VALA holds regular guest speaker events covering recent and interesting developments in the application of information technology. They are open to all members of the community.

To view the Calendar of events click HERE.

VALA Code of Conduct

VALA seeks to provide a respectful and safe environment in which diverse participants may learn from, challenge, network with and share the company of colleagues. We recognise a shared responsibility to create and sustain that environment and do not tolerate harassment in any form. Click HERE for the full document.

VALA Events 2019: Library Perceptions of Technology Vendors and Products

VALA invites you to our first Guest speaker event for 2019. This 1-hour event will be run as a Zoom Webinar.

Our special Guest speaker will be Marshall Breeding, creator and editor of Library Technology Guides and the libraries.org online directory of libraries on the Web.

VALA Events 2018: Preserving the Future

VALA invites you to our final Guest speaker event for 2018. Join us at The Angliss Conference Centre on Thursday 29th November from 5:30pm.

Our special invited Guest speaker will be the recipient of the 2018 VALA Award.

Topic: Preserving the Future

State Library of Queensland – Tunley Braille Globe project

The creation of a 3D printed replica of a fragile 1950s Braille globe to enable use and interaction with the object in the way it was originally intended.

This project aimed to provide new and innovative ways for clients to interact with fragile collection material and to experiment with three dimensional scanning and printing of library collection objects, moving beyond digitisation of paper and image based collections.

Congratulations to the State Library of Queensland!

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VALA Events 2018: Is “Open” always “Equitable”?

VALA invites you to our October Guest Speaker event for 2018. This 1-hour event will be run as a Zoom Webinar.

Topic: Is “Open” always “Equitable”?

The theme for Open Access Week for 2018 is ‘Designing equitable foundations for open knowledge.’ But open systems aren’t always set to a default of ‘inclusive’, and there are important questions that need to be raised around prioritisation of voices, addressing perpetual conscious and unconscious bias, and who is excluded from discussions and decisions surrounding information and data access. There are also issues of the sometimes-competing pressures to move toward both increased openness and greater privacy.

Join special Guest Speakers Dr Fiona Tweedie, Data Policy and Strategy Advisor, Digital & Data and Dr Ruth DeSouza, Academic Convenor, Data, Systems and Society Research Network (DSSRN) and , who will answer the questions of:

If we default to inclusive, what does that look like?
How do we address conscious and unconscious bias?
How do we prioristise voices, identify who is included and/or excluded from discussions?
How do we address the pressure to move toward both increased openness and greater privacy, particularly in the area of health data?

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VALA Events 2018: Finders, Keepers: the past, present and future of library technology.

VALA invites you to our June Special event and VALA AGM. Join us at the William Angliss Conference Centre in Melbourne on Thursday 21 June from 5:30pm.

The AGM will be followed by a very special Event to mark VALA’s 40th Anniversary (1978-2018). Join VALA President, David Feighan, and President-elect, Katie Haden, VALA Committee past and present, our sponsors, friends and VALA “royalty” to share the milestones of the journey so far and our vision for the VALA of the future.

VALA Events 2018: Open GLAM Innovation

VALA invites you to our August Guest Speaker event for 2018. This 1-hour event will be run as a Zoom Webinar.

Topic: Open GLAM Innovation

Question: What does a truly contemporary library service look like?

Open Image The next VALA webinar “Open Innovation”, is a timely exploration of how GLAM institutions are collaborating to create new service offerings. It was sparked by recent announcements regarding the State Library Victoria’s StartSpace and Foundry658 initiatives, and fuelled by the interesting parallels we’ve observed with the State Library of Queensland’s The Edge.

Each of these projects is a response to the challenge of providing a contemporary library experience, with collaboration between GLAM institutions a key to success.

Our guest speakers, Anna Burkey from SLV and Andrei Maberley from SLQ, will share the ups and downs of the journey so far, what it means to work in an openly collaborative environment and what they might do differently if they had their time over.

VALA Events 2017: Women in IT – Data, Dystopia, Science Fiction and You

VALA invites you to our final Guest speaker event for 2017, and SGM. Join us at the Library at the Dock on Wednesday 22nd November from 5:30pm.

Join VALA and special guest speaker, Kathy Reid, for a thought-provoking and surprising conversation about the role that women, librarians and technologists play (or should play) in ensuring freedom of data and information.

VALA Events 2017: Open in order to deliver better research and learning outcomes

VALA invites you to our October Guest Speaker event for 2017. This 1-hour event will be run as a Zoom Webinar.

Join special Guest Speakers Patrick Splawa-Neyman, Angel Cheng and David Feighan, hosted by Andrew Stapleton, who will be speaking on the topic “Open in order to deliver better research and learning outcomes”.

VALA Events 2017: Inside the seed bank

VALA invites you to our June Guest Speaker event and VALA AGM. Join us at The Baillieu Library, University of Melbourne on Wednesday 28 June from 5:30pm.

Our speaker is Dr Rachel Buchanan, University of Melbourne Archives who will be speaking on the topic “Inside the seed bank”.

VALA Events 2017: Getting the most out of your VALA paper and presentation

VALA invites you to our May Guest Speaker event for 2017. This 1-hour event will be run as a Zoom Webinar.

Join special Guest presenters Michelle McLean and Dr Ben Chadwick, hosted by David Feighan, who will be speaking on the topic “Getting the most out of your VALA paper and presentation”.

VALA Tech Camp 2017

It’s a Wrap

Over 120 library technologists came together to share 20 tech-rich sessions at the inaugural VALA Tech Camp. Now that the dust has settled, and the surveys are in, we can confidently declare the event a resounding success.