https://hdl.handle.net/2123/6419 2026-06-09T07:50:58Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/27013 Return of the unexpected: Rural workforce recruitment and retention in the era of COVID-19 Jones, Martin; Versace, Vincent; Lyle, David; Walsh, Sandra 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/7243 The origins of Inter Library Loans in Australia in relation to special libraries Keast, Donald; Balnaves, Edmund; Czuchnowski, Judy; Balnaves, John This paper examines the origins of inter-library loans in Australia in relation to special libraries. Prior to the advent of low-cost computing, union lists in special libraries were rare. In the early 1980's a number of serials union lists for health libraries were compiled that formed the basis for wider collaboration in inter-library loans (ILL). Gratis is a network of special libraries that formed on December 6, 1982, with 14 founding members. The immediate impetus to the formation of the group was the trebling of the cost of ILL. A small annual subscription funds a network now comprising over 250 special libraries in heath and allied fields, many of which are too small to participate in the national ILL network. Careful distribution of workload helps to facilitate participation among large and smaller libraries. This co-operative model has subsequently been adopted by law, emergency services, transport and government library networks in Australia and New Zealand. The paper will examine the origins of Inter-Library loans in Australia and the factors that gave rise to the Gratis libraries network, and its progressive adoption throughout Australia and the co-operative factors that distinguish GratisNet from the national ILL service. 2011-04-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/7245 Open source systems bring Web 2.0 to special libraries Keast, Donald; Balnaves, Edmund The library management systems market place has been transformed by two innovations: Web 2.0 and open source systems. Open source developers have been quick to implement Web 2.0 functionality in their systems, making it possible for special libraries to be early adaptors of new technology that supports community networking with their members. These services are particularly important for special libraries, who can have disparate, often widely separated, patrons and who can benefit greatly from the library 2.0 community networking innovations. Their free source code base and help bring web-based functionality to small (and often isolated) libraries whose budget does not measure up to conventional vendor-based systems. The experiences of implementing the open source Koha library management system will be explored in the context of the Greater Western Area Health Service network. 2009-09-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/7244 A survey of Koha in Australian special libraries : open source brings new opportunities to the outback Keast, Donald Since 2007, the library management systems landscape has changed markedly, with a variety of open source systems gaining an increasing share of the market. In Australia, penetration by open source systems has been led by the recent adoption of Koha by an increasing number of libraries. This paper presents a case study of Koha in a rural health library setting, and then presents the results of the first survey of Australian Koha users regarding the viability and practicality of this popular open source system. This survey encompasses both libraries using Koha support companies, and also some which have self-installed systems. 2011-02-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/7240 The loneliness of the long-distance blogger : using blogs to reach isolated rural health professionals Keast, Donald Background. The Greater Western Area Health Service (GWAHS) occupies an area of 444,900 sq. km. or 55.52% of the state of New South Wales. While the health service has 5 small libraries, many users are several hundred kilometres from the nearest one. This paper describes the use of blogging to reach remote users in this vast area. Using blogs to address remoteness. The GWAHS Libraries Blog www.gwahslibrariesblog.blogspot.com was commenced in February 2007 as a means of bringing relevant resources to remote users. It concentrates on resources and events which may be of interest to rural health staff. The GWAHS Libraries Blog has been emulated by a recent arrival, NCAHS Library Clippings which has attempted to reach isolated users on the NSW North Coast. Other examples of resource-based blogs exist in New Mexico and other isolated areas. Results. All 5 libraries contribute to the blog, usage continues to increase, and feedback is extremely positive. The library service now receives several queries from remote parts of the health service which had previously been poorly serviced. For many users in remote locations, the blog serves as an up-to-date virtual library of new and relevant resources. However, for many staff in isolated areas, Internet connections are traditionally unreliable, and the use of Internet-based applications is a new way of thinking. There is an ongoing education role regarding use of the blog’s resources. However, in situations where users are too physically remote to visit the library, the blog provides an excellent accessible point of contact with library services. 2011-03-31T00:00:00Z