Congratulations to Brisvegas!

By Fiona Emberton www.embervision.cc Brisbane (nicknamed BrisVegas for it’s glitzy image) in Australia is to be the host for the 2010 IFLA congress. Well done to the ALIA (Aussie Library Association) team including Sue Hutley its Director. I have lived in Brisbane for over 15 years and it’s unbeatable for friendliness and a lovely way of life. (John Stanley may not let this be published as he thinks the same for his home town on Perth in Western Australia!) Start plotting now for your journey to Brisbane and you can experience; cafe society – outdoor dinging all year ’round the River city – a funky riverside and high speed catamarans as Council transport Brisbane City Council – a progressive organisation – worth a visit Whale watching the Southern tip of the Barrier Reef – Stradbroke Island only an hour from the city boasts some of the best diving glorious hinterlands of mountains and rainforests Grief – I am very homesick! I have been in the UK for 14 months now and hope to get to Brisbane for Christmas. Below is the media release for the Congress…. World’s librarians to gather in Brisbane The Australian Library and Information Association and the city of Brisbane have been selected to host the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) World Library and Information Congress in 2010. Speaking today from this year’s Congress in Durban, South Africa, President of the Australian Library and Information Association, Roxanne Missingham, said the Association is proud to have been chosen against strong international competition to host the congress which attracts several thousand delegates each year. “This is the premier global library and information conference,” Ms Missingham said. “IFLA has led the world in advocating free access to information as a fundamental human right. It advances its work through bringing together libraries from around the world and setting the highest standards for professional education and practice.” “Libraries throughout the world are at the heart of the communities they serve. In Australia more than half the population are registered borrowers in our public library network and almost a million use university libraries.” “Australian libraries are world leaders in the provision of quality library services and in education for the profession. We are strong supporters of the international networks that enable a coordinated global approach to the free flow of information essential to a healthy democracy. “Always, this conference is about building the communication between libraries and library professionals in different countries, for the benefit of all. We will be proud to be part of continuing the tradition in Australia in 2010.”