Libraries and Librarianship in Australia 14

Libraries and Librarianship in Australia 14

Libraries and Librarianship in Australia

Christy M Curro

Drexel University

INFO 780: International Issues for Information Professionals

Professor Deborah Turner

May 22, 2011

Table of Contents

Abstract …...... 3

Australia and its Libraries ..…...... 4

Education and Qualifications for Australian Librarians …...... 4

Issues faced by Australian Libraries and Librarians …...... 8

Services Provided By Australian Public Libraries …...... 9

Censorship in the Australian Information Environment …...... 10

Conclusion …...... 12

References …...... 14

Statement of Academic Integrity …...... 16

Abstract

This paper seeks to provide a survey of the informational environment of Australia and the librarians and public libraries which serve its residents. Included are discussion of employment advertisements in Australia, desired characteristics of librarians, and education for librarianship. Additionally, this paper discusses the Australian public library system and the challenges it faces, including government-mandated censorship of written materials, and proposed government-mandated Internet censorship.

Keywords: Australia, librarianship, information professionals, education, employment, public libraries

Australia and its Libraries

Australia is the largest island in the world; a vast continent with a sparse population spread over millions of kilometers of varied landscape. According to Abdullahi (2009), Australian residents number approximately twenty million, spread unevenly across nearly eight million square kilometers, and the population is continuing to grow. Serving these twenty million Australians are 1,716 public library locations (including library branches as well as bookmobiles), operated by over ten thousand paid staff and an additional six thousand volunteers. Public library facilities in Australia are expanding, as well as serving more people each year.(Abdullahi, 2009). Although there are significant differences from state to state and community to community, Australia’s public libraries are generally of high quality—in fact, Australia’s public library system now ranks among the top ten in the world. (Bundy, 2010)

Education and Qualifications for Australian Librarians

According to Kennan, Cole, Willard, Wilson, & Marion, LIS-related job ads in Australia differ markedly from corresponding ads in the United States. In their 2006 study of advertisements from both countries, they discovered that a smaller percentage of Australian ads sought a professional library qualification in comparison to American ads. Additionally, Australian employment ads seek somewhat different skills than American advertisements do. “Management” and “Generic Skills”, as well as knowledge of workplace policies, are much more commonly sought by Australian employers, whereas “Web Design and Maintenance” skills are among those more often sought by American employers (Kennan, Cole, Willard, Wilson, & Marion, 2006).

In addition to the differences in employer-mandated skills, Australian education for librarianship differs significantly from American LIS education. Whereas the MLIS degree is the standard educational prerequisite for professional librarianship in the United States, Australian librarians can earn their professional qualifications on either an undergraduate or graduate basis. Additionally, vocational education programs offer a qualification called the “Diploma in Library and Information Services”, which is roughly equivalent to an American “library technical assistant qualification.” Carroll and Murray state that there are approximately equal numbers of students in professional and vocational LIS programs in Australia – between 2,500 and 3,000 in each sector. As for university level qualification seekers, one-third of LIS students study at the undergraduate level and two-thirds at the graduate level. Carroll and Murray explain that a significant number of students “swirl” between university and vocational LIS studies for various reasons. They state that “approximately thirteen percent” of students enrolled in vocational LIS programs are “reverse articulators”—students who already hold a university degree.

Many of these students choose vocational education over a return to university for financial reasons -- they already hold significant student debt and are loath to accumulate more. This group of students is likely to “see a library technician qualification as a cheaper alternative entry point into an industry that they are attracted to” (Carroll & Murray, 2010). Other students seek vocational education in order to acquire new skills, which they believe will make them more competitive in the job market. However, a significant number of LIS vocational students are unaware of the limitations of a vocational degree:

It is noteworthy that 26 percent of respondents were not aware that their VE [vocational education] course did not give them a professional qualification. Moreover, 22.8 percent of respondents were not aware of the existence of HE [higher education] courses in LIS. These results seem to support our personal observation that many people outside the LIS industry seem not to be aware of its career structure and do not differentiate between librarians and library technicians. For example, one respondent commented, in explaining why a vocational rather than a professional course was chosen: “I wasn’t really aware of the different roles in libraries . . . My lack of awareness of roles was the main reason.” This respondent has now commenced a master’s degree in LIS. (Caroll & Murray, 2010)

From this example, it seems like some LIS students are as uninformed as many laypeople as to what librarians’ jobs include and what their employment prerequisites are! It is also surprising that so many vocational LIS students neglect to fully compare their options and examine their future employment potential before enrolling in a program.

