Williamson Award 2014

    Alyson Kosina receives Williamson Award from      
Mrs Enid Williamson and VALA President Tom Edwards  

Alyson Kosina

The 2014 Robert D. Williamson Award went to Alyson Kosina, former VALA Executive Officer.

For more than thirty years the 2014 Williamson Award recipient has made an extraordinary and profound contribution to librarianship, especially in the area of library technology and innovation. This contribution has been felt across Australia and New Zealand, as well as across all library sectors. Indeed, the level of debate regarding library IT and innovation would be significantly less were it not for the tireless efforts of this year’s Williamson recipient. It is also worth noting that much of this work has been done with quiet efficiency and away from the spotlight. This year’s recipient also knew Robert Williamson and Bob would be delighted with the Committee’s choice.

 

The 2014 Williamson Award recipient has worked in a number of roles including as a systems librarian and as a library manager. The recipient has also worked across many library sectors. This broad and practical experience is the key to their successful contribution to the profession over many years. Starting in the State Library of Western Australia, the recipient moved across to Flinders University before heading up a number of government libraries in South Australia and then Victoria. The recipient then moved across to public libraries as a systems librarian. After the restructure of the Camberwell/Waverley Regional Library service the recipient moved into the school library sector before moving back to public libraries.

The recipient was active in the formation of VALA in the 1970s and has worked tirelessly to make VALA the important library IT forum it is today. VALA’s success is driven in part by the peer review process and a collegial engagement between both the library and the vendor community. That VALA can only accept 34% of the abstracts submitted, that the exhibition is now one of the largest of its kind in this region with vendors returning time and time again, is a credit to the dedication and professionalism of this year’s recipient.

Many people in this room, and countless people across Australia and New Zealand, have benefited from the time and effort this year’s recipient has dedicated to their VALA papers. Many of us now have a better understanding of how to structure a paper, cite a source, and when to use and not use a comma!

Many librarians who have volunteered on the VALA Committee and Programme Committees have benefited from the breadth and depth of this year’s recipient’s knowledge and memory. As VALA has prospered it has become bigger and more complex and adapted and changed to meet the changing needs of our library communities. Yet this year’s recipient has kept all the balls in the air and made it look effortless. We are here at this successful conference because of the many, many years of hard work and dedication that are the hallmarks of this year’s recipient.

It is with great pleasure that the VALA Committee has unanimously endorsed Alyson Kosina as the 2014 Robert D. Williamson Award recipient.

 


VALA2014 Session 6 Rolan

Rolling out Digital Hubs in public libraries: the Mill Park story

VALA2014 CONCURRENT SESSION 6: Near Futures
Tuesday 4 February 2014, 15:15 – 15:45
Persistent URL: http://www.vala.org.au/vala2014-proceedings/vala2014-session-6-rolan

Greg Rolan and Tom Denison

Monash University

Christine Mackenzie

Yarra Plenty Regional Library

Please tag your comments, tweets, and blog posts about this session: #vala14 and #s18

vala2014-logo-2
VALA Peer Reviewed

Abstract

Yarra Plenty Regional Library (YPRL), with its partner organisations the City of Whittlesea and Whittlesea University of the Third Age (U3A), has been funded to establish a Digital Hub at the Mill Park Branch Library in South Morang, to provide residents with training in the digital literacy skills necessary for participation in the National Broadband Network (NBN)-enabled digital economy. This paper presents results from a research project designed to explore the impact of the Mill Park Digital Hub in its first year of operation, focusing on the role of public libraries in both engaging and educating local communities.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License.

 

2012 Williamson Award Announced

 

Williamson MedallionCongratulations to Christine Mackenzie from the Yarra Plenty Regional Library Service for receiving VALA’s most prestigious award, the Robert D. Williamson Award for 2010.

Christine’s Williamson Award Citation is now available on the VALA web site.

Named after one of the early pioneers of our industry, Bob Williamson. This biennial award is presented to an individual or organisation who or which, in the opinion of the judging panel, has made and is currently making an outstanding contribution to the development of information technology usage in Australian libraries and is positively and significantly influencing development in information technology usage within libraries.

