VALA

VALA - Libraries, Technology and the Future Inc. (VALA)

Founded	1978
Focus	Library science, Information technology, Library 2.0, Digital library
Location	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Area served	Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums
Key people	2008-09 President: David Feighan. Executive Officer: Alyson Kosina.
Website	http://www.vala.org.au

VALA - Libraries, Technology and the Future Inc. (VALA) is an Australian not-for-profit professional organisation that promotes the use and understanding of information and communication technologies across the galleries, libraries, archives, and museum sectors. Established as the Victorian Association for Library Automation in 1978 in response to the emergence of automated library catalogues and other technologies that were revolutionising the industry at the time.

Governed by a Committee elected from the VALA membership. Membership is open to anyone interested professional aims of the organisation.

Conferences

The VALA biennial conference is one of the largest conferences of its type in the region. The 15th VALA Biennial Conference: Connections, Content, Conversations, is to be held on 9 to 11 February 2010.

Awards

VALA also grants the following awards:

• The Robert D. Williamson Award - Awarded biennially to an individual or organisation who, in the opinion of the judging panel, currently making an outstanding contribution to the development of information technology usage in Australian libraries and is positively and significantly influencing development in information technology usage within libraries.

• The VALA Award - made biennially, is presented to the Australian library or information centre judged to have made the most innovative use of information technology during the previous two years.

• The VALA Travel Scholarship - every two years VALA offers up to two Travel Scholarships to enable suitable persons to travel overseas to examine aspects of library automation. Recipients receive up to AUD $13,000 towards travel, accommodation and living expenses. Successful candidates must complete their study in time to present their findings at the following VALA Biennial Conference.

• The VALA Student Award - Each year, the VALA Student Award is presented to one student from RMIT University and one from Monash University, in recognition of outstanding achievement in postgraduate information-technology-related courses.