Features
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.
Interview with Pru Mitchell – Winner of the 2025 Victorian Library and Information Award
The 2026 Victorian Library and Information Award is open and in closes on the 21st of June. Ellen Coates, ALIAVic Convener, sat down with last year’s winner Pru Mitchell to talk winning the award, and why nominating your colleagues is so important.
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.
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.
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.
A New Era for Government and Special Libraries
There are over 2,000 special libraries in Australia, yet many of them are buried inside larger organisations and lack visibility. This is the challenge and opportunity of working in a special library – special librarians must tailor their skills and services to match their organisation’s mission or risk losing relevance
The hold shelf
The hold shelf sits just inside the entrance, level three, close enough to the doors that it feels less like furniture and more like part of the building’s circulation system, something you pass through rather than arrive at, unless you know it’s there and slow down deliberately, which I always do.
The Margaret Hamilton Creators’ Residency
The Margaret Hamilton Creators’ Residency is a new initiative from the NSW branch of The Children’s Book Council of Australia [CBCA] and provides a week of…
Bowled over by the MCC library
On a trip to Naarm in early February, I had the opportunity to visit the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) Library. The Library is housed at the Melbourne Cricket…
From shushing to singalongs: noise in public libraries
A while ago, I came across an online article in the Washington Post with the catchy title “It’s okay for libraries to be loud! Take it from me, a…
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