ALLA (WA) News Blog

This Halloween let's review the case of West v Augusta Richmond County Public Library System . A 2016 case from the United States of America, in which, library staff are accused of using witchcraft upon the plaintiff.  During the screening of the complaint, Magistrate Judge Epps in the Southern District of Georgia explained the background to the matter ( CV 116-008,  S.D. Ga. April 15 2016 ). This nonsensical and fantastical complaint alleges, or at least appears to allege, that unidentified library workers, relatives of Plaintiff, and others colluded to add homosexuals as friends of Plaintiff on his Facebook page. Such unidentified persons also engaged in a fraudulent credit card scheme with Comcast Cable that somehow resulted in homosexual activity occurring within the apartment complex where Plaintiff resides. They also used witchcraft on Plaintiff and, as he described, "disappeared around me to wait and see what kinda activity me gone do."  By way of relief, the plain...

Notice of AGM  On Tuesday 18 October 2022, ALLA (WA) Members will have received Notice of the ALLA (WA) Annual General Meeting to be held on Wednesday 30 November 2022 at 5.30pm.  If you have not received this Notice, and are a current ALLA (WA) member, please reach out to the  ALLA (WA) Secretary, Jane Beer .  The AGM will take place at Allens, Level 11, Mia Yellagonga Tower 2, 5 Spring Street, Perth.  After the meeting, Gilien Bevan will show us Allen's new library space.  This will then be followed by our end of year dinner at The Terrace Hotel, 237 St George's Terrace, Perth - a short 2 minute walk from Allens.  Special Resolution At the AGM, there will be a special resolution proposing to amend the  Rules of the Australian Law Librarian's Association (Western Australian Division) Inc  (2021).  The AGM notice contains some details of the special resolution, and more details will be sent out closer to the date, together with a proxy v...

It's the ALLA (WA) Blog's 12th Birthday! The year has gone very fast; since our last birthday, we have posted 96 blog posts!  The ALLA (WA) Committee thanks all of our current and past contributors, along with our readers who are spread out all over Australia (and the world!). We look forward to sharing more with you during our next year! Our Blog has come a long way since our first post back on the 25 October 2010 -  a  President's Letter  from our then  President Jacqueline Seligmann.  Last year we celebrated with a letter from our President, David McDowell, but this year we're doing things a little differently and looking back on the year that was.  Since 24 October 2022, when we posted our celebration of our 11th Birthday , our blog has been viewed 15,200 times. Since 25 October 2010, we've been viewed over 197,000 times.  Our most read post of the year has been the Do you know about FLO? post. This post provides an update on the Finding...

The Federal Register of Legislation (the Register) is being redeveloped to modernise the website, the technology supporting the website and give greater flexibility for future improvements. The redeveloped Register is scheduled to go live early in 2023. The Register plans to send out a series of updates in the lead up to the launch of the new Register. Each update will highlight an updated feature that will be available on the new Register.  The updates are available from the Regsiter website , with the first being published on 14 October 2002. it includes details of a survey about the current Register and invitations for people to complete the survey.  The survey results will be used as a baseline to assist the Office of Parliamentary Counsel to evaluate the impact of the improvements made to the new Registers.  The survey will be open until 4 November 2022. You can access the survey via Survey Monkey here.   The update also states: Once the redeveloped Registe...

The Van Zyl Collection of Legal Antiquarian Materials was gifted to the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 1949, with the Brand van Zyl Law Library opening in 1962.  In celebrating the Brand van Zyl Law Library 60th year, their Dean of Law, Professor Danwood Chirwa has said: Law libraries are absolutely central to law academics, researchers, students, and legal professionals. Law librarians equally are central to the pursuit of justice through the provision and preservation of law information and resources.  The library was established through a donation of Bran van Zyl's private collection, and has grown over the past 60 years to be one of the top law libraries on the continent.  The Libraries Executive Director at UCT has said the success of the library was: made possible by the professionalism, commitment and tenacity of the library staff who set the standards of practice and engagement. and that It is also a testimony of the volunteerism and passion of academic staff to...

