Training news...
Professional development workshop @ Albury TAFE
The LEP was pleased to be invited to run ABS training for ALIA Riverina earlier this year. Anne Freer, NSW LEP Coordinator ran training sessions at Wagga Wagga TAFE in April, and at La Trobe University in Wodonga in May. Attendees came from a number of different sectors, including public, university, TAFE, school, and Government Department library staff (some of whom had never attended ABS training before).
The organisers were Jennifer Vaughan, Manager Library & Information Services, TAFE NSW Riverina Institute and Tim Eggleston, Information Services Librarian, Albury-Wodonga Campus Library, Charles Sturt University. Tim said, "It was great to get an update on the web site and the census, and gave us a great opportunity to get together as librarians from different sectors."
The training was well received, with the most valuable areas of the training being the overview of navigating the ABS web site, and information on census data. One participant remarked that they particularly liked "Being shown how to navigate the site by someone who was a great speaker. It was all good."
The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) 2006 Biennial Conference
Click06: 'Create, Lead, Innovate, Connect, Knowledge - was held at the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre from 19-22 September. It attracted 750 delegates from across Australia and internationally. The ABS was a very visible sponsor of, and exhibitor at, the conference. Hundreds of information professionals visited the ABS exhibition stand and spoke with the ABS staff about ABS data, in particular census data and the upcoming 2006 output. It was great to meet so many of our clients at the conference. Delegates were overwhelmingly positive about the ABS as an organisation and its data dissemination. Not surprisingly, everyone was extremely pleased about the free availability of the extended range of data via the ABS web site.
The Metropolitan Public Libraries Association (MPLA) 2006 Conference
Ever Ready and Powered Up was the theme of this year's conference, attracting over 250 delegates. The ABS exhibition stand staff received great feedback about the web site and the layout of the 2001 census data, with lots of interest in the 2006 census data. It was a great opportunity for NSW LEP Coordinator, Anne Freer and ACT LEP Coordinator, Dianne Walton-Sonda to promote the upcoming 2006 Census Information Sessions in Newcastle, Sydney and Canberra. Delegates were keen to organise training on the ABS web site and Census data. Congratulations to our hamper competition winner: Kemal Serdar, Multicultural Services Librarian at Auburn Council Library.
Spreading the word on the ABS Web Site in Queensland
The Queensland LEP Consultant, Kim Goodwin, took to the road to promote the new look ABS web site to the Wide Bay-Burnett region recently. "The focus for all the libraries I visited was on finding local statistics", Kim said. "The most common request for ABS data that community libraries receive is for local area statistics, so showing librarians how and where to access regional and small area data on the new site was very satisfying."
The sessions covered web site navigation strategies, search facilities and the new Census products. Feedback was very positive about the new site. The new Census products were a big hit providing, as they do, a wealth of information as well as the ability to choose the product that best suits the client's needs.
Kim was impressed that the Hervey Bay Library recognised the value of local statistics and had recently printed and bound the community profiles to be shelved with the rest of the ABS collection. This strategy has the added benefit of reducing the demand for computer time - always a popular library resource.
Would your library like LEP training? Contact your LEP Coordinator to find out when the next round of training is available.
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