Vale Jon Brudenall

 

MICHAEL JOHN BRUDENALL, 31 October 1938 - 27 January 2016.

Jon Brudenall at an ALIA General Council meeting 1994

 

Our dear colleague John’s funeral notice read: Passed away peacefully at Clare Holland House, with his family by his side. Loving and much loved husband and best friend of Sue for 54 years and father of their children, Helen (dec), Andrew (dec), David and Peter. Admiring father-in-law of Kirsti and Kylie. Proud grandfather of Tom, Stephen, Jack, Otte, Harry, Mia and of his step-grandchildren Emma, Sophie and Imogen. Dearest brother to his disabled sister, Kay. Friend of Marianne and Joanne. A man of principle, who was kind and considerate to all. He will be greatly missed.

And ALIA posted: As reported in the Canberra Times on 30/1, former President (1979-1980) and Fellow John Brudenall passed away peacefully on 27 January 2016. Mr Brudenall had a distinguished career in parliamentary libraries and was responsible for planning the library at Parliament House in Canberra, which opened in 1988.

He was a highly active member of the Library Association of Australia (ALIA's predecessor), a keen advocate for the role of Library Technicians, and a valued contributor to LIS education. He will be greatly missed by former colleagues and friends in the library world.

John’s Fellowship, conferred in 1986, the citation for which can be found here: https://www.alia.org.au/john-brudenall outlines a distinguished career in parliamentary librarianship complemented by a wide involvement in professional activities.

It would seem from another obituary from Melbourne High School that our dear colleague John was also known as ‘Mick’ in his youth. Yet he was John to many of his library colleagues. And a search through her records and photo albums during her time on ALIA General Council in the mid-late1990s lead Kerry Smith to find this comment on the ALIA archive about what was then the new ALIA website:

       As a recently retired, but still very interested member, I find ALIAnet and the information the          Home Page leads me to extremely useful. I am a user several times each day. And, I agree               with Kerry Smith's comments which will be no surprise of course.

      John Brudenall, Canberra, Australia - Wednesday 13 November 1996, at 12:24:50 (EST).

John’s continuous and professional contributions to all levels of the Association were and are outstanding. John commented in inCite in February 1994 that Sue, soon to be his wife, and he were among the initial intake for the newly established library school in Canberra, and that his later work in the National Library “gave us an enormous enthusiasm for libraries and librarianship” – an enthusiasm which in my contacts with John never waned.

Robin Hempel’s comments: … I had the privilege of working under John Brudenall in the early stages of my library career when I was appointed as a “Graduate Librarian Grade 1” to the National Library in Canberra, early in 1964. My memories are that John was in charge of “Binding” in the Serials Section of Acquisitions and I was assigned to his team. Our workplace was the Kingston Annex, a huge, unwieldy warehouse with more staff than I had ever seen together in one place, surrounded by enormous collections of serials, magazines and newspapers.

John was an amazing mentor, supervisor and leader. His approachability, patience, good humour and willingness to share his knowledge and expertise proved invaluable in those first, challenging months of my career. Throughout the years, I was always greeted warmly when I met up with John at numerous national conferences and meetings and I continued to be impressed by the significance of his contribution to the library profession and to ALIA. Equally valuable to those of us fortunate to know and work with John were his personal qualities. John Brudenall’s legacy will continue to be an inspiration to all in our profession, from those in training or new to the profession, those in managerial or directorial positions through to the Retirees.

Further information about Jon can be found in the Wikipedia entry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brudenall_%28librarian%29

Vale Pat Gallaher OAM

Patricia 'Pat' Gallaher OAM was one of the inaugural members of the ALIA Retirees Group, having devoted almost 30 years to delivering exceptional public library services in regional Western Australia, in Paraburdoo, Karratha and Geraldton as well as serving on the Library Board of Western Australia. 

Photo credit: State Library of Western Australia

Pat began her working life as a laboratory technician in Sheffield. She emigrated to Australia and worked at the Defence Standards Laboratories in Alexandria, Sydney.  Her first library job was at Mosman Public Library in Sydney. Moving a few years later to Western Australia, Pat Gallaher worked in public libraries in regional areas for almost 30 years. She held positions in Paraburdoo and Karratha, and then for 20 years as the regional librarian for the City of Geraldton (1981-2001). While at Geraldton Library Pat introduced many new services and developments, including a service to house-bound residents, the internet, and an automated library management system. Pat also oversaw extensions to the Library and established the local studies collection.

Recognizing a need to foster young writers, Pat initiated the Randolph Stow Young Writers Award in 1989 to encourage school students in the Geraldton region of Western Australia to write. Pat Gallaher served on many committees promoting regional arts, including the Geraldton Arts Council and as a board member of Country Arts WA. In 1987 Pat formed the Mid West regional chapter of the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA).

Pat Gallaher joined the Library Board of Western Australia in 2002 as the representative for the Western Australian Local Government Association and served a four year term to 2006. She was named as a Fellow of the Library Board in 2011, in recognition for her commitment to libraries and the arts in regional Western Australia. She was interviewed on 28 October 2013 as part of the Library Board of Western Australia 60th anniversary project.

