Guy’.
Correspondence between Ronald Sedsman (Director of the RA&HS) and Mr K. Biven (John Martin’s – position unknown) regarding the hire fees and conditions for The Beatles’ concerts at Centennial Hall.
Photo: RA&HS Archives
Library partnership sparks aged care conversations around the country
Last year ALIA ran a three month pilot in partnership with the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care in which 25 libraries around the country were supported and resourced with an interactive aged care reform resource hub.
The success of the pilot project in 2023 has seen the Department of Health and Aged Care (the department) reinvest in the power of libraries to share important information with communities. The department’s report on the pilot found it was ‘very effective in sharing information with the community, in ways that are accessible to the consumer target audiences (older Australians, family members and carers)’.
This pilot was designed to:
• share information about the changes occurring as part of aged care reforms
• learn from older people accessing aged care, their families and carers, and others interested in aged care, about what they think of the changes, how reforms impact them, and what matters most to them and why.
Libraries already support older people, their families and carers, and the partnership with the department was complementary to existing library services.
The numbers
The 2023 pilot involved 26 public libraries located in QLD, NSW, ACT, VIC and WA.
These libraries hosted aged care reforms information hubs between November and December. The department provided training with information and resources about aged care reforms to 160 library staff.
We were able to fill the 30 places for the 2024 program after receiving 47 expressions of interest from libraries across QLD, NSW, ACT, VIC, WA and SA. This year we have endeavored to welcome as many first-time participants as possible. The libraries are hosting the information hubs for an eight-week period between August and November. Lessons learned from the pilot program have been incorporated in the design of the information hubs for 2024.
Feedback from the community
During the pilot, libraries collected comment cards from community members responding to questions seeking their views about aged care quality and positive ageing. These comments provided insights about what’s important to older people,
Libraries already support older people, their families and carers, and the partnership with the department was complementary to existing library services.
their family and carers. The following themes emerged:
• empowerment and dignity for people in Australia
- feeling valued, respected and listened to in society and within aged care homes
- maintaining independence and sense of self
- informed decision-making and freedom to make choices
• health and wellbeing
- access to good food and nutrition
- family and community connection
- staying active
- better access to health care services in relation to simplifyed aged care access and navigation, residential facilities, aged care workforce and affordable care.
MORE INFORMATION
You can find out more about the aged care reforms by visiting https://agedcareengagement.health.gov.au
Photo: Supplied
Workability, sustainability, inclusion: A tour through the 2024 Library Design Award winners
By Liz Bradtke, Editor, INCITE
When speaking with one of the winning architects of this year’s Library Design Awards, a conversation about library design suddenly became a conversation about the Roman Forum.
‘The Roman Forum was where people came to find things out, where they knew to go to find things out. I love the idea of library as a similarly physical and metaphorical centre of a given location — the place to which all roads lead.’
I was speaking with Katerina Dracopoulos, Director of Fulton Trotter Architects, who led the design of the Potter Building at All Hallows’ School in Brisbane. We pursued this theme a bit further, discussing engravings in Delphi that depict significant events in antiquity and the historical weight and legacy of the Library at Alexandria.
This may seem a long way to go back, tangential even, but analogies such as these show just how long and deeply rooted the relationship is between information, community, and space. Whether Roman Forum, town square, 18th century coffee house, chatroom or library, the places we go and gather to receive information have always reflected the composition, social behaviours and needs of any given community. Put simply — where a library sits, and how it utilises space, matters.
This is why, in 2017, ALIA presented the inaugural Australian Library Design Awards to showcase the best in contemporary library interiors and exteriors in Australia, and bring into sharper relief the relationship between libraries and their design if they are to continue to address and meet the needs of their communities.
There are five award categories: public libraries (small and large subcategories),
academic libraries, school libraries, special libraries, and ‘other’, where new concept, specialised, pop-up, temporary, mobile or any other innovative library is eligible to be nominated.
Judging is based on three main criteria — design (interior and exterior appearance), strategic relevance, and impact — and has an overall focus on workability and the user experience.
Philip Kent, Chair of the judging panel, said: ‘In the era of the wow factor, there are fears that new libraries or refurbishments are not functional and don’t respond to user needs. That’s why a key aspect of the ALIA Design Awards is the workability of the projects, contribution to their stakeholders and making a tangible difference.’
Beyond workability, Kent remarked upon how many entries also addressed sustainability benchmarks and incorporated the core values of our sector. ‘So many projects this year were well in line with Sustainable Development Goals and ALIA principles and core values, and many have significantly turned the dial on First Nations representation and inclusion. Integration of libraries into their local environments, partnerships with complementary services and successful integration of new with old were standouts in 2024.’
Breaking with tradition, the 2024 awards were celebrated at the ALIA National Gala Dinner. Librarians, their architects and proud city representatives celebrated their success with ALIA colleagues, a quite wonderful example of how these two sectors can, and must, continue to work together.
So let’s take a look at the commended and winning designs.
Jindabyne Library
Winner: Public Library (Small)
Architect: fjcstudio
Since opening in 2022, Jindabyne Library has quickly become a landmark in the town, reflecting the alpine character of the region and leveraging the natural and urban qualities of the site. It has also become something of a mecca and safe space for students, who congregate to spend the afternoon or pass time before afternoon classes. The range of flexible spaces created by the internal fit-out responds to the needs of a wide demographic of locals and visitors.
Annie Hensley, Principal of fjcstudio, said: ‘Our team wanted to deliver a beautiful, locally relevant library for the Jindabyne community, who had waited decades for an alternative to the mobile library.’ The brief had its challenges — it required a solution to a very tight design and build program and constrained budget. Further, the building needed to be designed for disassembly, relocation or reuse.
‘While the building is designed for disassembly, it needed to appear substantial and permanent. Yet it does not look like an off-the-shelf building — it maximises views to the lake and northern orientation, provides special out-of-hours access to meeting spaces and offers smaller human-scaled areas for little groups and individuals.’
Using timber sourced from local fallen trees and milled locally, the design has sustainability at its core. Hensley said: ‘Prefabrication dramatically reduced waste for this project and unnecessary additional linings were avoided by designing the timber to be both the structure and the finished wall and ceiling surface. As a small library, it works very well through passive design measures — great sun access and cross ventilation. The exterior of the building celebrates the highly recognisable Australian alpine architecture, settling immediately into its surrounds.’
Jindabyne Library
Photos: with permission from Jindabyne Library
City of Parramatta Library
Winner: Public Library (Large)
Architects: Manuelle Gautrand, Designlnc and Lacoste+Stevenson
The City of Parramatta Library is the main library operated by the City of Parramatta Council as part of its public library service. The library serves a multiculturally diverse community and promotes social connections within this cohort by providing spaces for people of all ages and backgrounds to come together to create, learn, share ideas, collaborate and make new friends.
Based on customer feedback and research into best practice, the library was identified as being too small for its community. The redesigned library — with more spaces to run a greater range of events and activities and better access to collections — was completed in 2022.
The new library building is exemplar of imaginative architecture — iconic, recognisable and flexible in its design. With a vibrant red and orange tessellated roof
inspired by local flora, the roof’s triangular shape is sculptured to follow the course of the winter sun, thereby minimising overshadowing of Parramatta Square.
Key features of the internal space include open lounge and study areas facing the public square, central shelving on wheels (allowing it to be moved into new configurations for other library activities), furniture with in-built technology, and exhibition spaces installed across multiple levels. The new library is also one of Australia’s first carbon-neutral buildings.
I spoke with Neera Sahni, Customer Experience Manager at Paramatta, to find out how visitors are using and enjoying the new space. ‘Parramatta Library is successfully meeting the needs of customers,’ she said. ‘We are seeing a shift from fixed spaces for books to much more flexible spaces being used for many different purposes by customers at different times or even at the same time.
‘With open lounge areas and dedicated study zones that offer captivating views of
Parramatta, we’re seeing that the library is now a multigenerational meeting place, connecting people, transforming communities and much more. With personalised assistance, visitors are effortlessly accessing digital resources and collaborating more and more in the various tech labs and maker spaces to pursue their creative endeavours together.’
