VALA2016 Proceedings
The VALA2016 18th Biennial Conference and Exhibition was held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Australia from 9 - 11 February 2016.
The following papers were presented at VALA2016. See also the VALA2016 Program.
All works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License unless specifically stated.



David Lankes
Librarianship: Saving The World One Community At A Time
VALA2016 PLENARY SESSION 1
Tuesday 9 February 2016, 9:00 - 10:15
Persistent URL: http://www.vala.org.au/vala2016-proceedings/vala2016-plenary-1-lankes
David Lankes
Syracuse University
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View the video of the presentation on the VALA2016 GigTV channel here:
Abstract
We live in uncertain times of war, protest, terrorism, economic austerity, ecological disasters, and mass surveillance. What can librarians do to help communities in such turbulent times? Lankes will discuss how a proactive librarianship can build an alternative path to the growing “security versus freedom” narrative. Librarianship can shine in times of crisis, but it requires a focus on improving society over informing customers.
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Building an Internet of Things environment in the library
VALA2016 CONCURRENT SESSION 1: Future Gazing
Tuesday 9 February 2016, 10:50 - 11:20
Persistent URL: http://www.vala.org.au/vala2016-proceedings/vala2016-session-1-chang
May Chang
Western Michigan University, Michigan, USA
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Read the paper, view the video of the presentation on the VALA2016 GigTV channel and view the presentation slides here:
- pdf VALA2016-Session-1-Chang-Paper (907 KB)
- video VALA2016-Session-1-Chang-Video
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VALA2016-Session-1-Chang-Slides (1.35 MB)
Abstract
This paper outlines a multi-year initiative to develop an Internet of Things (IoT) environment in Western Michigan University Libraries for research and development, and to prototype and implement IoT applications and services. This enabled a growing hands-on experience with the IoT using the “Library as Lab” approach. Collaboration and engagement with various campus units were essential.
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Andrea Gilbey
2020 vision: the librarian, the publisher and the technologist
VALA2016 CONCURRENT SESSION 1: Future Gazing
Tuesday 9 February 2016, 11:25 - 11:55
Persistent URL: http://www.vala.org.au/vala2016-proceedings/vala2016-session-1-gilbey
Andrea Gilbey
Oxford University Press, Vic
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- VALA2016-Session-1-Gilbey-Paper not yet available
- video VALA2016-Session-1-Gilbey-Video
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VALA2016-Session-1-Gilbey-Slides (694 KB)
Abstract
This paper explores ways members of the Library and Information Science(LIS) community, whether librarians, publishers, or IT professionals, can work together more closely in order to achieve common objectives such as excellence in research, education and the optimum provision of peer-reviewed digital content. It attempts to address the question “if we collaborate more effectively as industry partners, do we have a greater chance of survival”?
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Amanda Lawrence
Digital curation of public policy resources: discovery, access and management for policy and practice
VALA2016 CONCURRENT SESSION 1: Future Gazing
Tuesday 9 February 2016, 12:00 - 12:30
Persistent URL: http://www.vala.org.au/vala2016-proceedings/vala2016-session-1-lawrence
Amanda Lawrence
Swinburne University of Technology, Vic
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Read the paper, view the video of the presentation on the VALA2016 GigTV channel and view the presentation slides here:
- pdf VALA2016-Session-1-Lawrence-Paper (295 KB)
- video VALA2016-Session-1-Lawrence-Video
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VALA2016-Session-1-Lawrence-Slides (1.70 MB)
Abstract
Public policy and practice relies on a wide range of resources, including traditional scholarly publications, and those produced directly by organisations, such as reports, discussion papers, briefings, reviews and data sets produced by government, academic centres, non-government organisations (NGOs), think tanks and companies. While heavily used, the collection and curation of digital publications (grey literature) is dispersed, inefficient and inadequate. This paper presents recent research on use, production and collection of policy publications and discusses the approach of Policy Online, a digital library using a variety of tools including crowd-sourcing content, linked data approaches, Digital Object Identifiers and more.
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Patrick Splawa-Neyman

Jaye Weatherburn
Data neophytes: first steps into the research data abyss
VALA2016 CONCURRENT SESSION 2: Data Stuff
Tuesday 9 February 2016, 10:50 - 11:20
Persistent URL: http://www.vala.org.au/vala2016-proceedings/vala2016-session-2-weatherburn
Patrick Splawa-Neyman
Monash University, Vic
Jaye Weatherburn
Swinburne University of Technology, Vic
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Read the paper, view the video of the presentation on the VALA2016 GigTV channel and view the presentation slides here:
- pdf VALA2016-Session-2-Weatherburn-Paper (144 KB)
- video VALA2016-Session-2-Weatherburn-Video
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VALA2016-Session-2-Weatherburn-Slides (869 KB)
Abstract
This paper explores the roles, functions, and possible definitions of data librarians based on two Australian National Data Service (ANDS) case study projects at Monash University and Swinburne University of Technology. The experiences, challenges, and achievements from these research data management projects are examined by discussing the various factors involved, such as liaison with researcher and organisation stakeholders, and the implementation of technological solutions.
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Ben Chadwick
When MARC consumed ScOT: a tale of linked educational metadata
VALA2016 CONCURRENT SESSION 2: Data Stuff
Tuesday 9 February 2016, 11:25 - 11:55
Persistent URL: http://www.vala.org.au/vala2016-proceedings/vala2016-session-2-chadwick
Ben Chadwick
Education Services Australia, Vic
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Read the paper, view the video of the presentation on the VALA2016 GigTV channel and view the presentation slides here:
- pdf VALA2016-Session-2-Chadwick-Paper (617 KB)
- video VALA2016-Session-2-Chadwick-Video
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VALA2016-Session-2-Chadwick-Slides (1.69 MB)
Abstract
Australian school libraries have an expressed need to organise resources according to Australian Curriculum (AC) outcomes. Education Services Australia (ESA) has aligned digital resources to the AC since 2011, publishing it on platforms including Scootle. The Schools Catalogue Information Service (SCIS) at ESA creates and distributes MARC records to 93% of Australian school libraries, but has not traditionally provided curriculum-alignment data. This paper describes a trial in which headings from a linked data subject vocabulary (the Schools Online Thesaurus) in MARC records are supplemented with URIs for the purpose of consuming AC alignment data. A widget is presented to demonstrate possible downstream applications.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License.