The changing nature of education for librarianship

There is a difference in how the two types of librarianship education are perceived. According to Carroll and Murray, it is expected that vocationally-educated and university-educated workers will have different sets of skills and knowledge, and university-educated LIS workers will be more likely to take professional or supervisory roles. However, it remains to be seen how the “swirling” of students between educational settings will influence current and future positions.(Carroll & Murray, 2010).

Historically, education for Australian librarianship was conducted in libraries as opposed to in the universities. According to Wilson, Kennan, Willard, & Boell, this changed in the 1960s, when education became less focused on “work-based training” and more focused on academic coursework. During this time period, the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) started granting accreditation to educational institutions, instead of regulating qualifications itself (Wilson, Kennan, Willard, & Boell, 2010).

Like American universities, Australian universities offer both Information Studies programs and Information Systems programs. However, LIS is just as much of a changing field in Australia as it is in the United States, and is undergoing a “blurring of boundaries” – librarian positions are “not static” and contain a great deal of overlap with information science and technology positions (Kennan et al., 2006). In addition to librarianship courses, there are specialized “Teacher-librarian” courses for aspiring school media specialists. This educational track requires a previous university degree in Education prior to embarking on the Teacher-librarian university course (cf. ALIA: Teacher-librarian, 2010). The Australian Library and Information Association web site lists accredited programs, including five universities that have accredited undergraduate librarianship courses, eleven universities offering graduate-level LIS studies, three universities offering Teacher-librarian courses, and 18 institutions offering accredited library technician vocational courses (ALIA Qualifications, 2011).

A contemporary job opening

Browsing the ALIA’ s list of job vacancies (ALIA: Latest Job Vacancies, 2011) shows how the reach of librarianship in Australia has diversified in recent years. In addition to “traditional” library jobs, the current listings include openings for a Web Coordinator, two Digital Services Officers, and a Web Librarian. The majority of advertised positions are in school/university or special library settings, not in public libraries. An example of a job opening in Australian librarianship is the current opening for a Librarian at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne:

As Librarian, the primary purpose of your role is to plan, manage and enhance the resources of the Library as the State’s primary resource of botanical information and a library of national significance, as well as to provide a high quality information service to your clients.

You have a Degree or Diploma in Librarianship, as well as extensive experience in management and delivery of library information services. Your conceptual and analytical skills, together with your communication and management capability will ensure your success in this role.

For a position description please visit: http://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/about-us/job-opportunities

Please send applications to: by COB Friday 20 May 2011.For enquiries please contact David Cantrill, Chief Botanist and Director, Plant Sciences and Biodiversity Division on 03 9252 2301.(Vacancy #2032, 2011)

Since the corresponding email address has a governmental domain name, one may infer that these Gardens are government-sponsored. The advertisement requires a degree or diploma in librarianship, but surprisingly, according to the full job description, extensive knowledge of botany is only “desirable”, not “essential” in a candidate. It is also clear that management is an important skill for this position, since the position supervises both staff and volunteers. Additionally, communication skills are seen as very important. (Librarian, 2011). These findings are consistent with the findings of Kennan et al. (2006), regarding the importance of management skills among librarian positions.

