Student partnership, a growing phenomenon in higher education, has transformed the way universities collaborate with students. Yet, to date, the academic library has rarely been examined as a place for student and staff partnerships to thrive. In this article, we present findings from a national students as partners benchmarking survey conducted…

Over the next few years, librarians at many Australian universities will participate in the creation of local Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). This article aims to prepare librarians for this task. It begins by summarising the development of the MOOC concept and then moves on to review the growing literature on MOOCs and librarians. It…

At the end of 2006 the UNSW Library restructured its five special libraries into a new division called the Information Services Department. It was a radical restructure and provides a new model through which the Library delivers services in both the physical and online environments in a flexible and proactive manner. A pivotal role within this new…

This paper examines the reasons why, in the first half of the twentieth century, Australian librarians were encouraged to adopt professional work practices and educational standards based on US models of "democratic" librarianship. The promotion of US models of library education and association occurred both directly through government…

This paper looks at the complex web of interrelationships that is emerging as the library and information professions come to terms with the growing phenomenon of knowledge management. This is manifest at one level in the wider organisational and business context, and at another in the professional and employment spheres. Two of the authors are…

This is the final article in a series examining globalisation and the role of Australian librarians in internationalising library, university, and international practice in higher education. It describes case studies of Australian academic libraries in which a successful pattern for internationalisation emerged. The conclusions of the research are…

This paper focuses on the development, adoption, and integration of resource discovery, knowledge management, and/or knowledge sharing interfaces such as interactive portals, and the use of the library's World Wide Web presence to increase the availability and usability of information services. The introduction addresses changes in library…

This book, in French and English, addresses how the school library of the future will be designed and what role it will play as a school facility within the educational system and in society as a whole. The following papers are included: (1) "Issues" (John Mayfield); (2) "Designing Schools for the Information Society: Libraries and…

Australia has played a very active role in promoting and developing school librarianship on an international basis. Most aid projects in school library development have been in the Asia/Pacific region, but programs have been implemented in other areas as well. The largest school library development project that has been carried out by Australians…

Public and employer perceptions of staff abilities and qualifications deployed in local studies collections may affect their status and influence and not least the funding the local studies facility may receive. The need to promote the service is also prompted by the growing use of local studies collections and the increasing importance of such…

This submission represents the views of a newly formed organisation known as Public Libraries Australia. Formed to aggregate the political, service and infrastructure capacity of Australia's 1510 (ABS June 2000) public libraries, Public Libraries Australia will support and represent public libraries on a national basis. Networked across Australia…

The purpose of this study is to review and analyse historical research related to changes brought on by globalisation in Australian academic libraries. Using relevant literature, this study examines the role of academic librarians in internationalising their own experiences and perspectives for the purpose of improving library, instructional and…

Discusses the National Library of Australia's leadership of the Australian library system in light of the failure of key electronic aspects of the Strategic Plan. Topics include overseas collecting; electronic access; the Distributed National Collection (DNC); culturally discriminatory collecting policy; and costs of access, including user fees.…

Several brief articles examine how library and information workers in Australia, along with community historians, are meeting the challenge of finding, cataloging, preserving, and communicating local history to their clients and the world beyond. Describes cooperative initiatives by state, local, and regional libraries; discusses how technology…