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A silver stethoscope rests across the open pages of a thick book, symbolising the connection between healthcare and knowledge. The softly blurred background features cool blue and white tones with circular bokeh lights, creating a calm, clinical atmosphere.

Reframing the Profession: The Updated HLA Competencies

Health Libraries Australia (HLA) has released its updated Competencies for Health Librarians and Health Library Technicians (2026) – a contemporary and future-oriented framework that reflects the expanding scope, complexity, and impact of health librarianship in Australia.

Illustrated graphic of five diverse people engaged in conversation beneath overlapping speech bubbles in yellow, pink, orange, navy and teal.

Reflections on the ALIA Mentoring Program 

Thinking about applying for the ALIA Mentoring Scheme? In this reflective piece, mentee Jacinta Ward and mentor Martin Payne share their experiences of the program, exploring the value of a well-matched mentoring relationship, the insights gained through strategic conversations, and the lasting professional connections that can emerge along the way.

A crowd of people enters a library through a wide entrance beneath a large illuminated red "LIBRARY" sign. The doorway is decorated with blue and silver star-shaped decorations, creating a welcoming atmosphere as visitors make their way inside.

Lights, Camera, Borrow: Inside the Jerzy Toeplitz Library

Tucked inside the Australian Film Television & Radio School (AFTRS) on Gadigal land in Sydney is a library that many Australians may not have heard of. The Jerzy Toeplitz Library is both an academic library, a public library and a special library. It holds more than 60,000 items spanning books, eBooks, DVDs, Blu-rays, CDs, magazines, journals and more, representing the most comprehensive specialist screen arts and broadcasting collection in Australia

Law, Legacy and Libraries: 10 Years of the Law Library of Western Australia

Law, Legacy and Libraries: 10 Years of the Law Library of Western Australia

The Law Library of Western Australia, located in the David Malcolm Justice Centre in the Perth CBD, is the result of an amalgamation of the former Crown Law Library and the Supreme Court Library.

The Library provides services to members of the Judiciary and courts, legal officers of the State, and the broader WA legal profession. It is funded by the Department of Justice, with a contribution from the WA legal profession derived from annual practising certificate fees.

"Big Summer Read" logo in large retro-style orange lettering, set against a colourful background of rainbows, clouds and a yellow sun.

Building Reading Culture: The Big Summer Read

The Big Summer Read (BSR) is a national, library‑led summer reading campaign delivered locally through public libraries across Australia. Rather than focusing on reading levels or performance outcomes, the program centres reading for pleasure, choice and inclusion.

Stylised illustration of two overlapping human profiles facing opposite directions, filled with gradients of teal, purple and pink. At the centre is an open doorway revealing a starry night sky with abstract plants growing inside. A staircase leads toward the doorway, while planets, stars and geometric shapes float around the figures, suggesting imagination, exploration, creativity and inner worlds.

Beyond Book Prescription: Expanding Bibliotherapy in Library Practice

Interest in bibliotherapy has grown across library and community settings alongside increasing attention to wellbeing and mental health. At a time when attention is increasingly fragmented and reading is often shaped by speed and interruption, the way stories are encountered is becoming more significant. Within this context, bibliotherapy is often understood as the recommendation of books for particular needs or life situations, and this continues to be an important aspect of library practice. Alongside this, there is growing focus on how reading is experienced, where story is met in ways that allow reflection, connection and meaning to emerge.

A library staff member sits beside an older patron, helping him use a digital device during a technology support session. Overlaid text promotes a weekly “Digital Drop In” program offering free assistance from Digital Mentors every Wednesday from 10am to 12pm.

Albany Library’s Digital Drop-In Turns Tech Troubles into Triumphs

Every Wednesday for the past four years, something a little magical has been happening at the Albany Public Library. Between 10am and 12pm, a crack team of staff and tech-savvy volunteers sets up shop for what’s affectionately known as Digital Drop-In (or DDI for those in the know)—a free service dedicated to helping community members wrangle the ever-changing digital world.

Sponsored

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Promote your organisation with INCITE Online

INCITE Online offers a suite of advertising opportunities designed to connect your organisation with Australia’s library and information sector. With a national readership spanning public, school, academic and special libraries, INCITE Online provides a trusted, high-quality environment to share your message with an engaged professional audience.