Issues faced by Australian Libraries and Librarians

Although Australia’s public libraries are generally highly-regarded, they do face challenges. As is common among many, if not most, libraries worldwide, funding is a major issue. According to Abdullahi (2009), while Australia does have National Libraries that are federally funded repositories of historical documents, those funds are not shared with the public libraries which the majority of Australians frequent. Public libraries receive only funds from their states and local communities. “Each state and territory has developed a model for public libraries services best suited to its own demographic and geographic factors. In some states, consequently, local government is the main provider of public libraries, whereas in others the state government plays a more prominent role in centrally coordinating services.” (Abdullahi, 2009). This localization results in disparate library quality – especially in impoverished and rural areas. (Bundy, 2009).

Australian public libraries also face challenges on account of Australia's widespread population Many Australians live in major cities, but many live in far-flung rural areas. Amberg (2010) details the special challenges faced by rural libraries and librarians— fewer residents means having a smaller tax base from which to fund all community services, including libraries. Other roadblocks exist as well:

Distance from the major centres also means limited professional development prospects for library staff, with these diminished training and retraining opportunities difficult and expensive to access. This, with the traditionally conservative nature of rural and small towns, often means a resistance to change and innovation. (Amberg, 2010)

Amberg goes on to assert that sustainability of rural libraries is dependent on integrating skills from other professions – such as public relations and marketing – into professional librarianship and LIS education.

Services Provided By Australian Public Libraries

Inter-Library Loan and Distance Services

In order to provide quality services to patrons across their vast service area, Australian libraries make extensive use of inter-library loan (ILL) services. Patrons are reluctant to help libraries pay for these services, so the costs of ILL, averaging over AUD$13 per item requested, are absorbed by libraries. (Missingham & Boston, 2005). This adds an additional financial burden to cash-strapped libraries, which depend on local funding and donations in order to make ends meet. Jack Goodman discusses one local library system that depended on increased tax revenue from poker machines in order to fund its programs. Goodman asserts that this is no way for any library system to be run, and advocates for increased national funding of libraries. (Goodman, 2009).

Another expensive-yet-crucial program of Australian libraries is their extensive use of distance services. As Lionel McColvin said back in 1946 (as cited in Bundy, 2010), “Nowhere else in the English speaking world will books have to be taken so far for so few – and nowhere will they mean so much.” This “tyranny of distance”(Amberg, 2010) is overcome on a regular basis to provide service to many Australians who cannot leave their homes. According to Anne Hall, this service is used widely by older citizens who immigrated to Australia many decades ago, who are often unable to visit libraries in person due to advanced age or disability. A large portion of materials sent via distance services are foreign language materials. Although these senior citizens speak English well, these second-language skills tend to fade in later years, and now many of them prefer to read in their mother tongues, often Italian or Greek. The majority of foreign-language materials are held at libraries in major cities, and the state of New South Wales provides the largest portion of multilingual library services. (Hall, 2009). According to Abdullahi (2009), the distance services will become even more widely-used in the future, due to an aging population, including the baby boomers.

Library Internet access

While Australians still love to read books – 61 percent of Australians list reading as a favorite leisure activity, according to a 2006 governmental survey (Arts and Culture in Australia, 2010) -- provision of Internet service is also a very important function of libraries. According to Bundy (2009), there are over 5,000 internet terminals which are free for the public to use across Australia. These services are utilized by a diverse section of the population. Hardy & Johanson (2003) conducted a survey of Internet users in public libraries in Victoria. They found that a large percentage of computer terminal users are highly educated-- having either a university degree or technical certificate. “42.5 percent of 1,032 respondents indicated that they had completed a university or college qualification, while 391 or 15.9 percent indicated that they held a TAFE or trade certificate.” They also found that a significant proportion of library Internet users are not currently in the workforce- they are either unemployed, students, or stay-at-home parents. Internet access at the library enables people to complete job applications, search for information, and keep in touch with loved ones, even if they can't afford a connection in their homes. As one of their respondents said, “‘It should be seen as an essential community service – a lifesaver for the many who can’t afford Internet at home.”(Hardy & Johanson, 2003). Indeed, Internet service in libraries does a great deal to bridge the divide between the information “haves” and “have-nots.”

Censorship in the Australian Information Environment