Merry Christmas to all LLOs

Thank you to all the ALIA LLOs and for the fabulous work you all do. I love working with you all.

Have a wonderful Christmas with your families and friends! All the best for 2008.

Cheers, Robyn

Chasing those lapsed members

Continuation from the October LLO meeting....

We all know it's important to chase lapsed members. By the time it's got to an LLO these members have received 2 renewal invoices, but is there a better way of doing this?

• should LLOs be chasing lasped members? As we can now personalise our emails - should membership just run a report email of all lapsed members with the sort of email you're sending, then give you the last lot in October?
• is the personal touch from the LLO better?
  
• what have LLOs found to be useful (email is better than phone etc)
• are there serial offenders who only renew when the LLO contacts them and is this a problem?
• does anyone know what other associations do?
• are we choosing the best time to be chasing members - should we do it earlier, later etc?

All food for thought.

Heartfelt thanks!

Thanks for welcoming me to your list. I'd like my first post to be a big thank you for the efforts that you put in over the ALIA/CAVAL Copyright Workshops. I've just heard that we made a profit! This was due to your sourcing of free or cheap venues and catering and also to your publicity.
The feedback that I've had so far from attendees is also positive about the content and the organisation.

Moyra

Profile of new graduates report

The report was interesting reading - although it is important that it was completed by people attending NLS - so they were already professionally active.

To my mind 3 things stood out that we as LLO's could have a direct impact on;
* Lack participation and undertanding of the PD Scheme
* Need for more mentoring (Or the feeling of more mentoring. I often think people don't realise all the mentoring opportunities that already exist to be exposed to mentors thru ALIA)
* Lack of involvement by LIS learning institutions with ALIA. This was also raised at all 3 of the NAC meetings I attended.

What do you think we can do/learn from the report?

M

Volunteer in the Spotlight

I've emailed everyone the 2008 preliminary roster (I can't believe I've written 2008 on something and that I'm thinking that far ahead - eeek), which includes our "Volunteer in the Spotlight" column.

We've interviewed and written almost a year's worth of columns this year and I think it's time to review the concept. Originally this column came from complaints at last year's NAC that volunteers were given enough exposure or public thanks. But can we do it better or is it even working?

I'd love your comments on things like:
Format
Style
Length
Need
Target audience
(and anything else you can think of)

"LLOs in Touch" with others

I thought it might be useful to create a list of other blogs / Wikis / Web pages library related (or not) that we find useful, informative or just plain interesting.

Here are a few to get us started:
Derek's Blog http://dereksaliablog.blogspot.com/
Derek's our vice president and has his own blog where he discusses ALIA issues. Very interesting to hear from a Director.

Roxanne's Blog http://www.roxannemissingham.blogspot.com/
Roxanne started this after Derek, which is why she's second. Again interesting to see what's happening

Board Blog http://www.alia.org.au/blog/
This is the ALIA Directors' public blog - I must say - they could be more exciting

Kevin's Blog http://www.auslibrarytechnician.blogspot.com/
This one's interesting. Kevin is often controversial about ALIA and it's good to check up with what he's saying every now and then (especially when it's about you :-)

Not for Profit Network http://www.nfpn.com.au
This is a great organisation designed to support NFP (like us). Lots of great resources here too (especially under "Resource Library")

NAC Knack!

Thought that I would get the ball rolling after all our discussion yesterday about the NAC. Suggestions for alternative ways of hosting them and therefore avoiding the dreaded catering problem were: online NAC (blog or wiki), or teleconference. This would also save trying to find venues, photocopying and all that miscellaneous stuff that takes so much time and energy.

Thoughts, comments and additions welcomed as there has to be a better way to do the NAC!

Wow - this has a life of its own

So there I was feeling guilty about you guys. I've been so busy with certain complaining members (think LT, think NLS 4 etc and you may know who I'm talking about) that I haven't even visited this blog since it started.

So I jumped on to discover that it has a life of its own - that's incredible. Thanks for being such wonderful staff and embracing ideas even if you're not sure they'll work.