City of Parramatta Library
Photos: With permission from Parramatta Library
Inveresk Library, University of Tasmania
Winner: University Library
Architect: Wardle Studio
Inveresk Library is the first of three new buildings being brought to life by the University of Tasmania through its Northern Transformation Program. In establishing a new university precinct at Inveresk, it was important to create a central campus heart that would serve as a destination where students, staff and the community would naturally converge, engage with each other, feel safe in and be proud of.
Wardle Studio, which has designed libraries in university settings for many years, used the site’s existing buildings to inform the design of the new library. It used the industrial language of nearby buildings, such as the gable roof and materials of the
workshops such as steel cladding, to help embed the library into its new home.
The interior material palette is open and inviting. Warm and natural colours, textures and patterns speak to the local landscape and connection to Country. The library boasts 324 individual study spaces and a range of technology-equipped, Zoom-enabled rooms to accommodate quiet and focused learning or collaborative group work. This is complemented by computers, sit/stand desks and free Wi-Fi.
Wardle’s Communications Coordinator
Justine Makan spoke about making the library a place for members of the public as well as the academic community, which was achieved through a consultation process. ‘The university was particularly keen for locals to be welcome and set about understanding
the needs of the locals with community consultation meetings so these aspects could be represented in the building,’ Makan said. ‘A series of co-design workshops were undertaken during the project start-up and pre-design phases. These workshops, incorporating attendees from the university, local community and specific community groups, established a set of design principles that would contribute to the development of campus and buildings that were “loved by all”.
‘We love seeing our buildings being used in unexpected ways. Students are particularly resourceful in finding nooks or sunny spots to set up and work, that perhaps weren’t intended for such a purpose. A building truly belongs to the users when we see these things happen.’
Inveresk Library, University of Tasmania
Photos: with permission from the University of Tasmania
Art Gallery of New South Wales Library and Archive
Winner: Special Library
Architect: Tonkin Zulaikha Greer
The Sydney Modern Project (SMP) is a once- in-a-generation transformation of the Art Gallery of NSW that was completed and opened to the public in 2022.
With the library and archive collection having outgrown its existing space and facing some accessibility issues, the brief for Tonkin Zulaikha Greer (TZG) was to further visibility and accessibility to the gallery’s significant collection and to provide new spaces for younger audiences to engage with art. Along with a new building, Naala Badu, SMP also included the revitalisation of the gallery’s original building, Naala Nura.
Lower level 3 of the 1988 wing was refurbished to accommodate the Library, National Art Archive and the country’s first Children’s Art Library. A gridded ceiling
and polished concrete floors were used throughout to unite the redesign with the original building. The unused winter garden, part of the original design, was repurposed to provide much-needed additional floor area, without an increase in the built volume.
Dr Peter Tonkin, founding Director of TZG, spoke about the evolution of thought that happened as the project developed from its initial brief, thanks in part to the enthusiasm and input from library staff.
‘My favourite part of the redesign was seeing how the Art Gallery’s library staff embraced a shift from an overcrowded and internalised space to generosity and daylight, how the potential of every space grew as we worked, how excited everyone was about the Children’s Art Library. That involvement and excitement really inspired us to create something special, something spatially and functionally complex that seems simple.’
Claire Eggleston, Acting Head of Research Library and Archives at the gallery, said the thoughtful redesign had led to an increase in visitation and engagement and a noticeable shift in demographic. ‘We have had a significant increase in visitation since we opened the new library and archive, with more visitors spending time browsing, engaging with the space and collections, including library and archive art displays,’ she said.
‘With the opening of the Children’s Art Library, there has been a significant shift in our visitors’ demographics. More than half now comprise children, their families and carers, who come to enjoy a collection and space designed especially for them. Our library and archive visitation demographics have also broadened, with many seasoned Art Gallery visitors discovering the library for the first time and a steady stream of visitors from beyond Sydney who are impressed with its scale and accessibility.’
Art Gallery of New South Wales Library and Archive Photos: Cieran Murphy
All Hallows’ School
Winner: School Library
Architect: Fulton Trotter Architects
All Hallows’ School, located in inner-city Brisbane, has educated girls and young women in the Mercy tradition since its foundation in 1861. Central to this tradition is providing students with an intellectual basis to understand and engage in the world around them. The need to update library spaces and services was identified in the school’s strategic plan in 2017. An extensive stakeholder consultation, including with library staff, followed.
Something interesting about this design was that it started out much smaller in scope. Katerina Dracopoulos, of Fulton Trotter, said: ‘Initially they thought they would just refurbish the internal spaces and keep it within the same shell, but the more conversations that happened at the strategic level — and as the shopping list of needs increased — it was obvious that this project was evolving into a significant adaptive reuse project.’
This meant that Katerina and her team had to reuse and reimagine a decades-old existing building and at the same time solve
multiple site-wide and internal circulation issues and create additional space on a land-locked site. One of the ways that they achieved this was by using air space for the build (going ‘up’, as it were) rather than extending further into the land.
This is fitting as the final result is light, warm and expansive — a physical reflection of the school’s central values (Respect, Integrity, Service, Compassion, Joy and Justice) and its dedication to providing a learning environment where everyone can feel welcome. From the outside you can see the striking multi-level external stair wrapped in vertical, tubular metal battens. There is also a central reading stair that has proved particularly popular with the students. The extensive use of sustainable cross-laminated timber throughout is not just an essential part of the build’s sustainability, but also evoked the movement and function of a loom, the ultimate instrument of interweaving.
‘Ultimately, this is a design about interweaving,’ Katerina says. ‘All of the new insertions are curved, which distinguishes it from the language of the original building
so there’s a sense of fluidity — like weaving threads through a loom.’
In terms of its library services, the Potter Building has provided the school community with primary school fiction and non-fiction collections (previously in a different building on campus to the main library), secondary school fiction and non-fiction collections, makerspaces, a tech hub, centrally located library staff service and work area, teaching and collaboration spaces, quiet research areas and much more.
Catherine O’Kane, Principal of All Hallows’ School, said the overall impact of the Potter could not be overestimated. ‘For our students and staff, the Potter Building has transformed learning and scholarship,’ she said. ‘The girls express “that it makes us independent and responsible for our own learning” — as a school that is what we strive to achieve for our students. To have this inspiring teaching and learning space in the heart of our campus is an incredible addition.’
All Hallows’ School
Photos: with permission from All Hallows’ School
View the full shortlist on creative.gov.au/PMLAs
Helping students connect:
ALIA partners with NBN for the School Student Broadband Initiative
Call the national referral centre 1800 954 610. Confirm eligibility (this is entirely based on trust) and issue a voucher. Redeem voucher. Warm connection to a supplier e.g. Vodafone.
Earlier this year, the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) began working with the National Broadband Network (NBN) to deliver a pilot program in public libraries to promote the School Student Broadband Initiative. This initiative aims to boost education opportunities and narrow the digital divide. The Australian Government has invested $8.8 million to provide up to 30,000 eligible families with no internet at home a free NBN service until 31 December 2025.
In order to reach the target of 30,000 connected families, ALIA and NBN have been working on a pilot with two local libraries services — Geelong Libraries and Yarra Plenty Libraries — to drive and deliver new eligible leads into the National Referral Centre.
Our inclusive public libraries are well positioned to reach people across the community who are seeking access to internet services and assistance with digital literacy. The libraries will be sharing their approaches and learnings from the pilot through a webinar in September, along with some key resources for getting families connected.
Supplier will follow standard internet connection process and provide free modem to family.
While Geelong and Yarra Plenty libraries are the official library services participating in the pilot, any public library in Australia can make their eligible patrons aware of this initiative and refer them to the National Referral Centre.
Who is eligible?
To be eligible, a family must:
• have a child living at home who is enrolled in an Australian school
• have no active broadband service over the NBN network
• live in a premise where they can access a standard NBN service
• not have had an active NBN service during the previous 14 days.
Families can directly contact the National Referral Centre to have their eligibility assessed or be referred by a participating nominating organisation.
What is the process?
(Refer to steps above above.)
Internet service will be connected until the end of 2025.
What types of NBN services are provided under the initiative?
Several retail service providers have committed to providing free NBN services to families under this initiative: Activ8me, Aussie Broadband, Belong (Telstra), Exetel, Lemonade Broadband (Connected Australia), SkyMesh, Superloop and Vodafone (TPG).
