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On 28 September 2008 15 Australians gathered in Singapore. They came from Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. Most worked in public libraries. All were associated with public libraries in some way. Some were supported by their employers. Others came entirely at their own expense. Every one of them was excited about the adventure ahead- 20 days on the road in 6 countries to see 23 of the world's best public libraries and participate in an international public library conference. It was the first time in memory that such an opportunity had been offered to the Australian public library sector.
The following is the executive summary of the tour and four individual library descriptions from the full tour report which was completed by 11 of its participants, with its executive summary by Debra Rosenfeldt. 'Viclink tour: great public libraries of the world ' 28 September- 1 7 October 2008 is available at www.slv.gov.au.
In recent years the Australian library workforce has been described as being in a state of crisis. The workforce is ageing rapidly. Many libraries report difficulty in attracting new staff, especially younger staff and staff of a high professional standard. These same libraries say they have trouble holding onto talented staff. Numerous studies of workforce issues have been undertaken internationally and in Australia, including in 2008 Workforce sustainability and leadership, an initiative of the Victorian public library network (represented by its peak body Viclink)* and the Library Board of Victoria (represented by the State Library of Victoria).
In 2007 two Victorian public library chief executives, Julie Rae, also president of Viclink, and Christine Mackenzie, came up with the idea of a study tour primarily for Victorian public library staff, to some of the world's most innovative and exciting public libraries. They wanted to provide inspiration to their colleagues, to nurture the leadership in their sector. The Library Board of Victoria agreed to modestly subsidise Victorian public library participation through the leadership development stream of the statewide public library development projects, a collaboration of the Board and the public library network. The idea became the Viclink tour: great public libraries of the world. Ultimately, nine of the fifteen participants were from Victorian libraries.
Benefits to tour participants and the public library industry
It...