Members of the NSLA Board came together in Brisbane for the July 2022 meeting, marking the beginning of our first financial year as an incorporated association. Those of us hoping for a little sunshine (Canberra does a strong line in frosty winters!) were greeted instead by buckets of rain, but regardless of the weather it’s always a pleasure to meet at the beautiful State Library of Queensland building on the mighty Maiwar, the Brisbane River.
The board meeting was held over two days, with a separate meeting for NED (National edeposit service). Beyond the usual board matters, major decisions were in relation to NSLA office staffing, branding, and strategic planning; and to First Nations collections.
First Nations collections
NSLA will proceed, in collaboration with CAUL and ALIA, with a project to develop sector guidelines or principles for description of First Nations collections – to assist with development of detailed policies at the local level. We will also proceed with a second round of training for collections staff in NSLA libraries, and a broader masterclass on Indigenous cultural and intellectual property (ICIP). Protocols will be developed for contacting communities across library jurisdictions, and we will pursue opportunities within and beyond NSLA libraries for training and work exchanges in First Nations collections – with strong support for ALIA’s Professional Pathways program in this area.
A new look for NSLA
To mark our new identity as an incorporated association, we will be undertaking a re-branding exercise with a view to relaunching NSLA’s new-look website alongside a new strategic plan in March 2023. The plan will take us through to 2026. NSLA’s current strategic plan (2020-2023) and operational plan (2022-2023) have been adapted to include the National Library of New Zealand.
New roles within the NSLA office
We are ready to recruit! The NSLA office will be advertising for a part-time Online Communications Manager to work with us on webinars, social media, website content, newsletters, and articles. A position description for the two-year fixed-term role will be circulated within the next week, with applications due by the end of August 2022. Questions can be directed to Barbara Lemon (executive.officer@nsla.org.au).
A second role to be advertised this month is the NED Program Manager. Applications for this role will be due by late September 2022.
