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The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) welcomes this opportunity to respond to the Australian Government Soft Power Review.

ALIA, Australian libraries and library and information professionals have a role to play in a number of areas, including:

Since the publication of the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and Australian School Library Association (ASLA) Learning for the future: developing information services in schools (LFTF), 2nd edition in 1993, school leaders and teacher librarians have referred to Table 6: Recommended minimum information services centre staffing as a guideline for staffing levels in school libraries.

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) submission to the Australia Council for the Arts discusses how libraries across the sector have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Libraries have been highly agile, adapting and embracing new technologies, delivering online forums and making electronic resources widely available. As a sector, libraries have proved to be proactive and exceptionally resilient throughout the pandemic.

This document was submitted by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) in response to the Digital Transformation Discussion Paper.

This submission from the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) discusses how investment in libraries can be expected to generate economic as well as social, cultural and environmental benefits. Libraries sustain the community in social, cultural and environmental terms and contribute positively in terms of economic value, benefit and activity. ALIA advocates the development of an informed society that can partake and participate in skilled decision-making.

This joint submission from the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), the Australian Digital Alliance (ADA), and the Australian Libraries Copyright Committee (ALCC) expresses the view that the removal of parallel importation restrictions is not needed in order to provide creators with further incentive to create and innovate. Australia already has provisions providing high levels of protection, in turn providing ample potential to commercially exploit works.

This joint submission from the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and eight other library associations supports the development of an information infrastructure with libraries as the conduit for a sustainable knowledge economy.

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) congratulates the government on developing the draft legislation and, in a timely manner, seeking to ensure that information is managed as a national resource. Improvements in FOI are vital for an informed nation, and expanding digital access will contribute significantly to an effective democracy and a digital nation.

ALIA recommends that to be truly effective further consideration should be given to:

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) is committed to an active policy of social inclusion and through its leadership, advocacy, education and professional development activities for and on behalf of its members, there is a well-educated library and information workforce whose contributions to libraries enhance the economic, social and cultural wellbeing of Australian society. 

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and the state public library associations welcome the opportunity to comment on the Senate Select Committee's inquiry into the National Broadband Network (NBN). We believe that, with its high usage of electronic information services and public access points, the library and information services sector is a major stakeholder in the national broadband strategy.