Senator the Hon Helen Coonan Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts

E-seek and you shall find

Address at the launch of Libraries Australia

Canberra

Monday 27 February 2006

Thank you Jan [ Fullerton, AO, Director General, National Library of Australia]

• Tony Boston [Assistant Director General, Resource Sharing, NLA]
• Sue Hutley [Executive Director, Australian Library and Information Assoication]
• Jennifer Byrne [Journalist]
• Parliamentary Colleagues
• Ladies and gentlemen

I am delighted to be here this afternoon. Thank you, Jan [ Fullerton], for the invitation to launch such an important development in Australian libraries.

I am sure all of us here have experienced the frustration of making the trek to the library to find out that someone else has beaten you to the punch and the book or books you really need have been borrowed.

As Oliver Wendell Holmes said:

“ My experience with public libraries is that the first volume of the book I inquire for is out, unless I happen to want the second, when that is out.”

Now, from Cootamundra to Cairns, from Broome to Burnie for all those using Libraries Australia this will no longer be the case.

This amazing system will enable people wherever they are to access the collections of the nation’s libraries and if the copy of the book you really need, or want, is out from the local library – there is every chance you can locate it somewhere else.

Introduction

I am passionate about books and learning and I can only wonder at how much easier my early school life in the country and my university studies would have been - if I had access to an incredible resource such as Libraries Australia.

With so much information available to us over the Internet, finding what is relevant, useful and reputable, is now just as important as finding that information in a timely manner.

Libraries Australia will revolutionise the way we find and access the wealth of information resources held in libraries around the Australia.

The resources available through our network of libraries is staggering.

Navigating these resources has always been a major part of the journey of discovery. This innovation, however, really empowers the individual looking for information.

With greater control over the search for information - ultimately this search for knowledge will be a far more productive and a lot less frustrating experience.

Libraries Australia will be of immediate interest and have lasting value for teachers and students, researchers, scholars, curators, historians and the public.

Access to library resources

One of the biggest advantages of the Internet is the way in which it connects people across Australia and indeed across the world.

This is why I have been so committed to bridging the digital divide and ensuring that regional and remote Australia, in particular, have access to the latest communications technology.

It reduces the impact of distance and nowhere is this more important than when accessing a world of information.

For the first time in history, we really can start to divorce the issues of geography and knowledge.

The Australian Government is committed to ensuring that the benefits of information and communications technology are enjoyed by all Australians, no matter where they live, study or do business.

Online advantage

As a nation we cannot afford to accept barriers that stand in the way of full participation in the cultural, political and intellectual life of the nation.

We know that in future, a growing proportion of our cultural, political and intellectual discourse will be electronic, aided by the rapid growth of broadband.

In every area of our lives, technology is inviting us to change the way we access information, helping us build new social networks and improving our ability to share knowledge.

Libraries Australia is a great opportunity to broaden the user base of our libraries from library staff, and small number of users often located in academic institutions, to all Australians.

For my part I will ensure that people are able to access these new services quickly and effectively by assisting the rollout of broadband services through the $878 million Broadband Connect program.

Libraries Australia

Now with a significant resource such as Libraries Australia at our fingertips we have access to its vast catalogue.

We are now able to access more than 40 million resources held in national, state, and university libraries and most public, research, government, health and other special libraries.

Libraries Australia contains books, journals, newspapers, pictures, theses, and many more resources located in more than 800 Australian libraries.

It includes all books published in Australia, written by Australians or about Australia.

And Libraries Australia is unique.

No other country in the world has an equivalent national database representing the nation’s library collections.

We can not underestimate the significance of this fact alone.

I wish the National Library of Australia and indeed all our libraries participating in this exciting development all the very best with Libraries Australia.

It now gives me great pleasure to officially launch Libraries Australia.

Thank you.