InterALIA

The newsletter of the ALIA SA Group: August 2005

From the editor

Welcome to August 2005 edition of InterALIA. In this issue we have some interesting debate, some important conference updates, and meet some people from outside of our traditional library sphere - records manager and archivists.

A few things for our readers to be aware of; firstly that the ALIA SA Regional Conference has been postponed until early 2006. Secondly that I am no longer the moderator of the e-list, but will still be IA editor, so please continue to send contributions to me, but e-list content to Robyn Ellard (please remove '.nospam' from address).

This is also my last issue as a single woman - yes, I'm taking the plunge and getting married. And, yes, I will be changing my name so I will advertise the new e-mail address when it is available.

Benita Wheeler

From the convenor

In recent weeks, you may have seen various advertised positions for librarians that haven't specified eligibility for Associate (professional) membership of ALIA as essential.

We have discussed this issue at some length in the ALIA SA committee, and I have sought the advice from ALIA National Office. We are right to be concerned that some positions are not requiring this professional membership level.

With the advice of ALIA SA committee members, I will be writing to the organisations concerned to express our view that we believe that specialist professional qualifications in the field are essential for optimal performance in these positions.

While various professional positions in libraries will draw on other areas of expertise and experience, we believe that these do not substitute for high level tertiary qualification in library and information science. It is our view that both should be considered essential for best practice performance in the positions.

Consequently, we will urge employers to amend selection criteria for the specifying as essential, eligibility for Associate (professional) membership of ALIA.

Philip Keane, convenor