What is the timeframe?
Free services under the initiative started in term one of 2023. Free services run from the date of activation to 31 December 2025.
Where can I find out more?
For more information, visit the School Student Broadband Initiative page on the website of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.
Stress and serendipity: Reflections from the 2023 Charlotte Henry Study Grant winner
By Jade Smith
Charlotte Gilmore Henry spent much of her 35-year professional career as a senior-level librarian in public libraries. In the late 2000s, Charlotte undertook studies at the master’s level at Monash University specialising in archival systems. In memory of Charlotte, her commitment to public libraries and her focus on research, her family has established the Charlotte Henry Study Grant of $5,000 a year through the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), starting in 2022. Here, 2023 recipient Jade Smith reflects on what winning the study grant meant to her career and research development. It may seem like hyperbole, but being awarded the Charlotte Henry Study Grant changed the course of my degree. While I had my topic and methodology ready to go, I still needed to fit my research project within the logistical framework of my masters — but a few things happened that I had not expected.
First, I was planning to undertake this research through an intensive writing subject, but this was withdrawn due to low numbers. Then, as I enquired further, I found out about a new applied research specialisation, which would give me a more
comprehensive opportunity to delve deeper into my methodology and facilitate access to a supervisor throughout the specialisation, as well as a longer word count to further explore graphic novels and comics! I had to act fast as this all occurred around semester time, meaning I needed to immediately enrol in a different subject than I had planned and sort out some paperwork to confirm my enrolment. Having done this, I became one of the first students to enrol in the applied research specialisation of the Master of Information Studies. I can’t believe how well it has supported my understanding of research as well as providing all of the tools I needed to get stuck into my research.
Library and information research is rich and multifaceted, and almost limitless in its attention to information behaviours, access and community. Having been interested in graphic novel collections from borrowing them from my local library as a child to working with them in my capacity as a librarian, I am keen to explore how the library community utilises graphic novels, and what these collections need to survive and thrive in the face of stigma, censorship and book challenges. My research will then take the form of autoethnography to explore what my work across multiple library services might reveal about graphic novel collections, how they are used, and how they are valued.
I aim to disseminate these findings through a toolkit that is accessible to public library staff and stakeholders (including community members!) to promote their graphic novels and comic collections and programs. This will take the form of a zine that I hope to circulate through library collections, giving back
to the information ecosystem that I have borrowed from figuratively and literally throughout my research.
In addition to pursuing my research, the grant has allowed me to make a payment on my HECS debt before the thenindexation rate of 7.1 per cent, buy a new phone as 3G was about to be switched off at the end of the year, and fund an artist to collaborate with on the zine, while also leaving room to budget for printing and distributing the zine.
With this in mind, I would like to thank Charlotte Henry for her passion and pioneering attitude towards library and information research, her family for its generosity and thoughtfulness in offering this grant in her memory, my supervisor Kasey Garrison for her guidance in the research process, as well as Heather Brown and everyone at ALIA for their assistance and support. Alongside my studies, I have volunteered with ALIA Graphic Novels & Comics group on and off since 2020 and am grateful to be a part of this passionate group of people raising awareness of the place of this important medium in libraries.
Research takes a village and what a wonderful village this has been.
Charlotte Henry. Photo: Supplied
Jade Smith. Photo: Supplied
On our collections: Libraries of Things and Junior Collections
Although it is a core part of our work, as library professionals often we do not focus on effectively communicating the importance of our collections as much as we focus on the collections themselves. In this series, we are looking at why various collections within a library are important and, crucially, how to communicate that importance to the different stakeholders we deal with. In this edition, we look at two collections that have an importance to the library beyond what people often associate them with.
Libraries of Things
By Jessica Anderson, and Rachel D’Arcy
Over the past 12 months we have been deeply involved in creating the Public Libraries Victoria (PLV) Sustainability website and co-convening the PLV Sustainability Special Interest Group. During this time, our focus naturally gravitated towards other initiatives that epitomise mindful consumption and community empowerment. In this pursuit, we discovered a remarkable trend emerging within public libraries across Australia — the inclusion of a ‘Library of Things’ into collection offerings. We view a ‘Library of Things’ as a collection of items available for borrowing that goes beyond what can typically be found in a library. This concept, far from a mere collection of miscellaneous but useful items, represents a profound shift towards sustainability and inclusivity within our library systems. Public libraries are diversifying their collections in direct response to their communities’ needs and these collections are often unique to each service area, providing access to borrow a diverse range of objects. From tools and electronics to kitchen appliances and party supplies, libraries have become vibrant hubs of shared resources, fostering a culture of collaborative consumption and resourcefulness.
Take, for instance, Hume Libraries, serving the City of Hume in Melbourne’s north- west, where one can borrow not just books but also a karaoke machine. At MYLI
(My Community Library), covering the shires of Bass Coast, Baw Baw, Cardinia, and South Gippsland in south-eastern Victoria, items such as induction cooktops, surfboards and walking poles are available alongside traditional library collections. Some libraries now offer lendable tools to digitise your old films, slides and negatives, take-home tech and board games. Others offer outdoor sports equipment to eliminate barriers to participation in physical activity, such as at Heathcote Library in the Goldfields Library service, which covers the City of Greater Bendigo and Macedon Ranges, Mount Alexander, and Loddon shires in central Victoria.
What sets these collections apart is their profound impact on sustainability and community wellbeing. By diversifying their offerings, libraries are not only meeting the evolving needs of their communities but also aligning with global initiatives such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are a set of 17 global goals adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. These goals are designed to address a wide range of global challenges, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. The SDGs aim to create a more equitable, sustainable and prosperous world by 2030. Through initiatives such as ‘Libraries of Things’, libraries directly contribute to SDGs such as Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), Goal 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and Goal 17 (Partnerships for
the Goals), fostering inclusive, resilient and sustainable societies.
In our research, we have discovered that despite broadening their lending collections to encompass unconventional items such as thermal cameras and board games, some libraries have not fully embraced the title ‘Library of Things’. It seems that the term itself may require time for libraries to acknowledge that they effectively provide their communities with a ‘Library of Things’ experience, even without explicitly labelling it as such. We anticipate that this adoption will gradually gain traction in the coming years, driven by the growing recognition of libraries’ diverse offerings beyond traditional collections. It is also a listed initiative on our Sustainability Map and we hope to add more services to it in the future.
If, for example, we incorporate the inclusion of Energy Saver Kits into the broad definition of ‘Library of Things’, there would be an additional 19 library services across Victoria who offer their communities a ‘Library of Things’. These innovative kits can contain a comprehensive collection of resources, including books, manuals and guides, along with practical tools such as energy monitors and digital thermometers to gauge heat loss. They are designed to help
individuals and households reduce their energy consumption and lower utility costs; in the current cost-of-living crisis, the value of these kits cannot be underestimated.
Other benefits of these collections range from easing the cost of living to skills building. People often buy items for occasional use, but through the shared use system communities can make better use of the items by expanding their lifetime and minimising and reducing waste. Items found in a ‘Library of Things’ can often be quite costly. By borrowing rather than buying, patrons can save money. The concept expands access to items that might otherwise be unaffordable. This provides an opportunity for skill building, or to experiment with a new hobby and enhance lifelong learning.
In an era marked by growing awareness of the environmental and social implications of mass production, ‘Libraries of Things’ stand as beacons of sustainability and community resilience. They empower individuals to make conscious choices, reduce their ecological footprint, and contribute to a more equitable and sustainable future.
As we reflect on the profound impact of ‘Libraries of Things’ on our communities and the planet, it becomes clear that they are not merely repositories of objects but catalysts
for positive change. Through collaboration, innovation, and a shared commitment to sustainability, public libraries are redefining their role as champions of community wellbeing and environmental stewardship.
Jessica Anderson is a Library Branch Coordinator at Goulburn Valley Libraries. Her managers have recognised her as a future leader in the library industry. She is passionate about making positive changes and infusing sustainable thinking into everything libraries do, enhancing the work of regional and rural areas of Australia through her work. Jessica co-convenes the Public Libraries Victoria Sustainability special interest group (SIG) alongside Rachel D’Arcy.
