The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), formerly the Australian Institute of Librarians and Library Association of Australia, is the peak

professional organisation A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) usually seeks to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that profession, and th ...

for the Australian library and information services sector. Founded in 1937, its headquarters are in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. ALIA publishes a quarterly scholarly journal, ''Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association'', and a bimonthly news magazine for members, ''INCITE''. The Association hosts a number of conferences which take place Delaware different places around Australia

History

On 20 August 1937, a meeting of 55 librarians at the

Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no governm ...

in Canberra formed the Australian Institute of Librarians. The foundation president was William Herbert Ifould, the Principal Librarian at the

Public Library of New South Wales The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establi ...

. John Metcalfe, Deputy Principal Librarian at the Public Library of New South Wales was the first honorary general secretary and drafted much of the original constitution. The Association assumed the title of the Library Association of Australia in 1949, and in 1989 adopted the new name of the Australian Library and Information Association in recognition of the broadening scope of the profession. The Archives section, which had existed between 1951 and 1973, became the Australian Society of Archivists in 1975.

Governance and description

The Association is governed by a

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

and is guided by its vision, mission, objects and values. Their policy statements are developed by an elected board of directors and implemented by the ALIA National Office. ALIA National Office staff are based in ALIA House in the nation's capital, Canberra.

Membership and activities

Membership of ALIA is open to individuals and organisations alike: the only membership requirement is an interest in the sector. Members of ALIA can belong to as many groups as they wish. These groups actively participate in Association activities. ALIA Awards, national and regional, are presented each year to reward members of the library and information community and to celebrate their achievements.

Publications

*''Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association'' (JALIA), a quarterly scholarly journal, named as of Volume 66, Issue 1, 2017; a merger of the ''Australian Library Journal'' (ALJ) (1951 to 2016), and ''Australian Academic and Research Libraries'' (AARL) (1970 to 2016). *''INCITE'' (also styled ''Incite'', ''inCite'' and ''InCite''), a news magazine for members, published six times a year , (formerly 12-20 times a year). It was first published in January 1980. Issues dating from Volume 33, issue 1/2 (January/February 2012) are available via

National edeposit National edeposit (NED) is a collaboration between Australia's nine national, state and territory libraries which provides for the legal deposit, management, storage and preservation of, and access to, published electronic material across Aus ...

, Issues from 1980 to 2016 are available as scanned electronic versions on

AustLII The Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII) is an institution operated jointly by the Faculties of Law of the University of Technology Sydney and the University of New South Wales. Its public policy purpose is to improve access to just ...

, and many back issues (until 2020, ) are also on the Informit database. Since 2018, some whole issues of INCITE are produced in a freely available digital-only format each year, with one article from each print issue also freely available online, on the ALIA website.

Conferences

ALIA hosts a number of conferences which are rotated around Australia: * ALIA Information Online Conference * ALIA National Conference * ALIA New Librarians' Symposium * ALIA National Library and Information Technicians' Symposium

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1937 establishments in Australia Organizations established in 1937 Professional associations based in Australia