The VALA web site provides details about the Robert D. Williamson Award and past recipients.

 

Williamson Award 2012

 

Christine MackenzieThe 2012 Robert D. Williamson Award went to Christine Mackenzie from the Yarra Plenty Regional Library Service.

 

VALA’s most prestigious award is the Robert D. Williamson Award. This award is in memory of one of the early pioneers of our industry, Bob Williamson. This biennial award is also presented to an individual or organisation who or which, in the opinion of the judging panel, has made and is currently making an outstanding contribution to the development of information technology usage in Australian libraries and is positively and significantly influencing development in information technology usage within libraries.

 


 

Our recipient tonight has been a major contributor and innovator within the Australian library profession. Whilst never a “geek”, the recipient has a well-honed ability to identify and apply emerging technologies within library contexts.

This ability has resulted in the introduction of many firsts into Australian library management and service delivery. Some examples include:

  • Introducing the first 24×7 “follow-the-sun” online reference service, in collaboration with UK & U.S. library services
  • Introducing the first eBook reading devices into Australia (which were loaded by the shelf-ready supplier and loaned within a public library branch)
  • Trialling and introducing the first RFID installation in Australia (and in the process produced the findings that customer self-service is as much about check-in as check-out)
  • In collaboration with VICNET, implementing the first public-access internet terminals in Victorian libraries (which included the first social networking services in Australia)
  • Pioneering the application of third-party discovery layers over back-end library systems
  • Introducing the “Learning 23 Things” program into Australia – imbuing library staff with the new principles and practices of ‘social networking”, “web 2.0” and “Library 2.0”
  • The first implementation of full shelf-ready services, combined with supplier-aided selection (producing industry best KPI’s and now known as the Brisbane Model)
  • Being currently engaged with the NBN roll-out to leverage any Public Library benefit

The recipient has represented the Australian library profession on many international bodies, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Bertlesman Foundation and IFLA. The recipient has also made many contributions to the profession in National and Local contexts, including the Australian Library and Information Association, Public Libraries Victoria Network and VICLINK.

The recipient is highly respected, with a reputation as one who will engage, share and collaborate to forward the profession. This award publicly acknowledges multiple outstanding contributions to, and significant influences on, Australian libraries and their delivery platforms.

It is with great pleasure that I announce the winner of the Robert D. Williamson Award for 2012 is –

Christine Mackenzie.

VALA2002 Session 14 Aulich

VALA2002
vala peer reviewed

Self-service — the revolution’s here!

VALA 2002 CONCURRENT SESSION 14: e-services
Friday 8 February 2002, 14:00 – 14:30
Persistent URL: http://www.vala.org.au/vala2002-proceedings/vala2002-session-14-aulich

Michael Aulich and Christine Mackenzie

Brisbane City Council Library Services

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Abstract

Increasingly public libraries are recognising the need to move from the supermarket checkout model of operations to upskilling their scarce staff to provide information and outreach services to their communities. Hiring more staff is not generally an option in these times, and it is imperative that libraries encourage their customers to move increasingly to a self-service paradigm, particularly for circulation.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License.

 

VALA2004 Session 9 Moloney

Persistent URL: http://www.vala.org.au/vala2004-proceedings/vala2004-session-9-moloney

A portal for the people: National Library & your local public library = new access paradigm

VALA 2004 CONCURRENT SESSION 9: Portals
Wednesday 4 February 2004, 14:35 – 15:05

Kylie Moloney

Kinetica Customer Services, National Library of Australia
http://www.nla.gov.au

Roxanne Missingham

Assistant Director General, Resource Sharing Division, National Library of Australia
http://www.nla.gov.au

Christine MacKenzie

CEO, Yarra Plenty Regional Library
http://www.yprl.vic.gov.au

VALA2004
VALA Peer Reviewed Paper

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Abstract

Australians are avid seekers and consumers of information in a great variety of forms. The National Library is working with five public libraries to better understand the information resource needs of Australians. Information Australia is a twelve-month pilot providing a more integrated approach to information via a web portal for Australians. This paper outlines the development of the pilot portal, including policy and technical issues and future possibilities for a service available to all Australian libraries.