Rachel D’Arcy is a Library Team Leader and Portfolio Lead at Brimbank Libraries. In addition to her role as a librarian, she holds accreditation as a dietitian and nutritionist. Rachel is a graduate of the Shared Leadership Program (2021) and co-convenes the Public Libraries Victoria Sustainability SIG. She has shared her expertise in sustainability and libraries through presentations at the Libraries by Design Conference 2021, ALIA Conference 2022 and 2024. Rachel’s profound passion lies in exploring how public libraries can champion accessibility, health equity, and sustainability for their communities.
Photo: Istockphoto.com
The importance of junior collections
By Michael Barry
Childhood literacy has been linked to positive long-term benefits in health, happiness, work success and satisfaction, empathy and intelligence. Children who read have been shown to be generally happier, more emotionally mature, and more curious and interested in learning about the world than children who don’t read. Although I am not a researcher, I am an experienced school library technician, so I’d like to share some of the things I love about children’s fiction and why readers of all ages can enjoy it.
In my experience, both as an avid reader and school library technician, children’s fiction is one of the most imaginative and creative genres. Where else can you read about a mermaid-fairy doing skateboard tricks in space with her giraffe-unicorn friend? The surreal, whimsical, absurd and hilarious are common features of children’s fiction and yet the themes that these stories explore are familiar, even if the characters
and situation aren’t: friendship, family, belonging, discovery, self-worth and empathy for others. They are relatable themes and messages that encourage readers to be curious, compassionate, inquisitive, to see things from different perspectives and learn about different cultures and lifestyles, to challenge unfairness, be kind to others, and to be thoughtful and self-reflective of their own place in our world.
More importantly, though, children’s fiction is fun. What better way to encourage children to read than to provide books they will enjoy reading? Encouraging children to read is encouraging them to exercise their imaginations, and be drawn into a different world. Suddenly a silly story about two friends building an increasingly ridiculous treehouse becomes a whole generation of children reading and sharing books, and maybe eventually writing stories of their own.
I would also argue that children’s books are not just for children. As a child, I read voraciously, multiple books every week and often the same book many times. As a teenager, I still read, but less often. As an
adult, I ... stopped. I found myself increasingly bored, frustrated and simply uninterested in the sorts of books that were being written for and marketed to my age group. It wasn’t until I returned to the world of school libraries, this time as a library technician, that I rediscovered the magic and joy of reading, and the wonder and whimsy that kept me so enthralled as a child. The simple messages, absurdly funny situations and surreal settings, and simple, unpretentious language that doesn’t, to quote Ernest Hemingway, think big emotions come from big words. I mean no offence to writers of adult fiction, or to readers of it: if that’s what you enjoy reading, more power to you. But for me, if I had to choose between Memoirs of a Geisha and Iguana Boy Saves the World With a Triple Cheese Pizza, I’ll have mine with extra cheese.
Michael Barry is a former library kid and current school library technician. He has spent the past eight years rediscovering his love of libraries, and helping children to discover the magic of reading. Michael is the secretary of ALIA Victoria, and has presented at several conferences and workshops.
Photo: Vika Glitter/Pexels
An interesting parallel between these case studies is that both mention the use of the collections beyond the primary use. In the case of junior collections, Michael talks about the potential appeal to older readers, and in the case of the Library of Things, Rachel and Jessica explain that as well as the obvious outcome of making tools, equipment, appliances and other useful items available to library users, having these collections in a library improves the ability of communities to act in sustainable ways.
The question then becomes how, and when, to include these factors when talking about these collections.
For books and other materials aimed at children or teens, there is an unfortunate stigma surrounding adults engaging with these materials for their own enjoyment (although teachers or child and young adult librarians looking at these materials tend to face this less as the assumption is that it must be for their work). Especially for books primarily aimed at teens, I have personally found a useful thing to point out is that the young adult genre was created to encourage
teen reading, not to discourage adult reading. I usually mention the benefits of reading widely across multiple genres, styles and formats as well, but the point is that what an adult chooses to read is their own business and, as library workers, we should not only respect that but also defend them against this sort of stigma.
This does not change everyone’s attitude, but it does give everyone pause while they think about these books in a way they probably haven’t before. Remember, if someone enters the library with a set of assumptions, in this case about the readership for children’s and young adult works, and leave having started the process of questioning those assumptions then the interaction has been a success.
The sustainability outcomes of the items in a ‘Library of Things’ need a different approach because, although this is often not centred as a purpose of these collections, as Rachel and Jessica explain, sustainability is one of the underlying principles on which these collections are developed.
Of course, while the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals are important, you are unlikely to bring those into a conversation about these collections unless there has already been an interest expressed for more detail about the sustainability outcomes. In most interactions, introducing the idea that these outcomes are inherent to the collection and an important rationale to their inclusion in the library will have to come first. A good entry point to this is explaining that if an item might be only rarely used by one person, then others in that community are probably in a similar situation. Having that item available to borrow from the library is not only convenient and cost-effective for them, it is also sustainable, as Rachel and Jessica cover in the article and on the PLV Sustainability website.
Another point is that we need to be clear what we’re including when we talk about these collections. While it may be a little confusing if your library service considers board games part of a ‘Library of Things’ collection but the next library over puts them in its own collection separate to its ‘Library of Things’ materials, this is not more difficult to
Photo: Maltelu/Pexles
Photo: Pixabay
manage than where different libraries draw the lines for separating genres.
The problems arise if this is not made clear within a library service. This is the same for any collection, event, activity or interaction — if library users feel the information they are provided with is incomplete, inaccurate or contradictory, they will have a negative experience with the library.
Luckily, this is a relatively easy issue to overcome. Listen to your users. If the same questions keep recurring or if they keep needing assistance at the same point in a process, this is probably somewhere that needs more clarity in communication. Taking a step back, this can also be applied as listening to your coworkers or, for those in management positions, your team. If team members are having difficulties explaining something to users, it might be a sign there hasn’t been enough clarity in how it was presented to them.
The final step in this process is to reflect on your own understanding. Do you regularly get stuck with an explanation or find yourself getting frustrated when trying to assist library users? It might be worth asking someone else at the library to go through the process with you quickly to confirm you have it correct, or to check with them that the way you explain something is clear.
There’s a lot to take in here, but there’s one last thing that’s worth covering. Michael explained that one of the most important things about reading children’s literature is that it’s fun, and in this context I want to extend that to say that library use should be fun. Underpinning all the interactions covered above should be the aim to make the interaction enjoyable for everyone involved. We all know there will be times where this is not possible, but if you start with that aim you are more likely to achieve it — even in situations where you might not expect to.
James Baker is a librarian and library educator from Melbourne (Naarm). Before undertaking his Master of Information Management, he completed a degree in professional writing, media and communication, which he continues to use regularly in his work in libraries.
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Practice and process: Learnings from the most recent research exhibitions at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Library
Music research exhibitions at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Library aim to showcase Conservatorium staff and student research through a lively partnership with the University of Sydney Library. Librarian Jade Smith explores two recent music research exhibitions as case studies for how exhibitions and concerts can become research outputs, as well as what she and the exhibiting researchers have learned along the way.
For Sydney Conservatorium of Music PhD candidate Julia Russoniello, her research exhibition turned out better than she had anticipated. However, putting on the Listening Back exhibition in August 2023 was not without its challenges and quirks. Not only was it the first music research exhibition at the Conservatorium of Music Library after a COVID-19-related hiatus, it was also a learning curve for me and an array of new staff members responsible for many aspects of the exhibition and other parts of this project.
Exhibiting also represents a new way of communicating to many researchers, as Russoniello explains: ‘I was nervous about it because I couldn’t imagine it in my mind.’ This is where collaborative curatorial skills have been learned on the fly to partner with the researcher’s knowledge of their
content and the library’s aspirations for the exhibition space.
In a similar vein, Dr Steve Barry viewed his music research exhibition as being inspired by practice-lead research: ‘The exhibition is kind of a container for things to happen around. You create a centrepiece and then you use that as a catalyst to go “now we’ve got this, what else is possible here?”’ As the Program Leader for Jazz at the Conservatorium of Music, Dr Barry leaned into his jazz background and his work with the Conservatorium’s residency program with the Vietnam National Academy of Music for his 2024 exhibition, Dzô! SCM Jazz in Vietnam, 2022 & 2023. For Dr Barry, this centrepiece consisted of a slideshow of scenic and performance photos taken on two student trips to Vietnam, framed by scores,
Conservatorium of Music Program Leader for Jazz
Dr Steve Barry installing his exhibition Dzô!