Pat remained involved with the library profession in her retirement, helping to establish the Retirees section of the Australian Library and Information Association.  Following her retirement from the Geraldton Library, Pat was elected to the Geraldton City Council, serving on the municipal council from 2001-2003.

In 2003 Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the arts and to the community, particularly as a regional librarian. In 2011 she was made a Fellow of the Library Board of Western Australia.

Pat Gallaher died in Perth, Western Australia on 11 December 2014.

Source: Patricia Gallaher. (2015, February 4). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 03:45, March 23, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patricia_Gallaher&oldid=645590144

Vale ~ David Hickson



It is with much sadness that we advise of the passing of David Hickson on 19 February 2011, at his home in Walkaway, after a long illness.

Photo credit: State Library of Western Australia

Many Western Australian ALIA members will remember David from his time at Riverton Library where he was a mentor, and inspiration to staff and colleagues throughout the state. He was also very involved in planning for the Alexander Library building. He enjoyed a long and happy retirement in Walkaway, where he continued to support the Geraldton Regional Library. He will be sadly missed.

David was awarded Fellow of the Library Board of Western Australia.  This citation gives a much broader picture of his career in libraries and the great contribution he made to the Western Australian library scene over many years.

Pat Gallaher (ALIA Retirees Committee)

Congratulations Paul Brunton OAM

I am delighted  to see that Paul Brunton, Senior Curator of the Mitchell Library of the State Library of New South Wales, has been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honours for 2012.   Paul is known to us as a first rate professional,  a generous  colleague in sharing his expertise and overall fine person to know.  I note that in the article about his award in the  “Australian" newspaper on the 26th January, the first line states that Paul Brunton may not be a “household name”.   Whilst this is a very good article overall   I would think there is grounds for disagreeing a little with that judgement - certainly in the academic, archives and library worlds.    He is a popular presenter of talks at local libraries for instance and of course at his State Library where he inevitably attracts  good audiences.  Paul is also often the “go to” person for journalists doing stories about manuscripts or rare historical materials. The journalists recognise him as  articulate and able to summarise for the public the worth for historical research purposes. He is the all round professional.

Paul is  a very talented  speaker and presenter. An example of his skills can be viewed through  his talk at the Mosman Municipal library in Sydney on one of his favourite topics , Miles Franklin, from whom the Library has a large donated collection of papers and manuscripts.



I think it is fair to say Paul is an expert on these papers. In this talk Paul engrosses the audience for almost an hour talking without notes on Miles. His fluency and knowledge on display there underpins the huge value of his curatorship to the State Library of NSW, Australian history, and Australian archivists and librarians.

In quoting from "The Australian" newspaper article again, I note  Paul tells us he started at the State Library 40 years ago after his post-grad studies at Sydney University -  a very brilliant career. Paul has been a great collector for the Mitchell Library, touring the globe for valuable additions to the Library.  He says he is honoured to receive the award and we are honoured to have him as our colleague and very pleased he has received this fitting recognition.

Faye Lawrence

Congratulations Patricia Gallaher and Lynn Allen

On 17 March 2011, the Library Board of Western Australia conferred two new Fellows: Patricia Gallaher OAM and Dr Lynn Allen.

• Patricia Gallaher’s honour reflects her dedication to public library services in the State; support for the library and information profession, and encouragement of access to the arts. 
• Dr Allen was state librarian for 12 years and also national president of ALIA during that time.

Congratulations Dr Gill Hallam

Dr. Gillian Hallam, Information Consultant and Adjunct Professor with Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia, is the winner of the 2011 Information Professional of the Year by the Special Libraries Association (SLA) Australia and New Zealand Chapter. The announcement was made during the SLA 2011 conference in Philadelphia. The award is sponsored by Dialog and you can read more here.

Vale Betty Cox (nee Malthus) 1925 - 2011

Betty Malthus was appointed Chief Librarian of  Blacktown Municipal Council in 1966 to plan and establish a public library in Blacktown. The library opened in April 1967 and was an immediate success with the population.  Prior to her appointment at Blacktown, Betty was Chief Librarian of Manly Municipal Library for the period 1961 to 1966.

While Betty was at Blacktown Library, she planned and managed the establishment of 4 branch libraries (Lalor Park - 1968, Mount Druitt - 1977, Riverstone – 1978, Quakers Hill – 1983). She was also instrumental in the planning and organisation of the move to a new building for Blacktown library, renamed the Max Webber Library in 1980. She also oversaw the expansion of Lalor Park branch from a children’s only to a full adult and children’s library.

During her stewardship of the library service, many innovative programmes and co-operative ventures were developed, resulting in the library being named “the best” library in Sydney by the Sydney Morning Herald in 1981.

Betty acknowledged that playing a role in the rapidly changing development in the Blacktown Council area was rewarding both professionally and personally. Her contribution to the development of the library service and Blacktown up till her retirement in 1990 was incalculable and should always be remembered.

Betty is survived by beloved husband Laurie Cox.