Australia – Access

“China Bookshelf” establishes Chinese culture libraries in Australia

Asia PacificJanuary 14, 2021

(12 Jan 2021) CRRC Corporation Limited, one of the world’s largest rail transportation equipment companies, has delivered more than 575 non-fiction books that introduce China from various aspects to Melbourne in Australia last December. The delivery marks the kickoff of CRRC’s China Bookshelf project (China Bookshelf), which aims to promote cultural exchanges between China and Australia and to create an inclusive community with…

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Saving Australia’s old books

Asia Pacific, eBooksNovember 25, 2020

(23 Nov 2020) A new project at the University of Melbourne is trying to save old Australian books from being lost to history, by bringing together authors and libraries to create digital ebook versions of older works. In what could be a world-first, the project will also contribute to data collection that will allow…

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Australia: RMIT to close its Master of Information Management course, and ALIA set the date to announce future plan for LIS education

Asia PacificNovember 5, 2020

(30 Oct 2020) From an announcement of ALIA: ALIA is saddened to learn that RMIT has informed its students of plans to close its Master of Information Management course. This course has been highly regarded in Australia, producing quality graduates who have contributed considerably to the library and information services sector, and to academic…

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South-west Sydney wants to open its libraries after dark to help gambling addicts

Asia Pacific, LibrariesOctober 30, 2020

(27 October 2020) The Fairfield local government area is hoping to introduce the Libraries After Dark program, first trialled in Victoria, to its communities. Marie Saliba from Core Community Services, which operates in south-west Sydney and represents the local communities in the area said: “There aren’t as many options for families that are away…

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Australia: Federal government budget 2020-2021 highlights for librarians

Asia Pacific, LibrariesOctober 8, 2020

(6 Oct 2020) From ALIA: Tonight’s federal budget, as anticipated, provided an unprecedented level of government spending aimed at jobs and recovery. By putting money into businesses and cash into people’s pockets, the government is banking on Australia emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic in better shape than other national economies. While there remain…

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Australia: Research first reveals status of South Australian school libraries

Asia Pacific, LibrariesSeptember 11, 2020

(8 Sept 2020) International Literacy Day today marks the launch of the first ever comprehensive study of school library resourcing and staffing. Commissioned by the School Library Association of SA (SLASA), the School Libraries in South Australia 2019 Census surveyed South Australia’s public, private and Catholic schools to better understand the links between library programs and critical skills…

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When Covid closed the library: how Australia librarians create tighter engagement with community

Covid-19, LibrariesAugust 14, 2020

(12 Aug 2020) From Guardian: When Melbourne’s Yarra Plenty regional libraries first went into lockdown in March, shut the doors and left the remaining unborrowed books on their shelves, staff were sent home with a phone… So the library staff pulled from their database the phone number of every library member over the age of…

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‘Universities are not corporations’: 600 Australian academics call for change to uni governance structures

EducationJuly 30, 2020

(29 Jul 2020) More than 600 academics from 36 Australian universities and members of the academic community have signed an open letter to federal and state education ministers calling for a return to a more democratic, cost-effective and functional structure for Australia’s universities. Australian universities are in crisis. Large-scale redundancies are announced almost daily, with estimates of up to 21,000…

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Australia: Communities turn to libraries during lockdown

Asia PacificJuly 23, 2020

(21 Jul 2020) A survey undertaken by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) shows that public libraries across Australia worked hard to meet, and exceed, patron needs during the nation-wide lockdown in April 2020. While public library buildings were physically closed, library workers continued to provide services including virtual storytimes, click and collect services and…

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Australian Library Design Awards 2021 is opened for nominations

LibrariesJuly 22, 2020

(6 Jul 2020) Nominations are now open for the Australian Library Design Awards 2021. The awards, run by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), celebrate library design excellence. Libraries which had work completed between 1 July 2017 and 30 June 2020 are eligible for entry under one of four award categories: School libraries, Academic libraries,…

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