SCM Jazz in Vietnam, 2022 & 2023 in the Conservatorium of Music Library.
Photos: Supplied
books on the complex relationship between Vietnam and jazz, and a Đàn B u Vietnamese monochord instrument.
In terms of curating the exhibitions, past examples of exhibition concepts were helpful for the researchers, giving them the means to articulate, as Russoniello asks, ‘Here’s my concept, what can I make it look like?’ She collaborated on the exhibition with Victoria Monk, who is also the granddaughter of notable Sydney violinist and former Conservatorium staff member Cyril Monk, one of a handful of violinists whose life and performing traditions informed Julia’s research. As an artist, Victoria Monk notes that the visual element of an exhibition and the physical exhibition space are paramount: ‘The look is the most important thing and what works and doesn’t.’
This is particularly significant in the context of the ‘Glass Space’ exhibition area, where fixed shelving of floating glass offered a moment of pause when we were not sure if the three artworks she had made especially for the exhibition would fit in place. Titled ‘Listening Back’ — but spoken of fondly as ‘the ears’ — the three sculptures of ears made of recycled lead and found copper wire luckily did fit inside the exhibition shelves, giving it an even
more personal touch in among artefacts such as annotated scores and archival music that provided insight into Russoniello’s research. To Victoria Monk, ‘the ears were special in that way’.
With the exhibitions in place, there was scope to promote and expand upon the exhibited research project. Both exhibitions were celebrated with two events, a public ‘launch’ event and a staff-only event — a new idea that has become standard practice. The ‘Conservatorium Library Exhibition Tour and Afternoon Tea’ event was conceived to give frontline staff greater ownership of the library space they work in, to empower any library staff member to learn about the latest music research exhibition, and a chance to share afternoon tea and ask questions.
Dr Barry particularly enjoyed the opportunity to engage with library staff about his exhibition at the afternoon tea: ‘I loved doing the library staff chat. It was really cool to be able to just share what the project means. If I’m presenting a gig, I present the gig and there’s not really this chance for back and forward with an audience. And I felt like that chat was an opportunity for that to happen; to not just be presenting but to have dialogue.’
Above: Sydney Conservatorium of Music
PhD candidate Julia Russoniello and artist Victoria Monk in front of their finished Listening Back exhibition in the Conservatorium of Music Library.
Russoniello and Monk’s public launch event took the form of a ‘Sydney Conservatorium of Music and Library Research Symposium’, where they gave a panel discussion on their exhibition, Russoniello performed some reimagined scores, and Conservatorium higher degree research students participated in a threeminute research competition. In contrast, Dr Barry’s public launch event featured performances by Dr Peter Knight and Dũng Nguy n, and Dr Barry with his students.
Dr Toby Martin also presented on his collaboration with Dăng Lan, and an early announcement of the new Sydney Vietnam Institute was made. These multifaceted events allow the music research exhibitions further scope for dissemination and further engagement with the research. For the musical components of each event, this is research that you can see, hear and feel in your body, and is experienced by everyone in the space as well as online afterwards in a filmed version of the event published on YouTube.
‘Sometimes it can be a bit too much or not enough.’ This quote from Monk articulates
the exhibition project and process very well, from scope creep to extensive planning of the exhibition and event. Both events had their challenges, such as the discovery that many in-house event venues are booked a year in advance. This led to Russoniello’s event taking place in a venue that was not immediate to the exhibition, requiring a few minutes’ walk to move between the two spaces: ‘the vibes were so good on the day, but I think being close to [the exhibition] is nice’.
This was echoed with Dr Barry’s event, where we also required the use of a back-up venue at the last minute due to exceeding the capacity of the original venue.
What I have learned is that any exhibition or event requires a village of collaborators as well as an openness to creative complexities and challenges. It has been a pleasure to learn alongside Julia Russoniello, Victoria Monk, and Steve Barry, and to acknowledge my many colleagues (past and present) involved in the Conservatorium Library music research exhibitions as we continue to develop this research engagement offering at the University of Sydney Library.
Below: Sydney Conservatorium of Music PhD candidate Julia Russoniello and artist Victoria Monk installing their Listening Back exhibition in the Conservatorium of Music Library.
So, you want to work in a health library?
Health librarians comprise a critical part of the health information workforce, alongside health information managers and health informatics specialists. ALIA Health Libraries Australia, one of ALIA’s most active special interest groups, continues to be a leader in providing information and resources, knowledge-sharing opportunities and professional development for health library staff. The group is critical in raising awareness about how Australians can benefit from health library and information professionals’ expertise and evidence-based healthcare. But as we know, a little extra insight can go a long way, especially when it comes from hearing directly from people working in this field. In these two articles, we get words of advice from two members of ALIA HLA on how to get a job in a health library, and reflections from a health librarian with more than 20 years’ experience, including more than 10 years as a solo librarian.
Working in a health library can be a challenging and rewarding professional experience; however, its specialist nature may present as a barrier to new library and information professionals or those looking for a new challenge or change. But is this really the case? If you are considering a role in a health library, or if health libraries have always piqued your professional curiosity, then read on.
What do health libraries do?
Health libraries provide services that directly and indirectly support patient care and patient outcomes through health education, literacy, informatics and research. Most health libraries are in healthcare delivery services such as hospitals, but there are also some health libraries in government departments, such as departments of health, and in universities. Health library clients are diverse and come from across the health professions including medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, social work, pharmacy and so on. Client groups also include health administrators and those working in health executive and other leadership roles. Some health libraries provide information services to health consumers (defined as anyone who may have been in hospital or is currently a patient in hospital, and their family or caregivers).
What do health librarians do?
By Michele Gaca, Informationist (Honorary), University of Melbourne, Department of Medicine, Austin Health, Victoria; and Glynis Jones, Team Leader Librarian, SMHS and EMHS Library and Information Service, South Metropolitan Health Service, Western Australia
Health library and information professionals are usually working in small teams, so they have extremely diverse roles. Frequently working alongside clinicians to provide evidence to support patient care, they often work as part of clinical teams to undertake scoping or systematic reviews or original research. They also provide information and
training to clients to enable them to maintain contemporary knowledge of their areas of clinical practice — all while managing services and collections.
How do you get a job in a health library?
The key thing to remember is that those of us already working as health library and information professionals were not born into these roles and we did not inherently have the requisite skills and knowledge. We learned it, and you can too!
A background as a health sciences professional or formal study in health sciences will certainly be helpful, but few of us have this and it is not a prerequisite. Undertaking a practicum placement in a health library, or a previous role in the health sector, will be beneficial. Knowledge of health information resources and health research practices (such as the purpose of systematic and other evidence-based reviews and the role of clinical trials), along with knowledge of general research practices and the publishing sector, will be helpful in a health role.
That said, the enormous value of our core knowledge base and skill set as library and information professionals, and our transferrable skills, must not be ignored or undervalued. In other words, when asked ‘What skills can you bring to this job?’ as part of a job application, draw widely on your generic skills, experiences and knowledge, and demonstrate their relevance to the health library context. Your desire to support the community and passion to make a difference will shine through!
Still interested?
Consider joining HLA (https://hla.alia.org.au) and signing up for an ALIA mentor in a health library (https://alia.org.au/Web/Web/ Careers/ALIA-Mentoring-Scheme.aspx)
Photo: iStock
By Karen Kiesau, Solo Health Librarian
Reflections from a solo health librarian
Health librarians? Yes, there are a few of us within the sector, but what does a health librarian really do? Does it make a difference when you are a solo librarian?
I have been a health librarian for more than 20 years, and a solo librarian for nearly 10. I do many of the things other librarians do — collection maintenance, budgets, literature searches, interlibrary loans and training. The good thing is I get to do it all from beginning to end as everything is my responsibility. The bad thing is that everything is my responsibility as I am the only one within the organisation with a librarian’s skill set.
