2009 ALIA National Library & Information Technicians Conference

Congratulations to Terri and her marvellous team for running the 2009 ALIA National Library & Information Technicians Conference.

You can find information about the conference, including links to many great photos on facebook at http://conferences.alia.org.au/libtec2009/

Most papers are now available on the program page at http://conferences.alia.org.au/libtec2009/programs.php

It was a very stimulating and inspiring event. I came away with a vision of enthusiastic library staff across the nation focusing on developing their services to engage better with clients, willing to take on new challenges and to develop personal skills to deal with the exciting/turbulent environment.

I encourage everyone to put the next ALIA Technicians conference - Back to basics, Perth, September 2001, in their diaries.

Engagement and Participation: What the Public Want and How our Politicians Need to Respond

The Hansard Society (UK) has published the sixth Audit of Political Engagement recently (thank you Andy for providing a copy). The report is available online at http://hansardsociety.org.uk/blogs/parliament_and_government/archiv....

A very interesting article based ont he results of the study by Ruth Fox is also available online at http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/62/4/673 - I have used the title of the article as the title of this blog posting.

Haunted and Mysterious Australia - Tim the Yowie Man

Attended the booked out fireside event at Saint Luke's (http://www.firesidefestival.com.au/host/29.html) for a tour of the cemetary and Tim launched the new edition of his book. It included a spiritual burning of the book - ashes to ashes. Quite a different event! Only mildly traumatic for a librarian.

News from public sphere 2.0

http://www.katelundy.com.au/2009/07/29/briefing-paper-and-recommendation-endorsements-from-public-sphere-2-government-2-0/

News from public sphere 2.0

They have put all recommendations into an endorsement system, where all are encouraged to vote. This is for a final quality assurance of the outcomes, and possibly to assist with prioritisation of the issues, so please participate:
http://au.nationbuilder.com/branches/9/priorities/top

They will handover the briefing paper formally to the Australian Government 2.0 Taskforce in an public Q&A session where you are all invited to participate. Details of the event will be sent in the last Government 2.0 Public Sphere email in the coming day or two.

Again, many thanks for all your contributions to this Public Sphere topic!

Restrictions on the Parallel Importation of Books: Research Report

The Productivity Commission has just released its research report on Restrictions on the Parallel Importation of Books at http://www.pc.gov.au/projects/study/books/report

It offers very vauable insights into publishing and concludes:

Having considered industry feedback and undertaken further analysis, the Commission is recommending that the Parallel Import Restrictions provisions be repealed, and that:

– Three years notice should be given to facilitate industry adjustment.

– Current financial assistance for encouraging Australian writing and publishing should be reviewed immediately, and any changes implemented prior to the repeal of the PIRs. The new arrangements should be reviewed after five years.

– To assist in monitoring the impact of these changes, the ABS should undertake a revised version of its 2003-04 industry survey as soon as possible and update it prior to the five year review.

I encourage all to read the report.

Gov2.0/Publicsphere2.0

Monday's Public sphere2.0 was a terrific and inspiring. Congratulations the Senator Kate Lundy and Pia Waugh and the team for all the hard work and direction.

Monday also saw the offical launch of the Government 2.0 Taskforce whose terms of reference are to advise and assist the Government to:

* make government information more accessible and usable — to establish a pro-disclosure culture around non-sensitive public sector information;
* make government more consultative, participatory and transparent — to maximise the extent to which government utilises the views, knowledge and resources of the general community;
* build a culture of online innovation within Government — to ensure that government is receptive to the possibilities created by new collaborative technologies and uses them to advance its ambition to continually improve the way it operates;
* promote collaboration across agencies with respect to online and information initiatives — to ensure that efficiencies, innovations, knowledge and enthusiasm are shared on a platform of open standards; and
* identify and/or trial initiatives that may achieve or demonstrate how to accomplish the above objectives.

You can participate by going to http://gov2.net.au and adding your comments.

Government 2.0: Policy and Practice: participate next Monday 22 June 2009

http://www.katelundy.com.au/2009/05/29/public-sphere-2-open-government-policy-and-practice/

"Welcome to the 2nd Public Sphere topic - Government 2.0: policy and practice for Australia. An initiative by Senator Kate Lundy.

Government 2.0 is a rising topic of debate across the world. Trends in technology, media and public opinion have made it both more possible and more necessary for governments to reconsider what and how information is made freely available to the public."

A Public Sphere event will be held on 22 June to gather views on how creating an even more participatory form of government in Australia will improve the effectiveness of public administration, enable communities to better help themselves, promote renewed engagement in the democratic process and enhance our capacity to respond to emerging complex social, geopolitical and environmental challenges.

Read more and register at the web site