Libraries play many important roles in a community. They house ideas, enable creativity and connect us to history and generational knowledge. Libraries support education and encourage critical thinking. In some cases, libraries are also the vital ‘third space’(external link) that provides a place of connection for people from all walks of life. The following blog post has been written by Aleisha Amohia, Rōpū kohinga Technical Lead, reflecting on her recent trip to the VALA conference and why Rōpū kohinga are proud to be working within the world of galleries, libraries, archives, museums, and records (GLAMR).
What do Rōpū kohinga do?
I started at Catalyst as an intern in 2014 when my work was primarily developing the Koha library software. In the ten years since, our team’s work has evolved. While we are still a proud Koha vendor and contributor, we now have experience with other open source software for libraries, archives and collections including DSpace and VuFind. This change has given us a greater understanding of the technological ecosystems that operate within libraries, and the proficiency to support them for those who partner with us.
Connecting with Libraries at VALA 2024
In July 2024, I had the pleasure of attending VALA in Melbourne, Australia. The VALA conference(external link) is held every two years and is recognised as the premier library and information technology conference in the region. VALA2024 was held at the RMIT University campus in the centre of the city.
The VALA community, and the wider GLAMR community, in fact, are proudly values-driven. Many of the VALA2024 presentations centred around bringing maximum value (benefit) to their staff and users whilst remaining true to their values. The presenting libraries showed they have the desire to innovate and grow without losing sight of their purpose and who they aim to serve.
Some presentations acknowledged the role of the library in their communities and their potential influence in shaping education and thinking. Ramona Naicker at Deakin University talked about the privilege of digital literacy and the instructor’s ability to perpetuate digital inequality. Hero Macdonald and Tui Raven, also at Deakin University, pointed out that people explore their identities by searching on library shelves. Their challenge for us to position our libraries as sites of resistance is something that will stick with me.
A world without libraries
VALA2024 presenters described how their users depend on libraries for access to knowledge, history, resources, services, and even safe and warm spaces. Professor Tara Brabazon at Flinders University presented a passionate keynote about the literacy impact of displacing funding away from education and libraries. This was an excellent presentation that encouraged me to think about how we receive information today, and how many times it may have been re-processed without reference to its source before it reaches us.
What does the future look like for libraries?
Libraries are excited about the potential of technology and how it could empower their people, whilst being aware of the privacy, security, and cultural considerations of certain solutions. For example, Fiona Russell at Deakin University talked about the responsible use of generative AI in libraries, including that genAI can’t be held accountable for ideas authored by someone else. Margaret Warren at the State Library of Queensland shared some interesting ideas about:
- the climate impact of digitising collections
- the historical bias in collections due to the colonial origins of libraries
- data sovereignty, and
- the rise of reparative inclusive cataloguing.
As a provider of libraries and collections platforms, it’s vital for Rōpū kohinga to gain these insights at events like the VALA conference. A strength of open source software is that everything we develop is in response to a need, and no one knows better about what library software needs than the GLAMR community itself. The opportunity to freely discuss between presentations - what’s working well, what’s missing in our systems and what workarounds have we implemented - is difficult to find outside of these events.
The values alignment shone through the presentations
I attended VALA2024 as a speaker and was excited to present how Māori worldview values shine through in some of my favourite open source library software stories. It was a variation of a presentation I’ve given a few times, but it was incredibly special sharing it with this values-driven audience. It was a pleasant surprise to hear an alignment of values shared in other presentations in the days prior to mine. The keynote by Ruth Tillman at the Penn State University Libraries, highlighting the importance of creating cultures of empowerment, respect, and collaboration with your library system, beautifully laid the foundations in people’s minds for my own presentation.
Similarly, Hero Macdonald and Tui Raven presented that library technology should be sustainable, scalable, robust, efficient, community-owned, and open – all characteristics of Koha library software. I was able to refer to this in my presentation and gave examples of why these qualities are beneficial for the platform and the many libraries around the world who use it. At KohaCon in September 2024, I will be presenting about how versatile Koha is because of its open source nature, building upon the characteristics that Hero and Tui shared.
A personal highlight of VALA2024 for me was being able to talk to people, beyond the technology. The GLAMR community is full of people who are energised, opinionated, and thoughtful, who care about knowledge and who care about people. It’s a unique and remarkable network and it was a real joy to be welcomed into it. I look forward to seeing and working with the friends I made at the VALA conference in the future.
If you're attending KohaCon24 or any upcoming GLAMR events, contact Rōpū kohinga so we can connect.