What makes my library so different from others, other than being solo? I have a digitalonly collection policy. I work in a national organisation, therefore run the library across five states where the organisation is located. It means there is little point in having a hard copy of an item in Adelaide if they need it in Perth or Melbourne, and the cost of having
multiple hard copies in multiple locations does not make good business sense. This also means that it is a non-circulating library, simply because most items are either PDF articles or ebook collections. I do not need a physical library space. The library is run from my computer — from my home office, or whichever base I’m working from that day. It makes for simple disaster management planning, excluding any IT cliches.
I’m lucky in the variety of tasks I have and I enjoy literature searches and writing up a full literature synthesis based on my findings — note that I do not make clinical recommendations. Moving to health was a steep learning curve, particularly around the language; it is all about knowing a little about a lot, having a good memory and experience. Sometimes I end up with additional organisational-required activities, including document control, low-risk ethics committee secretariat, and wound
image library, which helps expand my knowledge and personal development. Other times I assist with tasks that are related to transferable librarian-related skills, including development of intranet pages and SharePoint lists, metrics for publications and conference presentations, evidence-based summaries and editing. These activities keep my job varied and interesting.
It can be isolating being a solo librarian if the rest of the organisation does not understand your role, so you need to make connections within and outside the organisation; networking and education are paramount. Ensure you embrace opportunities to branch out at networking events, be flexible and, above all else, have a sense of humour when someone asks you if you know their friend who works in a library, or wistfully says how much fun it must be to work with all those books.
Photo: Pexels
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It takes a village: Advocating for copyright reform
By Roxanne Missingham
Our library associations and committees provide an extraordinarily important role as advocates, seeking changes for libraries to achieve better services. Copyright law has been a critical area of advocacy for the profession. With more than 50 years of submissions and passionate stories seeking better legislation, change is in the air! In the past two years, there has been positive movement in the legislative reform needed to assist management of our collections and improve access for our users.
Library associations have long advocated for reforms that would best balance the needs of users and creators. The Franki review (Copyright Law of the Committee on Reprographic Reproduction October 1976) quotes evidence from the Library
Association of Australia (predecessor to ALIA) and individual libraries. The committee members saw the advice as authoritative and reasonable. The resulting recommendations offered solutions to provide certainty in some areas, including the adoption of a statutory licensing scheme.
Our advocacy has continued strongly across the years, and we have seen great outcomes. The introduction of the flexible dealing for libraries and archives provision (s200AB), the disability copyright exceptions implementing the Marrakesh Treaty, and harmonisation of copyright for unpublished works have been significant steps forward. The ‘cooking for copyright’ campaign was an extremely innovative and successful copyright advocacy program.
Our story is one that puts community benefit at the centre of a vision for good copyright practice. We want to connect Australians to their history, research and the knowledge that is needed to build strong communities. We seek equity for library users and the content creators.
Ministerial Roundtable on Copyright:
A major step forward
In 2023, the Attorney-General, the Hon Mark Dreyfus, led a new foray into reform. He brought together 30 organisations to consult and provide advice on copyright through the Attorney-General’s Department Ministerial Roundtable on Copyright. The Attorney-General personally chaired the first and last meetings. The Australian Library
and Information Association (ALIA), the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL), National and State Libraries Australasia (NSLA) and the Australian Libraries and Archives Copyright Coalition (ALACC) were all invited to participate. They brought distinct roles and perspectives on areas requiring reform.
• ALIA has been at the centre of advocacy for copyright reform for the majority of its life. It brings the views of all library sectors to the table and has track record of advocacy, particularly for public libraries, where many of the nation’s stories are held.
• CAUL brings strong advocacy about the need for access, including through open access, to the nation’s research and research collections. It seeks reforms that will aid the
creation of research, its communication and equitable education.
• NSLA brings the views of the institutions that hold our national and state histories, in particular through legal deposit. Their services reach individuals across the nation and their collections have been built over almost 200 years.
• ALACC was formed relatively recently in 1994. It brings the associations (ALIA, CAUL, NSLA, National Archives of Australia, Australian School Library Association, Australian Society of Archivists, Council of Australasian Archives and Records Authorities, NSW Public Libraries Association and Australian Government Librarians Network) together. ALACC brings strength in creating a unified voice for libraries and archives. It is independent from sectors and its sole focus is copyright. All members receive benefit from their expertise and are able to access the training and resources.
The knowledge that ALIA, ALACC, NSLA and CAUL contributed was drawn from experience over many decades with diverse collections and users. These were critical voices to have in the debate as they are often the creators of new knowledge in their communities from the library and archive collections they access. Our advice proved to be highly influential in shaping the agenda and recommendations. We identified areas of change in the legislation worked through in this meetings and consultations.
The key issues in the Roundtable discussions were:
• Orphan works. Discussions focused on the need for a model for an Australian orphan works scheme. This would allow works where the copyright owner cannot be determined or found (orphan works) to be copied and communicated; for example,
through digitisation. Our associations gave powerful insights into the collections that could be digitised and made available and the benefits through better access to collection for Australians wherever they are. Drawing together examples relating to archives and libraries, the associations highlighted the barriers to the community in accessing knowledge and the history of the nation. It impedes participating fully in our democratic process, a theme relevant to ALIA’s 2024 theme for Library and Information Week, ‘Roots of Democracy’. The government has committed to working towards a solution for an orphan works scheme.
• Quotations. A copyright exception consistent with the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works was discussed at length. While an agreement was not reached during the Roundtable, discussion on a quotation exception for research is occurring with goodwill between CAUL and the Australian Publishers Association. Further consultation is expected on this topic.
• Remote education. The Roundtable agreed that section 28 of the Copyright Act should be amended to cover an online or remote class, parents or other persons assisting with lessons, and other persons (such as a member of the local community) who are involved in a class. The National Copyright Unit led discussion on this matter.
• Broadcasting. The issue of the definition of ‘broadcasting’ was considered. Agreement was not reached on this issue and discussions are ongoing, including consultation with library associations.
• AI. The hot topic was copyright and artificial intelligence. It is the area of greatest discussion among libraries, educators, content creators and
Photo: iStock
publishers. The issues are complex. Government policy in relation to AI is evolving in Australia and around the world.
The Attorney- General has formed the Copyright and Artificial Intelligence Reference Group to take a deep look at all aspects and the broader AI policy environment. Your library associations including ALIA, ALACC and CAUL are represented on the reference group, along with First Nations library expert Tui Raven.
A remarkable advocacy program, with more to come Library association members should be proud that our advice was highly influential in shaping the agenda and recommendations for areas of change from this process, and that our expertise and standing is recognised in the policy discussions going forward.
What made our voice so successful? Steady, well-reasoned copyright advocacy gave us a recognised place at the table. We provided clear evidence regarding the importance of making collections accessible in a way that supports the needs of all, including copyright creators. The integrity of our organisations and the clear advocacy for citizens and users of content, in addition to library operation, gave a clear purpose to our advocacy.
We drew strength from having a clear understanding of the legislation, and the understanding of how that legislation caused challenges for libraries and library staff in practice. The evidence brought to the table about the impacts of the current legislation was powerfully expressed.
Patience and a willingness to work with others made us invaluable.
The approach provides a matrix of strong, well-reasoned representation that creates better solutions for all libraries. It reflects ALIA’s first key value – the promotion of the free flow of information and ideas through open access to recorded knowledge, information and creative works. Our principle for equity is visible in this advocacy work.
The library and archive sector is stronger for the collaboration and different voices from the village in a community seeking reform. Copyright reform is a long game. Libraries have provided an exceptional role in supporting their communities through advocacy over many decades, and will continue to do so for decades to come.
FALIA,
Roxanne Missingham
Chair, CAUL Working Group on Copyright, and member, Australian Libraries and Archives Copyright Coalition
St Ives Reads: Planning for the reintroduction of a sustained silent reading program
By Samantha Rojas
The integration of technology into everyday life has led to a notable decline in reading rates among teenagers. With smartphones, social media and streaming services capturing their attention, the concept of reading for enjoyment faces stiff competition. When students returned to our high school library after the COVID-19 pandemic, the St Ives High School library staff observed a decline in reading rates that usually would occur in Years 9 and 10 occurring in our Year 7 and 8 students.
