Join GLAMR Professionals and beyond at The Value of Us Conference, presented by ALIA West, September 17-18 at The Sate Library of Western Australia, Francis Street, Northbridge.
The Value of Us is a celebration of collective impact. In a time of rapid change, this conference brings people together to explore our shared purpose and the strength of our wide-ranging community.
This two-day event aims to amplify diverse voices, highlight shared values, and strengthen relationships across sectors to shape a more resilient and connected future—together.
Delegate Information
| Venue | State Library of Western Australia, Perth Cultural Centre. |
| Registration | Registration Desk, located in the Ground Floor Theatre Foyer, 9.00am to 9.20am each day, please check in each day. |
| Accessibility | Lift access is available to the Great Southern Room. Please see ALIA West staff for any assistance. |
| Emergency & First aid | SLWA Staff will direct any emergency or evacuation. See ALIAWest staff for other issues. |
| Wi‑Fi | Select WIFI-Guest in your device’s settings, agree to the terms and conditions, and connect. No password is required |
| Photography and social media | Photos will be taken during the event, if you would like to opt-out, please inform ALIA West committee members. Social media posts by attendees are welcome #Valuealiawest |
Conference Programme
Day One – Thursday 17 September 2026 – Morning Sessions
| Time | Theatre | |
| 9.00–9.20am | Registration desk open Theatre Foyer | |
| 9.20–9.30am | Nicola Carson ALIA West Convenor Opening remarks | |
| 9.30–9.40am | TBC Welcome to Country | |
| 9.40–10.30am | Trish Ryder Community Engagement Facilitator, John Curtin Gallery Keynote | |
| 10.30–11.00am | Morning tea – Great Southern Room | |
| 11.00–11.15am | Catherine Clark Chief Executive Officer and State Librarian, SLWA Treasure Stories, Inspire Possibilities, Strengthen Communities: the State Library of Western Australia | |
| 11.15–11.45am | Jane Cowell Jane Cowell Consulting Report IFLA Public Libraries Satellite: Practical Implementations of AI in Public Libraries | |
| 11.45–11.55am | Shrianjani De Alwis Jayasuriya Independent CPD Researcher & Facilitator, Maldives PDWLIS2026 Small Platforms, Global Impact: Future-Proofing the LIS Workforce through Capacity Building | |
| 11.55am–12.30pm | Vicki Edmunds Manager, Community & Library, Blue Mountains NSW Blue Mountains Library 2U Project | |
| 12.30–1.30pm | Lunch – Great Southern Room |
Day One – Thursday 17 September 2026 – Afternoon Sessions
| Time | Theatre | Time | Great Southern Room | |
| 1.30–2.00pm | Margot Kopsen & Bec Young Collections & Community Engagement Senior Librarian, Town of Cambridge Not just a library: How Integrated Planning and Place Based Practice Strengthen Communities | 1.30-2.30pm | Darby Bond Brown & Samantha Hughes City of Vincent Library Becoming the Lounge Room of the Community: Getting Started in Community-Led Librarianship | |
| 2.00–2.30pm | Rebecca Marchenkov & Jill MacDonald City of Joondalup From Lime Time to Prime Time: Modernising Our Library Brand | 2.30-2.40pm | Rae Duncan University Student Adventures in imposture syndrome, unmasking, and rolling with the big nerds at ALIA National as an AuDHD undergrad LIS student | |
| 2.30–2.40pm | Fathimath Nashfa Assistant Lecturer, The Maldives National University Barriers to Pursuing Library and Information Science Qualifications in the Maldives | 2.40-2.50pm | Amanda Smith, Nila Tanzil & Sascha Spilewski Learning Success Advisors, Curtin University The Come Back Crew: Building Curtin’s mature age student community | |
| 2.40–2.50pm | Andrew Kelly Digital Preservation Manager, SLWA Pulling Yourself Up By Your Own Filmstrips: Leveraging large-scale digitisation projects to bootstrap digital preservation practices | |||
| 2.50–3.30pm | Afternoon tea Great Souhtern Room | |||
| 3.30–4.00pm | Jonah Highman & Kate Stevens Librarians Acquisitions, UWA UWA Collected | 3.30-4.00pm | Lindsay Edwards & Jamie Normington Coordinator Joondalup Libraries Yes We Count That: How library data informs decisions and demonstrates value | |
| 4.00–4.10pm | Aminath Riyaz Assistant Prof, The Maldives National University What Travels When We Learn Across Borders? Insights from an Emerging LIS Profession | 4.00-4.10pm | Jade White Information Proficiency/Records consultant PRIS in the Library | |
| 4.10–5.00pm | Closing and networking Theatre |
Day Two – 18th September 2026 – Morning Sessions
| Time | Theatre | |
| 9.00–9.20am | Registration Theatre Foyer | |
| 9.20–9.30am | Opening Remarks Nicola Carson ALIA West Convenor | |
| 9.30–10.30am | Christine Harris President, FamilyHistoryWA People of Western Australia’s Ghost Towns | |
| 10.30–11.00am | Morning tea – Great Southern Room | |
| 11.00am–12.00pm | Karen Dennison & Georgia-Mae O’Brien Library Coordinator, Shire of Capel Building the Bridge: How One Library South West Became a Connected Regional Service | |
| 12.00–12.15pm | Catherine Belcher Director Collection Services, SLWA At-risk audiovisual collections: Digitising the sights and sounds of Western Australia | |
| 12.30–1.30pm | Lunch – Great Southern Room |
Day Two – 18th September 2026 – Afternoon Sessions
| Time | Theatre | Time | Great Southern Room | |
| 1.30–2.30pm | Angela Heymans & Gwyn Williams President, Western Australian Military Digital Library Inc The Western Australian Military Digital Library – Saving Our Military Stories | 1.30-2.00pm | Roslyn Beard & Alec Barron-Sullivan City of Cockburn Libraries Switched on Seniors in public libraries | |
| 2.30–2.45pm | Louise Carson Richard III Society Ham & Cheese | 2.00-2.30pm | Claire Hanlon Local History Specialist, City of Canning We Built a Library Before We Had Books: Lessons from a Community-Led Biblioteca in Peru | |
