Max Webber Library, Blacktown 7 August 2019

The morning session of this meeting is a combined meeting of the marketing and programs group, and the reference and information services group. The focus for the morning is information based programs.

The afternoon is a planning session for the reference and information services group.

1. Welcome

Present:Abir El-Lahib, City of Sydney; Anne Loria, Blue Mountains, Barbara Moss, Strathfield, Barjinder Kaur, Penrith, Christine Brennan, Randwick, Ellen Forsyth, State Library of NSW, Eugenia Ng, Burwood, Gayatri Krishnamurthy and Michelle Cairns, Ku-ring-gai, Jacinta Craine, Sutherland, Kate Babic Macquarie Regional Library, Kristy Nightingale, Blacktown, Ky Vella, The Hills, Marisa Bottaro. Georges River, Mary Mercado, Blacktown, Melanie Mutch, Hornsby, Michelle Head, Albury, Michelle Pearman, Penrith, Natasha Aldrich, Waverley, Nisa Alam, City of Parramatta, Paula Pfoeffer, Campbelltown, Rachel Carr, Midwestern, Renata Rekiel, Canterbury Bankstown, Robyn Menzies, Hawkesbury, Susan McIlroy, Goulburn, Valentine Crome, Kiama, Veronique Delaunay and Lysele Assarapin Innerwest, Victoria Bateman, Hawkesbury, Yan Zhan, City of Parramatta, Zoe Ross, Campbelltown, Umarani Ayikudi Rathnasamy, Parramatta, Catherine Krause Central Coast, Annette Webb, City of Sydney, Jadwiga Kreyza Liverpool, Annetta Kucharaska, Cumberland.

2. Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Darug people, the traditional custodians of the land on which this library stands. We pay respect to Aboriginal Elders past, present and emerging, and extend that respect to other First Nations people. We celebrate the diversity of Aboriginal cultures and languages across NSW and acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land that each of the participants libraries is on too.

3. Apologies

4. Information based programs for all libraries

Including working with partners, evaluation, how are eresources, collections and technology embedded in other programs or promoted as part of other programs. There will be a mix of short (5 minutes) and longer (10 - 15 minute) talks as well as discussion about what factors help the success of information based programs. Speakers include :

Sasa Kennedy ‘Warami Mittigar’ Interpretation and Cultural Programs Officer, Cultural Heritage and Tourism, City Experience, City of Parramatta You can see the videos from the Warami Mittigar presentation at this link.

Highlights that partnerships are a journey, they take time and commitment. City of Parramatta changed their visitor services model to a proactive model sending visitor services out into the community. They started having expressions of interest for Aboriginal presenters, note these are paid roles. A 2016 eel festival was also key for building relationships. The council consults with Darug elders about their programs. Make sure you look at the slides.

Highlighted the importance of having memorandums of understanding, protocols and agreements with partners.

Note the presentation from the local studies meeting was loaded as the file size for the meeting at Blacktown was too large to put on Slideshare

Melanie Mutch, Hornsby partnership with Hornsby Area Residents for Reconciliation- partnerships can access different networks for library events, and bring new people to the library. You need to know what's in it for both sides presentation here

Lysele Assarapin Young Creatives Awards Inner West - creative work as a response to an item in the library collection presentation here

Veronique Delaunay Inner West Philosophy Talk – Speaker Series - partnership, and targeting general public rather than specialists. Linking the collection to the talks.presentation here

Gayatri Krishnamurthy and Michelle Cairns, Ku-ring-gai Collaborative programs - very interesting regulatory linked partnerships and events.presentation here

Catherine Krause Central Coast Partnerships including ‘Be connected digital workshops’ and ‘Auslan Sign Language training’ for the community, Auslan as part of a wider initiative.presentation here

Kate Forrest, Port Macquarie Hastings Locals Talk speaker series - themed talks featuring local speakers, Saturday mornings to attract new people to the library, library collection displays to tie in with the talks.presentation here

Annette Webb, City of Sydney Rainbow Editathon on Wikipediapresentation here

The new public library wiki Join the wiki via a link here, and experiment with editing.