Not only did there seem to be a decrease in reading for enjoyment, but we also observed a decline in the ability of our students to sustain their reading and concentration. These changes in reading behaviours prompted our library team to look at the
bigger picture by surveying staff and student reading habits, reviewing our school plan and NAPLAN data, and undertaking a literature review of the benefits of reading for enjoyment and sustained silent reading programs. This was all with the aim of arming ourselves with data to present our proposal for the reintroduction of a sustained silent reading program to our school executive.
Student and staff surveys on reading habits were distributed and our survey results confirmed our thoughts that our students’ reading habits were following a worrying global trend. There was a general increase in students stating they ‘only read if they have to’ as they moved through high school years. An average of 27% of our students did not read at all for enjoyment. Staff data also painted an interesting picture, with 15% of staff not
reading at all for enjoyment. Despite this, 99% of staff saw value in modelling good reading habits to our students.
Upon reviewing our school plan, there were several targets for improving our students’ results and growth in NAPLAN reading within our strategic direction on growth and attainment. However, there were no specific programs or strategies in place to achieve these targets. By comparing these targets to our actual NAPLAN data, we found that we were not meeting the reading targets outlined in our school’s strategic improvement plan.
If that was not enough to convince our executive staff of the importance of a sustained silent reading program, we looked to the literature for further support. We carried out an extensive literature review of the benefits of frequent reading for both
Year 9 students reading outside during sustained reading.
Photo: Supplied
literacy outcomes and wellbeing. Much of this support came from Dr Margaret Merga’s 2022 book, School Libraries Supporting Literacy and Wellbeing, that frequent reading is associated with significant benefits across a wide range of literacy outcomes, as well as wellbeing benefits such as reduced psychological distress and lower levels of hyperactivity and attention issues. We believed what we were experiencing in our school context particularly resonated with Dr Merga’s concepts of ‘orphaned responsibility’ — the idea that neither parents nor teachers are actively encouraging reading for enjoyment — as well as ‘aliteracy’ — where students have acquired the skills needed to decode text but have neither the will nor desire to read and prefer easier entertainment options such as scrolling on their devices.
Backed by the survey data and literature review, the library team presented its findings to the executive staff along with different options for implementation of a sustained silent reading program inspired by the Australia Reads initiative — St Ives Reads: More books, more often. The challenges of the different options were discussed, including staffing and timetabling. A decision was made to trial an extension of roll call by 20 minutes three days per week for
Years 7 to 12 for the following school year. This would provide one hour of extra reading for each of our students and a fabulous start to changing our school culture around reading. We now had the dual challenge of getting all school staff on board and getting high-interest reading material into the hands of our students.
A whole-school professional learning session was dedicated to upskilling our staff on the benefits of reading for enjoyment and our plan for the roll-out of a wholeschool sustained silent reading program. Staff members were asked for their own book requests to get them excited about reading as we adopted an attitudinal model to reading. The program did not require explicit teaching of reading or literacy skills, but demonstration of the enjoyment of reading. It was also important to highlight for staff that there would be no discipline or punishments for students associated with this reading time.
To support staff and students in implementing the program, the library compiled reading boxes for each roll call class from donations of high-interest books and magazines; if students forgot their own books, there was always something to read. With the guidance of our technology teachers,
street libraries were constructed by our senior construction classes to give students another place for finding books they may enjoy. The library extended its hours for borrowing and library staff were always willing to offer book recommendations. Students were able to reserve books online and have these delivered during roll call. We also increased our variety of magazine subscriptions and library staff provided targeted support for lower literacy and English as an additional language/dialect students in the selection of appropriate books.
Early signs have been positive and most evident when teachers are on board and modelling reading themselves. Some teachers went the extra mile to make the experience fun by putting open fires on their projectors or coming to the library in their own time with lists of their students’ interests to find books for reluctant readers who could not or would not come to the library themselves. Positive initial feedback from teachers has included ‘my classes are more settled on days when we read in the mornings’ and ‘I’ve personally read more books this year than I have in longer than I can remember’. This was also reflected in our circulation data; when comparing term one loan statistics to the same time in the previous year, loans were up by 44% and, in term two, by 27%.
Above Teacher Librarian
Samantha Rojas preparing reading boxes for all 65 roll call classes with the help of the library team.
Left St Ives High School Year 9 students reading in roll call.
Photos: Supplied
Gale
OneFile: Australia and New Zealand
Featuring
CHOICE® from the Australian Consumers’ Association
We are very excited to announce CHOICE® from the Australian Consumers’ Association is now available in Gale OneFile: Australia and New Zealand. (Full-Text content only) as of 2024.
• Choice magazine backfile from December 2021 up until the current issue
• Gale has negotiated no official embargo for the monthly publications.
Gale Books and Authors - highlighting Australian Authors
Gale Books & Authors helps to connect readers with books. Among many benefits to your library, it can increase circulation of fiction and non-fiction, build and promote book clubs and programs in your library and help patrons make informed reading choices. Since November 2021, we have been working with an Australian librarian as our local ANZ Subject Matter Expert and have now added over 500 new Australian and New Zealand titles and authors.
Speak to your Gale Account Manager to arrange a free 30-day trial or discuss how a Gale local content solution will meet your library community’s needs.
Maureen Quinn Darren Brain Hellen Pervushin Isis Bibaoui
Changing school culture and attitudes to reading does not happen in just one school term. While our St Ives Reads program has had early success with our younger students, encouraging our more senior students to become lifelong readers will take time. Continuing to work with these more reluctant readers is the next step. We can only hope that this regular practice of reading for enjoyment continues and will encourage our students to keep reading more books more often, with the potential added benefits of improvements in academic outcomes and mental health.
Samantha Rojas, Teacher Librarian, St Ives High School
Literature Review References: Atherton, L. ‘Supporting students’ mental wellbeing through the school library.’ The School Librarian, 68, no.3 (2020): 135-138.
Australia Reads. The National Reading Survey 2021. Canberra: Australia Reads, 2021. https:// australiareads.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/ Australia-Reads-National-Reading-Survey-2021REPORT-Nov-2021-1.pdf
Baxter, D., & Sawyer, W. ‘Whole school literacy success against the odds.’ Literacy Learning: The Middle Years, 14, no.2 (2006): 9-17.
Krashen, S. The Power of Reading: Insights from the Research. 2nd edn. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2004.
Merga, M., & Gardiner, V. ‘The role of whole school literacy policies supporting reading engagement in Australian schools.’ English in Australia, 53, no.3, (2018): 37-50.
Merga, M. ‘Fallen through the cracks: Teachers’ perceptions of barriers faced by struggling literacy learners in secondary school.’ English in Education, 54, no.4, (2019): 371-395. https://doi.org/10.1080/04250494.2019.1672502
Merga, M., & Mason, S. ‘Building a school reading culture: Teacher librarians’ perceptions of factors contributing to school reading cultures.’ Australian Journal of Education, 63 no.2, (2019):173-189. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004944119844544
JUDGES NEEDED! JUDGES NEEDED!
ALIA Graphic is looking for people to assist with judging our Notables List for 2024. You will liaise with ALIA Graphic, read through the submissions, be a part of the scoring process and ultimately help decide the winners for 2024. If you would like to submit an expression of interest in this process, please fill out the form at https://buff.ly/4dkGK9B. If you have any questions, please email aliagraphicinfo@gmail.com
ALIA GRAPHI C
Embracing co-design at Yarra Plenty Regional Library: A transformative journey
By Coralie Kouvelas and Robyn Ellard
Since late 2019, Yarra Plenty Regional Library (YPRL) has embedded co-design into its community engagement strategy. This approach, integral to our deep-dive programming, has also been applied to developing new services, conducting collection and LOTE (Languages Other Than English) reviews, and preparing grant applications.
Understanding co-design Co-design is a collaborative approach to designing solutions that brings citizens and stakeholders together to design new products, services and policies. At YPRL, co-design means working alongside our community on matters that affect them, and pushing staff outside their comfort zones to achieve innovative outcomes.
The four main principles of co-design
Principle 1: Participation A successful co-design approach hinges on empathy, listening, acceptance and sharing, incorporating a diversity of experiences, perspectives and skills.
Principle 2: Development Co-design should be a developmental or learning process. As participants share experiences, knowledge and expertise, there’s an opportunity to actively learn from each other and build our understanding of diverse perspectives.