Cheers, Robyn

Image problems

In two recent, but separate, discussions, librarians have complained to me that part of our image problem is due to "cranky old school librarians". As a former teacher-librarian, I'm horrified, though I do know some of my school colleagues don't present the kind of image we'd like (but I think you can also say that about some people in all areas of the profession). I'm just wondering if this is the kind of comment you hear too? If so, how we might tackle it?

Catering for functions

I find catering to be one of the most challenging aspects of organising functions. I thought this might be a good place to collect tips. Here's a few to get us started:

* Sushi rocks - there's almost always gluten intolerant people and vegetarians at every function. Sushi makes everyone happy!

* Up to one third of people who RSVP don't show up, so undercater. I've never run out of food yet while sticking to this rule.

* Anti pasto platters are easy and relatively cheap to put together: try strawberries, 2 or more cheeses, gourmet dip, water crackers, some gluten free biscuits, and something a bit special from the deli like caperberries or tiny stuffed bell peppers. If you grow lavender at home, put lots of it on the platter to decorate - it looks and smells wonderful.

Networking ideas

Once you start blogging, you can't stop!
One of the most valuable things I do to keep my 'finger on the pulse' never goes on my timesheet - too much wine and laughter involved! Every 6-8 weeks I have a lazy weekend lunch with a bunch of women in Brisbane. They're all current or ex directors, presidents or state convenors of ALIA. I find out things that I'd otherwise never know about (upcoming events, industry trends etc) because these women come from all sectors of the industry. It's a way of keeping ex board members engaged too since there really is no 'life after the board'. They have a wealth of experience and are generous with advice etc.
So, if you're lucky enough to get on well with even one or two ALIAphiles in your town, think about starting up a regular social get-together. These things tend to take on a life of their own and will grow over time.

Teacher Librarians' blackboard

Hi everyone, just a quick post to test the technology.
Next month I'm trying a new adventure - connecting in cyber space with students of the Master of Learning Innovation (Teacher-Librarian) program (ED09). The students don't have contact time, so the representative of SLAQ and I are going to participate in a week-long forum with students using Blackboard technology. That's a new one for me.
I have to put together a list of resources and questions to post to them about what it means to be a part of a profession. When I get more details, I'll be looking for some comments on this thread!
Cheers for now

Remember me?

Hi everyone

Yesterday I finally managed to remain in Groupwise long enough to catch up on my emails and feel a part of the team again :).

Hi All - just showing off

Hey look at this great new photo of my kids - how handsome are they!!!???

Library Folk in the Pub (NSW)

After more than a year in this job, I finally managed to get myself to the one regular library gig in Sydney -- Library Folk in the Pub. This group meets the last Wednesday of every month, and for some reason I've had something else on (or been overseas) for way too many last Wednesdays. There were only about 8 people there, but I worked the whole time (luckily a glass of red helped!). There were questions about employment, especially from a young Chinese librarian only recently arrived (drafting those templates really helped, Margie, we need to finish them though); questions from the very capable but overworked convenor of the NSW mentoring group; questions about what the heck ALIA Sydney is doing; questions, questions, questions. Am so very pleased I got there, but it really reminds me just how valuable a regular gathering can be. Will do all I can to make sure I'm there each time they meet, and will include details in my welcome email to new members in the Sydney area. Do similar groups meet in other states? Confess I'm not sure. Julian Sortland and Justine Carlisle, who coordinate it all, are to be commended, but I think even they'd say it doesn't take too much effort.

Welcome

Welcome to our blog! I'm not sure I've got the title quite right – “LLOs in touch” sounded good until I saw it in caps -- but guess we can change it if need be.

I'm hoping we can use the blog to share ideas, experiences, and all sorts of things we've been sharing by email. I always have trouble finding the email I'm looking for -- somehow all the good ideas get buried in the depths of in boxes, no matter how organised I try to be. Hopefully being able to label blog postings and archive them will make it easier for us all to keep track of things.

I’ve restricted access to our blog, but still think it might be wise to keep in mind that this is a relatively public space, and watch our p’s and q’s.

I'll send you instructions about how to post once I’m feeling more confident I know what I’m doing. Daresay one of you knows more than I do, but it’s good to be learning something new. Meanwhile, please use the comment function, or email me with things you’d like to add.

If you find yourself with a few spare minutes, please think about the opportunities a blog offers us so we can discuss possibilities at the next teleconference.