The ALLA (WA) Committee met on 12 October 2022 to discuss a number of important activities for the Division.  The Committee have decided that going forward we will provide recaps of what was discussed at each meeting to better share the work of the Committee with our Members. Key topics discussed at the meeting included:  Updating the ALLA (WA) Inc. Rules to meet legislative requirements Accessibility of Western Australian COVID-19 Directions AustLII medium neutral citation inaccuracy Database Roundtable Session  ALLA (WA) AGM and End of Year Dinner - 30 November 2022 Full details for the ALLA (WA) Annual General Meeting,  along with details for the End of Year Dinner and special resolutions to update the ALLA (WA) Rules, will be shared with ALLA WA Members soon.  The next ALLA (WA) Committee meeting will take place on Thursday 3 November at lunchtime via Teams. All ALLA (WA) Members are welcome to join the discussion at this and future meetings.

Technical Services Librarian Gilbert + Tobin has advertised for a permanent full-time position of Technical Services Librarian in their Sydney Office. For details, see the Gilbert + Tobin website .  Knowledge Manager McCabes (formerly McCabe Curwood) has advertised for a Knowledge Manager in their Sydney Office. For details, see the Seek job listing . Note that this position is seeking experience as a lawyer.  Other Recently Advertised Library and Information Professional Positions Technology Trainer Assistant Manager / University of Queensland (Brisbane, QLD) - closes 16 October 2022 *closing soon*  Coordinator, Acquisitions / University of Newcastle (Sydney, NSW) - closes 16 October 2022  *closing soon*  Manager, Services / State Library of South Australia  (Adelaide, SA) - closes 18 October 2022 *closing soon* Senior Library Technician / TasTafe (Devenport, TAS) - closes 18 October 2022  *closing soon* Library Intern (Open to Aboriginal and Torres ...

The ALLA(WA) Committee has their next committee meeting on Wednesday 12th October and we would like to invite you to attend.  Our meetings are currently held remotely via Microsoft Teams and start around 5.15pm.  This would be a chance to discuss the recent ALLA Conference and AGM where many concerns and issues around communication were raised. We will also be discussing some upcoming events. This would be an opportunity to ask questions and make any suggestions. The ALLA(WA) committee is also interested in hearing any ideas on how we can serve our members better.  If you would like to attend please let David McDowell,  ALLA (WA) Presiden t know by COB Tuesday 11th October.  David McDowell ALLA (WA) President

We wish to share with you an exciting update about a cross-divisional, joint ALLA (WA) and ALLA Victoria collaboration. Over the past few years there has been much discussion about better ways to communicate with current and prospective ALLA members.  The Western Australian and Victorian Divisions have been using various social media channels for quite some time including, Twitter ( @alla_vic and @lawlibsWA ), LinkedIn , and the ALLA (WA) Blog (which is celebrating its 12th Birthday this month). These have provided a well-received presence online, but both Divisions have concerns around the possibility of missing out on hearing from current and perspective ALLA members through not being active on other social media platforms where our members are. Together the ALLA (WA) and ALLA Vic committees are looking to work towards creating a space to engage all current and future ALLA members, no matter what State or Territory they come from, in a new formed social media collaboration: Law...

Do those Monday blues have you looking for a new collection? Legal Research Librarian Maurice Blackburn Lawyers is advertising for a full time Legal Research Librarian, offering a hybrid-Melbourne office role which includes ergonomic reimbursements for your home set up. For more details see the Maurice Blackburn Lawyers website .  Library Officer The High Court of Australia is seeking a part-time library officer in a continuing role. Applications close 9 October 2022. More details can be seen on the High Court of Australia website or APS Jobs .   Library Technician Thomson Geer lawyers have advertised for a Library Technician based in their Sydney office. For more details see the Thomson Geer website .  Knowledge Manager McCabes Lawyers have advertised for a full time position of Knowledge Manager based in their Sydney office. For more information see the McCabes website. Research Analyst DLA Piper Australia have advertised for a Research Analyst  position bas...