Principle 3: Ownership and power Co-design is about fostering a collective and equal partnership in both processes and outcomes. Power is shared among participants, with facilitators placing equal value on everyone’s input regardless of their role or status.
Principle 4: Outcomes and intent Co-design activities should be practical and focused on outcomes. From the outset, it’s crucial that the co-design team understands the intent, scope, and vision of the process, while also ensuring participants have creative license when developing solutions.
Investing in co-design skills
Over the past few years, YPRL has significantly invested in equipping our staff with the skills needed for co-design. This
includes having all branch managers and program coordinators attend Introduction to Co-Design sessions provided by White Light Education and supporting the development of YPRL Co-Design Champions. These champions not only lead their own co-design projects but also mentor and coach other staff members.
A great example of a practical takeaway from the training was technique called “Yes, and...”. It creates opportunities for creativity and demonstrates that accepting isn’t the same as agreeing. Instead, accepting is hearing something and building on it. When applied to discussions, it allows groups to embrace each other’s creativity.
YPRL’s commitment to co-design has fundamentally transformed our approach to community engagement and service development. By fostering and building a culture of co-design, we are seeing more inclusive, relevant and sustainable services and programs. Through activities like “Yes, and...”, we continue to push the boundaries of creativity and collaboration. As we move forward, co-design will remain a cornerstone
Illustration: Alex Kerr, 2023
of our strategy, ensuring that we stay responsive to the evolving needs of our community.
Celebrating cultural stories: The Wurundjeri co-design with Yarra Plenty Regional Libraries
In December 2023’s issue of INCITE, some of our Co-Design Champions discussed their experience building a co-design culture and capability into the organisation. The result, The Deadly Collection, was born from our local First Nations communities, who asked for stronger visibility, acknowledgment that sharing stories was important, and a better understanding of the connection to culture and country within our library collection.
The primary objectives of the Deadly Collection are:
1. Representation and inclusion: Enable local First Nations people to see, feel and relate to their culture, country and stories within their local library spaces.
2. Awareness and education: Inform the broader library community about the depth and strength of the library’s holdings created by First Nations people.
3. Cultural exchange: Encourage the movement, sharing and learning of First Nations stories within the community. We created easily identifiable branding
to highlight items created by First Nations People. We ensured that Indigenous Australian stories, voices and illustrations were easily discoverable and prominent within our wider collection. You can read more about how we achieved this here.
Success and future plans
The success of the Deadly Collection is evident in both quantitative and qualitative measures. The positive feedback from the local First Nations peoples and the co-design group, coupled with the high engagement levels at launch events and the substantial loan figures, indicate that the project’s objectives have been met. To date we have 517 titles in the Deadly Collection, which make up 2,803 items. These items have been loaned 10,390 in the first six months since launching the collection.
Moving forward, we are expanding the Deadly Collection, with a commitment to acquiring more titles written, illustrated, or directed by First Nations creatives. We’re also incorporating the ‘8 Aboriginal Ways of Cultural Learning’ in our Toy and Learning Library. This ongoing development ensures that the library remains a vibrant and inclusive space that honours and celebrates the rich cultural heritage of Australia’s First Nations peoples.
Recognition and impact
In June 2024, YPRL’s Deadly Collection was awarded a Special Mention in the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) and PressReader International Marketing Awards. This meant that YPRL’s project was in the top 15 of 103 international submissions to the award. YPRL’s commitment to co-design has fundamentally transformed our approach to community engagement and service development. By fostering and building a culture of co-design, we are seeing more inclusive, relevant and sustainable services and programs. Through activities like “Yes, and...”, we continue to push the boundaries of creativity and collaboration. As we move forward, co-design will remain a cornerstone of our strategy, ensuring that we stay responsive to the evolving needs of our community.
WRITTEN BY
Coralie Kouvelas
Wiradjuri Mayiny-galang Manager Collections & Library Systems
Robyn Ellard Executive Manager, Public Participation Yarra Plenty Regional Library
Illustration: Alex Kerr, 2023
The homeschooler in the room: How libraries can support the homeschool community
By Tamara Kelly
How homeschoolers use libraries and their relationship with them can make a large difference to their educational outcomes. Yet, not all homeschoolers are aware of the full potential of their libraries, so we need a helping hand with awareness-raising on both sides. I posted a small survey to three homeschooling Facebook pages and received 100 very enthusiastic responses, two of which came from people in the library industry. I asked people how they use their libraries and what could make their experience better, with the intention of talking to libraries with the intention of talking of helping both parties better understand the needs of the others.
Homeschoolers are broadly defined as anyone who conducts their education outside of a bricks-and-mortar school. Officially, they are just 0.5% of the school-age population. There are several reasons that lead people to homeschooling as their preferred educational option. Some have issues that keep them from attending school, and others find that school does not suit their neuro-type or lifestyle.
For most homeschoolers, libraries are a major education resource. The diversification of materials and burgeoning of community activities within their spaces is a boon. My survey showed that 90% of homeschoolers responding to this survey were using the library regularly and two-thirds of those were using it fortnightly or more.
What this shows is that libraries are playing an important role in
the lives of homeschooled students, but there is always scope for both parties to continue to learn about the needs of the other.
What follows is some tips for libraries based on the results of the survey and some resources that they might find useful in providing support to this cohort.
Spread the word
Fortunately, local librarians are often the first people to recognise new homeschoolers and guide them towards their local community. If you are not already doing this, have a chat to your locals and find out who is their main contact to see what support they can provide — even if it is just a Facebook page. A little stack of business cards on the counter for staff to provide to homeschoolers or a sign on a noticeboard will often suffice.
Help them get their bearings
Most libraries do have orientations available, but do not always offer this service upfront. When you first meet the new homeschooler, ask them if they have a library card and, regardless of their answer, hand them a flier with the services and resources available to them with directions on how to access them. I also suggest talking to the main organiser about conducting an annual ‘uber-user session’ to bring the existing group properly up to date.
Photo: iStock
Make some room
The homeschooling community in your area may not realise that your rooms (if you have them) can be used for their events. While room availability and booking procedures will differ from library to library, it is likely that a library will have some space to offer. So, if your space is underutilised and your homeschooling community can work in your space, extend the invitation. A small number of libraries are able to offer staff-led activities during school time, otherwise the homeschooling groups can run their own sessions. Note: if the group is required to hold insurance to hire a room, there are two organisations with whom they can register to provide this — the Home Education Network and the Home Education Association.
Share your ideas
Some homeschoolers may have experienced trauma, have behavioural issues or be highly sensitive and not suited to working with groups. These children, with their parent’s support, can often manage with a known group of homeschoolers. The most useful thing you can do for these kids is to engage one-on-one with them to let them know what is going on and make book/resource recommendations. Maybe suggest solo competitions, or you could invite them to participate in things such as the scavenger hunts held for Summer Reading Club.
Resources
If you have resources for the homeschool community in your collections, consider putting them somewhere prominent in the library. These might include: homeschooling books for parents on approaches and curriculum instructional books for parents on reading and maths, e.g., teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons a larger range of graded readers
high-interest, low-level chapter books, decodeable readers and novels featuring neurodiversity literacy and numeracy assessment tools.
The non-book resources that people repeatedly asked for were: makerspaces for science, art and play hands-on kits, especially science kits for up to Year 12, Queensland Museum boxes and special topic kits (e.g. medieval era) boardgames for school ages (there appear to be plenty for under-fives but little above that) documentaries.
With regard to activities, unsurprisingly these were the strongest themes: teen activities hands-on science access to VR and 3D printers.
I am eager to hear from librarians about how to strengthen the relationship with the homeschool community and encourage you to get in touch with me at tamarakelly@rocketmail.com with your suggestions, questions and feedback. I am also happy to receive phone calls for a chat on 0429 138 669.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tamara Kelly works with Children’s Discovery, providing STEM programs, resources and training for libraries. She has supported homeschoolers for 25 years and been a teacher for 35 years, with a variety of employers overseas and in Australia including Education Queensland and CSIRO. She has degrees in English literature, linguistics and education. Tamara served for eight years with the Home Education Association as secretary and president. She grew up in libraries and intends to restore books when she retires.