Next meeting date and location

4 November 2 - 4 pm at Erina for the program and marketing group. 2020 for the reference and information services group.

Points for communication

• importance of building partnerships
• there are some exciting partnerships in different libraries - have a look at the slideshare presentations
• inclusiveness in important

Afternoon

Present

Jadwiga Kreyza Liverpool, Annetta Kucharaska, Cumberland, Abir El-Lahib, City of Sydney, Gayatri Krishnamurthy and Michelle Cairns, Ku-ring-gai, Natasha Aldrich, Waverley, Ky Vella, The Hills, Anne Loria, Blue Mountains, Barbara Moss, Strathfield, Mary Mercado, Blacktown, Kristy Nightingale, Blacktown, Ellen Forsyth, State Library of NSW

Planning reference and information services group meetings for 2020 We will be using the survey from late 2018 as the starting point, so make sure you have looked at it before the meeting. 1. Planning reference and information services group meetings for 2020

We will be using the survey from late 2018 as the starting point, so make sure you have looked at it before the meeting.

• Find out what else is going on
• To plagiarise/borrow ideas
• What they do and how they do it
• Staff time/resources/numbers
• What different libraries are doing for training staff using online resources
• Information provision related to the community connections, each community has different information needs
• Council programs for proactive information delivery – for example road safety office to baby rhyme times
• Using reference resources
• Focus on what information services are and how they are shifting and changing (partnerships, promoting the resources), how to get resources used more, what has replaced it?
• Re-evaluating on what you are doing on a broader scale
• Referrals to the library
• Technology assistance
• All staff handling information queries, still have specialist staff, but it is now everyone who is on the desk,
• How do people deal with making sure all staff are sufficiently trained
• How good is the promotion of the digital services and using the reference services accordingly
• How to provide reference skills for all staff
• How to make sure you are taking the resources out, so that people can use them, what can be done remotely, going out, not getting people in, through taking resources out and online,
• Staff allocated for online resources, and research for councils staff as well
• Outreach to schools, and other organisations has lead to an increase in stats
• Quizzes for staff using databases
• Promoting reference and information services, and promoting online resources, and promoting information about the library – outreach/pop-up mobile etc, within in council
• How are staff made aware of the resources, what good practice examples?

Meeting 1

• Changing nature of reference – what has changed at your library in the last 5 years what have your observed and what have you changed? Why have you changed it?
• go as survey monkey with results provided for the meeting, with themes and trends? (questions could be job title, key reference and information services changes – drop down menu, reference and information services collection changes drop down menu, staff changes in this area, how has what the public ask for changed? - drop down menu)
• What are the library schools teaching for the trends – maybe UTS? CSU for remote/Curtin,
• Effective methods of change management to keep progressing in this area – keeping progressing
• What the reference and information services trends? RUSA??? Local would good, may be covered by library school talk
• Staff training, and training of the public, engagement – how to run everyone into an information advocate /awareness of the resources for the public – short talks ‘I did this and it gave us this outcome’ for staff training, if possible share resources, possibly leading to a ref-ex revision
• Promotion of information resources, to staff, and to the public – short talks – we did this
• Importance of professional skills and expertise

Meeting 2

• How do you know what the information needs of your community are? How to be proactive rather than reactive. How do you evaluate when you have successfully met that? Short talks with examples? Could be strategic planning, but could be by people walking in the door?
• Information collections – what are the core resources for your library, are they online or in print ? Successful items, and ones which aren’t popular – specific titles/areas essential – in you have a print promo, bring examples, or show what is so great about your online
• What organisations do people have coming to the library to provide services – examples of justices of the peace, tax help – who else? General information sharing and collating of resources
• Planning for 2021

• Call for two locations to host – one metro one out of Sydney, need Blue jeans, and fitting in the topics,
• Ask for people to share their experience – public library people, and getting expertise from outside, like UTS etc

Make it clear that there is no cap on bookings

Still a place for reference at the Metcalfe