Biennial: Discovering Authors

Thursday morning, ALIA Biennial kicked off with an authors' panel, in celebration of the National Year of Reading and the 2012 Love2Read program. The panel included Richard Glover, Anita Heiss,  Melina Marchetta, P.M. (Pam) Newton, and Matthew Reilly. I have a lot of reading to catch up on before I'm well-versed in Australian writers.

 

The panellists spoke warmly about libraries, as several of them have spent countless hours there, writing. They all have very different methods for writing - or rather, for being productive while writing. Anita Heiss aims for a high word count in a short time, while Melina Marchetta uses the whole business day to write. Pam Newton is still finding her groove with her second book, but she likes to write longhand, and goes for walks to think. Matthew Reilly writes for two days and then plays golf, writes for two more days, and plays golf again. He says he's getting really good at golf.

Writing is a craft for people who find writing difficult. It should feel difficult; it should feel hard. - Richard Glover

Matthew risked glares from his fellow panellists when he admitted that writing is like eating chocolate ice cream for every meal. He'd write even if he wasn't getting paid, and gets lost in the state of flow when writing, with hours passing like minutes. He likes to plan his story with the hero's movements first, then jump into writing with an energy he hopes the reader can feel. Pam thinks research is the best bit, and finds library archives and databases invaluable for finding accurate historical details. Matthew said, "You have to still go to libraries because there is an illusion that everything is on the internet." Libraries may be occupied with the future of the book and reading, but Pam asks, what about the future of writing?

We grow older, we stop playing, and forget our stories. - Pam Newton

Bookable spaces are essential to make writers welcome in libraries. Anita's first book was written almost entirely in her public library, and she practically had a reserved desk there. Melina takes public transport to the library instead of having an office. When she writes at home she finds it difficult to be alone all day. That said, the life of a writer doesn't have to be anti-social; Anita connects online with other writers, and recommends joining a professional organisation.

A question from the floor steered the conversation to e-books. Uptake is greater in the US than Australia (66% of Matthew Reilly's sales in the US are e-books), and the panel agreed that availability of e-readers has influenced this trend. If Melina has enjoyed an e-book, she'll buy a physical copy. Anita (like myself) looks around on planes to see who is reading what, and whether they're reading e-books or tree books. Of course, the number of iPads and e-readers makes it harder to strike up a conversation that starts, "I've read that book..."

This Storify attempts to capture all tweets on the author panel session, if you'd like to see more.

Biennial: Discovery

Five hundred librarians and information professionals have descended on Sydney this week for the ALIA Biennial conference. It's ALIA's 75th anniversary this year, and it's also the National Year of Reading - so it's a pretty special event to be a part of. The majority of attendees are from the library, with some delegates from archives and the education sector. This year's theme is Discovery. We're talking about discovering partnerships, services, search, library spaces, information, storytelling, research, and books. There will likely be even more to discover by the end of our three days here.



Vendors and universities are well-represented in the exhibition halls on floors 3 and 4, so stop in and say hello! For a chance to win a prize, you can get your "discovery passport" stamped by the vendor booths you visit. An impressive lineup of speakers are on hand to challenge, inspire, and teach us. Today brought Dr Tom Chatfield, an author and speaker from the UK, and The Honorable Michael Kirby AC CMG, a "living Australian treasure" and former high court judge.

Dr Chatfield got us thinking about how we use digital tools. Do they rule us? Do we feed the email machine? He believes we have swallowed the idea that digital tools are casual and impersonal, but they can push us into doing more - more email, more tweets, more work. Technology can give us the illusion of acquiring knowledge. The screen is just a portal, and we enter it to have an experience - but not all experiences are good. How can we improve our experiences? If you want more from Tom, try his latest book, How to Thrive in the Digital Age.

 Robin and I attended the "Demystifying Research" panel session and picked up some tips for our studies, including:  be passionate and share your research! 

Justice Kirby commanded a lot of respect before he even began speaking. He was so engaging and well-spoken, yet relatable - even vulnerable - as he spoke of his history. (You can buy his book, A Private Life, which he cheekily spruiked mid-talk.) In Kirby's future, algorithms don't take over the librarian role, because a machine can't replace values or ethics. Several people tweeted that it took an outsider to see what we're missing, and give us back our purpose: "The will to provide neutral and highly respected information is not going to go away."

He remembered his first librarian, and noted that his success in law was largely due to librarians who nudged him in the right direction and gave him suggestions for what to read. Stripping away technology, various formats, and the march of time, our profession still comes down to this: Providing access to information in safety, and asking the extra question: "Have you thought about this?" Lastly, he reminded us to be kind to one another "on this little blue planet," regardless of our origins, sexuality, beliefs, or refugee status.

 Be involved. Be visible. Be discovered. - ALIA Biennial 2012

Unconference 2012

Over the past few months, I've been involved as a LibraryCamp Queensland "unorganiser." I was nominated as the marketing person, so I have been busy creating blog posts, flyers and advertisements, and sending tweets on behalf of @LibCampQLD. LibraryCamp is an unconference, so it's a fun, loosely planned and informal event - run by participants, for participants.

Other members of the committee have gathered sponsors, arranged catering, and invited panelists to speak on the day. It didn't take much more than word-of-mouth for all the spaces to be filled for this free event, which is happening at the State Library of Queensland this Saturday, March 17th.