| 2.45–3.00pm | Natalie Evans AMaGA Speaking with one voice: how to advocate to politicians, funders, and your community. | Camille Peters ALIA West Committee Global GLAMR: A Who’s Who of Professional Associations in GLAMR | ||
| 3.00–3.30pm | Afternoon tea – Great Southern Room |
Day Two – 18th September 2026 – Closing Sessions
| Time | Theatre | |
| 3.30–4.00pm | Alice Woods Wikimedia Australia Wikimedia Australia: GLAM partnerships and opportunities | |
| 4.00–4.30pm | Dot Millar & Nicole Angwin Department of Education Library Department of Education Corporate Information Services: More GLAMR Than You Think | |
| 4.30–5.00pm | Prize Draw, Closing the Conference and networking |
Perth Visitor Information
| Getting there | The Perth Cultural Centre sits between the Perth CBD and Northbridge, close to Perth Train Station and bus services. |
| Walking distance | 3 minute walk from Perth Railway Station 6 minute walk from Perth Underground Station Buses run along William and Beaufort Streets – See Transperth |
| Food and coffee | Coffee available from café in SLWA until 2pm, various cafes within walking distance Morning/afternoon tea and lunch provided Please bring own water bottles, refills available in SLWA |
| Parking | Parking available at SLWA CCP carpark entrance in Francis Street |
Speakers Abstracts
Sponsors and Conference Partners
Platinum Sponsor
Since 1964, when our founder, James Bennett, personally delivered books tolibraries in his old blue VW, our focus has been on building strong relationships with local librarians, and local and international publishers and distributors. Today, our powerful profiling tools and expert buyers will enhance your selection decisions. Our unmatched global resources, shelf-ready delivery and technical innovation make James Bennett your library’s essential partner. |
Gold Sponsors
| EnvisionWare was formed almost 25 years ago with a single purpose – to create innovative, self-service and efficiency solutions that enhance library services and empower patrons. This mission continues to be the driving focus of EnvisionWare today, backed by a commitment to ensure that every library, regardless of size, receives the highest level of customer service and support.. |
| At SirsiDynix, we believe in the power of libraries. Libraries enrich and strengthen communities. We believe that access to information is a right not a privilege, and that access is crucial to the success of individuals and communities everywhere. This belief is at the core of everything we do. Our goal is to support libraries as they change and evolve in an increasingly digital world. |
Bronze Sponsor
| OCLC is a global library organization that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large. We are librarians, technologists, researchers, pioneers, leaders, and learners. With thousands of library members in more than 100 countries, we come together as OCLC to make information more accessible and more useful. Because what is known must be shared®. |
Conference Partners
| ALIA West thanks the State Library for all the support they provide for the group. They support us throughout the year for our functions and fundraising events, and in particular for this Conference |
| ALIA West thanks the Western Australian Library Technicians Groups for all the support they provide for the group. They partner with us for the F A Sharr Award, and for this event they will be some of our volunteers. |
| ALIA West thanks the Australian Library and Information Association for all the support they provide through out the year. They ensure that we are connected with the other regional groups and provide guidance on all all things Libraries. |
Exhibitors
| Table Number 1 Website: https://bennett.com.au/ |
| | Table number 2 Website: https://www.envisionware.com/?lang=au |
 | Table number 3 Website: https://www.sirsidynix.com/ |
| Table number 4 Website: https://www.oclc.org/en/about.html?cmpid=md_ab |
 | Table number 5 Website: https://amaga.org.au/Web/Web/About-AMaGA/Branches/WA/WA.aspx |
 | Table number 6 Website: https://www.joondalup.wa.gov.au/community-and-spaces/libraries |
Community Associations   | Family History WA Table number 7 Website: https://www.fhwa.org.au/ Western Australian Military Digital Library Inc. Table number 7 Website: https://www.wamdl.com.au/WAMDL/index.php?title=Learn Richard III Society Table number 7 Website: https://r3wa.org.au/about/ |
Volunteers
Please meet the wonderful volunteers who will support the Committee throughout the 2 days. They will be recognisable with their Orange Lanyards.
Prize Draw
In regconition of the Agoriginal and Torres Islander Peoples of Australia, ALIA West is proud to provide access to the ALIA Respect and Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Islander Peoples, Cultures and Country in Australian Libraries online course to one delegate who was present at the conference.
The prize will be drawn at the closing ceremony of The Valus of Us Conference on Friday the 18th September
Conditions apply:
- All registered attendees of The Value of Us conference, with the exception of the ALIAWest committee are eligible for entry into the draw.
- If attendees of The Value of Us conference do not attend the conference on the day/s they are registered they forfeit entry into the draw.
- The draw for the prize will be held at the closing of the conference. The first name drawn from the bowl will be the winner. Should the winner decline the prize, there will be a re-draw.
- If the winner has previously completed the course, they will receive a credit to the value of the course that can be used for any other courses and CPD events offered by ALIA.
- Ownership of the prize belongs to the individual attendee and not to their employer, regardless of who paid for registration.