Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Launch of SA Library Week 2006

INVITATION AND DRAFT PROGRAMME FOR LAUNCH

You are cordially invited to the launch of South African Library Weekhosted by the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape Provincial Library Service and the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA).
Date: 8 March 2006
Venue: Bridgetown Public Library, c/o Cornflower and Heide Street, Bridgetown
Time: 9:00
RSVP: Szerena Knapp, (021) 483-2483, fax (021) 419-7541 or
e-mail Sknapp@pgwc.gov.za before 6 March 2006

DRAFT PROGRAMME
City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Provincial Library Service in partnership with the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA)
presents the launch of

South African Library Week

Libraries: Partners in learning, nation building and development

Wednesday 8 March 2006
09:00-13:00

Bridgetown Public Library

Programme

09:00 Arrival VIP’s and guests arrive (refreshments served)

09:30 Welcome
Mr Gert Bam, Director of Social Development and Planning, City of Cape Town

09:45 Opening and introduction of MEC
Mr Johan Swiegelaar, Director: Western Cape Provincial Library Service

10:00 Keynote address
Mr Philip Mziwonke Whitey Jacobs, Western Cape MEC of Cultural Affairs, Sport and Recreation

10:30 Cultural event

10:45 Marketing library awards (Arts and Culture Award for Library of the Year, LIASA Branch Awards, LIASA/Sabinet Librarian of the Year Award)
Ms Beryl Eichenberger, Hippo Communications; Ms Rheina Epstein, Retired Librarian and Ms Naomi Haasbroek, Western Cape Branch Chair, LIASA

11:30 Welcome new LIASA members

11:40 Vote of thanks
Mr Gert Bam, Director of Social Development and Planning, City of Cape Town

12:00+ Light lunch for VIP’s and invited guests



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Thursday, February 23, 2006

Newsflashes from the Branch Executive Committee

The Branch Executive Committee including Interest Group Chairs or representatives held a committee meeting on 22nd February 2006.

Here are some highlights and news from the meeting:-
* SA Library Week 2006 launch will be hosted together with Western Cape Provincial Library Services and City of Cape Town Libraries on Wednesday 8 March atBridgetown Public Library. Watch your email for your invitation and programme details.

* The updated Branch diary for 2006 will soon be posted to the branch webpage and on the branch weblog. The new integrated diary will include the interest group committee meetings.

* The Branch newsletter is scheduled to appear in March, July, October,December. The March issue will appear after the SA Library Week launch.

* There is a new revised fee structure for membership. Full details will be circulated by the national office and will appear in the next LIASA-in-Touch and in the March issue of the Western Cape newsletter.

The membership period will be reverting to a calendar year (January -December) from 2007.

There are special incentives to renew your membership during 2006:If you renew for 2006 between March and September you will pay a reduced fee of R150.00. This membership will be valid until December 2006 after which you have to renew for 2007. If you renew between September and December, you qualify for an early bird special for 2007 of R180.00. Your membership is then valid until December 2007.

New members who join between March and December 2006 pay R180. The fee for 2007 is R210.00.

* A membership campaign is on the go for 2006. There are awards for thebranches who recruit and/or retain the most members, as well as an award of R1000 for an individual who recruits the most members. More about this later!!

* Queries/Complaints about membership should be directed to the Chair, Naomi Haasbroek or Membership Secretary, Wilhelmina Zaal.

* SABINET Librarian of the Year Award: the Branch has to nominate afinalist to go forward to the national competition. Watch this spacefor information about the call for nominations, the process, criteria and deadlines. Are you the SABINET Librarian of the Year? A substantialcash prize accompanies this award.

* The first call for nominations for the 2006 Branch Award will be made in the March newsletter - more details will also be announced at the meeting of the 8th March.

* Conference 2006: the venue is the St Georges' Hotel and ConferenceCentre (between Johannesburg and Pretoria) from 25 - 29 September 2006. Naomi Haasbroek is the interim national Co-ordinator for Conference2006. The national Co-ordinating Committee has already appointed a professional conference organiser. The exhibitors also now have a representative on the Local Organising Committee in order to address their particular needs.

The Branch Executive Committee meeting was followed by a meeting ofInterest Group Chairs and Treasurers with the Chair of the Branch and the Branch Treasurer.

Friday, February 10, 2006

R1bn boost for public libraries

Good news for the library sector! And at long last!

South Africa's libraries are to get a R1bn funds injection over the next three years, Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan announced on Friday, News24 reported earlier.
Briefing the media at parliament, he described the plan to revitalise the country's deteriorating public libraries as a "massive, massive intervention". And this would help to create a culture of reading.

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Communicating with IT professionals workshop

The Western Cape branch of the LIASA ICT in Libraries Interest Group is holding its first workshop this month on the topic:

COMMUNICATING WITH IT PROFESSIONALS

We will look at the issues from the librarian’s perspective and from the IT professional’s perspective. Come and hear what each side has to say and draw from each other’s experiences.

We will be launching the ICTLIG blog at the Workshop.

VENUE: Centre for Conflict Resolution, UCT Hiddingh Campus, 31-37 Orange Street, Cape Town. (Go to http://ccrweb.ccr.uct.ac.za/index.php?id=8 for Directions)
DATE: 15 February 2006
TIME: 09:00 for 09:30 until approximately 12:00
COST: R10 for LIASA members. R20 for non-LIASA members.

If you plan to attend please let us know by 8 February 2005 by emailing your name and LIASA membership number (if you have one) to caroline@uctlib.uct.ac.za or 'phoning 021 6503701.

As space is limited, registration is on a first come, first served basis.

We look forward to seeing you there.

The committee of the Western Cape LIASA ICT in Libraries Interest Group

WCHELIG Winter Workshop and Colloquium

The WCHELIG Colloquium Executive Committee is pleased to announce the2nd WCHELIG Winter Workshop and Colloquium to be held on 14 and 15 June2006.

The theme for this years Colloquium, in line with the LIASA 9th AnnualConference theme this year as well as the 2007 WLIS conference inDurban, is 'Collaboration for success'.

Come share your experiences, challenges, lessons learnt and success stories in working with your colleagues in the library, branches, faculties and other departments in the institution and in different parts of the country and of the world.

Important dates:
Submission of abstracts: 24 February 2006
Notification of acceptance: 3 March 2006
Final papers and presentations due: 26 May 2006
Colloquium date: 14 and 15 June 20

Proposals, in electronic format (MS Word) must be submitted to: Annemarie Maritz by 24 February 2006
Email: am1@sun.ac.za Fax: 021-808-4336 Tel: 021-808-2743

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSIONS :
1. Papers and posters based on practical experience will be given firstpriority.
2. Priority will be given to papers on the theme and topics listed,although papers on related topics may also be considered.
3 Submissions must include:
a. full title of the paper;
b. name(s) of author(s),
c. institutional affiliation,
d. full contact details of author(s).
e short abstract of the paper (200-300 words)
f. the MS-Word document of each proposal should be named with the surname of the presenting author, e.g.: Smith prop.doc
g. brief CV of the author(s)

4. Authors of accepted papers will be notified as soon as possible after3 March 2006.