ISSN 1039-3498 | no. 58| August 2002
One Voice: Public Libraries Australia Initiative
Public libraries, State Libraries, the National Library of Australia, library associations and local government around Australia have all joined forces in a collaborative effort to establish a formal body for national representation that actively represents, advocates and promotes the interests of all public libraries in Australia.
The initiative builds upon the 2001 study, sponsored by the Council of Australian State Libraries, which investigated the business case for creating a new national body to represent public libraries. The study showed strong support for the initiative (under the provisional name of Australian Public Libraries Network) amongst the public library stakeholders.
At a meeting earlier this year in Adelaide the crucial elements in forming a peak representative body were discussed and the following outcomes were achieved:
The Committee is presently working on establishing Public Libraries Australia as a separate legal entity and recruiting a project manager. The next stage of the project will involve development of a membership model and branding for Public Libraries Australia.
The Interim Steering Committee’s chairperson, Lynne Makin said, ‘The strength of the Public Libraries Australia initiative lies in achieving active involvement of all public library stakeholders. We are keen to work together towards getting the public library issues firmly on the national agenda in the context of policy areas such as education, knowledge society, bridging the information divide and economic development.’
Visit www.nla.gov.au/apln/
to access further up-to-date information about the Public Libraries Australia
initiative.
—Barbara Rozmus
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