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.

Australia Day Honours 2011

The ALIA Board of Directors are pleased and proud that a number of ALIA members, library leaders and library supporters have been acknowledged in the 2011 Australia Day Honours with biographical notes.

Congratulations to:

Spencer Routh, OAM, For service to the library and information sciences sector, particularly through the University of Queensland.

Aladin Rahemtula, OAM, For service to librarianship through the Supreme Court of Queensland, and to the community through the preservation of legal heritage.

David Clune, OAM, For service to librarianship, and to the documentation and preservation of the history of politics, and to the Parliament of New South Wales.

James Sourris, OAM, For service to the arts and to the community through the development of the motion picture industry and through philanthropic contributions, particularly to the Queensland Art Gallery and the State Library of Queensland.

Ron Store, OAM, For service to library and information services, and to education.

Congratulations and thanks to the continuing work of the National Library of Australia Digitisation volunteers, who were recognised on Australia Day 2010.

Ainslie Drew - ALIA Fellow

Ainslie Dewe has been conferred with the distinction of Fellow of the Australian Library and Information Association. ALIA fellowships are awarded to distinguished members of the profession and Ainslie joins an elite group.

Ainslie Dewe is University Librarian at La Trobe University, in Melbourne. Prior to taking up this appointment in 2008, Ainslie was University Librarian and Director of Knowledge Management at Auckland University of Technology from 2002 and 2008 and was Director, RMIT University Library, also in Melbourne, from 1997 to 2002.