Photo: The Big Townsville Sign
Tuesday 25th March
The Townsville Citylibraries are essential community hubs guided by the principles of Learn, Discover, Connect, and Future Ready. The Tuesday morning library tours brought delegates to two of the three Citylibraries branches. First up was Flinders Street Library, where we learned about Townsville local history and the Stories of Townsville digitisation project – an interactive online resource that brings the community's collective memory to life.
Photo: Flinders Street Library
The second stop was the Aitkenvale Library, which at the time of our mid-morning arrival was filled with activity. A local crafting group was knitting and crocheting, and preschoolers (and their adults!) roamed the vast children's area. We toured the podcast studio and makerspace and added to the "Which Arnotts Cream biscuit is your favourite?" survey on the staffroom whiteboard (the correct answer is Monte Carlo).
Photo: Aitkenvale Library
An afternoon visit to the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library at James Cook University concluded the library tours. Thanks Jayshree Mamtora (FALIA) for being the tour guide! The library building was designed by architect James Birrell, and is a fine example of 1960s Brutalist architecture. The library is filled with artworks, natural light and beautiful views of the campus. As part of the University's 50th anniversary project a Mabo Interpretive Wall was installed on the ground floor to commemorate Eddie Koiki Mabo's commitment to educating others about the rights and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; and how he famously challenged the Australian legal system and won his people's case for land ownership.
The day concluded with a networking dinner hosted by the Regional ALIA Group, TropicALIA. This dinner provided an opportunity for Townsville based library people to connect with delegates visiting for the conference.
Photo: Eddie Koiki Mabo Library at James Cook University
Wednesday 26th March
The day began with a workshop facilitated by Associate Professor Jane Garner from Charles Sturt University about the increasing instances of aggression and abuse experienced by library staff. This was a great opportunity for delegates to share their experiences, strategies and responses in a safe environment. The discussion will inform a national survey being developed to better understand the extent of the issue as well as the development of resources to support libraries in managing these behaviours. ALIA is very happy to be working on this with QPLA and other members of APLA along with CSU on this initiative.
Photo (L-R): Emily Wilson and Cathie Warburton at the ALIA Booth
The delegates were keen to hear from National Library of Australia staff Giang Pham and Deanna Cronk about the new Trove Partners Resource Sharing platform and how it all works. Cathie Warburton showcased ALIA's offerings for the sector in line with the conference theme of 'Resilience and Wellbeing 'and flagged some exciting funding opportunities coming up for public libraries to participate in projects around aged care reform, digital health and social cohesion.
Photo: Conference delegates in their 'Freedom to Read' t-shirts
Exhibition partners set-up their booths in the hall and ALIA decked its booth out with Freedom to Read t-shirts and stickers, pins galore and the latest edition of JALIA. In addition to meeting many delegates it was good to have discussions with industry partners about future collaborations. ALIA intends to review the corporate member value proposition in consultation with industry partners to ensure it remains relevant.
One collaboration that jumped out was the sensory Truck Cat toy produced by Soundtext Media
Photo: Anne Stuchbery of Soundtext Media with The Truck Cat sensory toy
Thursday and Friday 27th and 28th March
The two full days of conference sessions were filled with wonderful presentations – too many to mention them all here but the program is worth a look. The heart and soul of the conference was the QPLA SLQ Library Leaders program. This successful program supported 14 emerging and mid-career library professionals to take part in industry events, professional development, networking and mentoring. A number of the participants presented the results of their research projects which covered a broad range of topics including bereavement support training, trauma informed storytime, local history and library of things. It was evident that through the program the participants formed strong and lasting connections and their enthusiasm was contagious.
Photo: Kaley Schelks presenting on the Library Leaders Program
Congratulations to Nicole Hunt, the QPLA Executive (serious photo below), the City of Townsville library team and the greater conference team for organising and hosting a wonderful conference.
Photo: QPLA Executive at the conference "beach theme" dinner