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The digital revolution and automation are accelerating changes in the labour market and in workplace skills, changes that are further affected by fluctuations in international and regional economic cycles and employment opportunity. These factors pose a universal policy challenge for all advanced economies and governments. In the workplace, people seek to acquire contemporary and relevant skills to gain employment and retain transferable skills to maintain employment. The central purpose of this paper is to investigate how other nations or regions are dealing with these issues. What approaches are they taking to understanding the mix and dynamics of the skills attained by individuals and, more broadly, the totality of skills that in aggregate constitute a highly capable and adaptable labour force, one that supports firm viability and greater national productivity. This research has examined a range of initiatives and approaches being developed or in use in selected countries, including the United States, Singapore and New Zealand, and agencies/organisations; for example, the European Commission and the Skills for the Information Age Foundation. In doing so, it showcases the good practices used to ensure that occupational-level skills information remains current and widely accessible. [For "Identifying Work Skills: International Case Summaries. Support Document," see ED579875.]

Governments recognise that careers guidance, underpinned by accurate labour market information, can help learners make post-secondary education choices that match their interests, aptitudes and abilities, and lead to rewarding employment. For this reason, they have invested in building linked education/employment information systems and other information resources which are displayed on websites targeted to learners and their families. However, researchers and governments agree that these efforts are often ineffective in informing learners' decisions -- access to information is not sufficient to provide effective support to student choice. Drawing upon the insights of behavioural economics, this paper examines how learners access and use information, and what this implies for the design of public study and career choice websites that aim to effectively support student choice. The report also takes stock of the career guidance websites in use in the majority of OECD countries, and sets out to provide actionable advice for policy makers to guide the design of effective information policy levers that support student choice.

Information from the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) indicates that training within New Apprenticeships is more flexible than traditional apprenticeships and traineeships. The ability of employers and employees to select a training provider of their choice, providing that it is registered in their state or territory, is known as "User Choice." Results of a survey undertaken by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) in 2001 indicated very high levels of support for User Choice, but also indicated that User Choice was not always meeting expectations. As a result of the survey, ACCI developed proposals designed to strengthen User Choice. The project reported in this paper investigated these proposals with two main aims: (2) To explore the gap between the User Choice arrangements proposed by ACCI and User Choice as it is currently practiced; and (2) To seek the views of the States and Territories about ACCI's proposals, including any potential issues or problems that might arise in implementing them. (Contains 5 tables.)

Social capital helps communities respond positively to change. Research into managing change through learning in communities and in small businesses, particularly farm businesses, has highlighted the importance of relationships between people and the formal and informal structure of communities to the quality of outcomes experienced by communities. Communities can be geographic communities or communities-of-common-purpose, such as agricultural commodity organizations or discussion groups. This paper reviews research into managing change through learning and social capital, presents a model of the simultaneous building and use of social capital, and explores the ways in which learning as part of an agricultural community can be used to bring benefits to isolated geographic communities. The model presented stems from studies in Tasmania (Australia) of the informal learning process that builds resilient communities. The two-stage model conceptualizes the way in which social capital is used and built in interactions among individuals. The first stage depicts social capital at the micro level of one-on-one interactions, focusing on knowledge resources and identity resources (identification with and commitment to the community). The second stage of the model outlines the interrelationship of micro-level social capital processes with community-level and societal-level social capital resources. (Contains 54 references.) (Author/SV)

This position paper discusses the role of open access research data within mathematics education, a relatively new initiative across the wider research community. International and national policy documents are explored and examples from both the scientific and social science paradigms of mathematical sciences and mathematics education respectively are provided. Within these examples, some of the more well-known concerns associated with making data open and accessible are acknowledged and debated.

Public bodies hold a range of information and content ranging from demographic, economic and meteorological data to art works, historical documents and books. Given the availability of information and communication technologies (ICTs) public sector information can play an important role in producing innovative value-added services and goods. Furthermore, these technologies also provide a wider population better access to educational and cultural knowledge. Both commercial opportunities and the wider spread of information have positive economic and social benefits. Knowledge is a source of competitive advantage in the "information economy", for this reason it is economically important that there is wide diffusion of public information. Governments also have a basic commitment that citizens have to access national cultural heritage such as paintings, monuments and books; and this is also important for social inclusion. To contribute to better conditions for learning, the digitisation of cultural and educational resources is fundamental. New communication tools, such as interactive Web sites and games, often also reach groups of people with no previous interest, notably if they allow personal participation. OECD countries have recently initiated many programmes which use these tools for cultural and educational content. The main emphasis of policies has shifted to improving access to available resources, and preservation of content created digitally ("digitally-born") receives increasing attention. Public Sector information (PSI) constitutes the "raw material" for a variety of products and services in applications across a wide range of industries, and analysis has concluded that it is an important economic asset. This study gives an overview of the main areas of PSI and their commercial applications. Currently geographic and meteorological information have the greatest economic potential; and so far their use has had positive impacts on employment and growth. Specifically combining various types of PSI has led to the development of innovative products such as location-based services. Technological innovation including the development of mobile networks open up further markets for PSI-based services, and better data quality and e.g. increased interoperability open up cross-border services. Industry structure has also been affected by ICTs; often higher value added producers have taken the place of previous intermediary distributors in the production value chain. Further, the roles of public and private firms are changing and the growth of mobile services markets stimulates the development of PSI business re-use further. To develop competitive PSI markets, most OECD countries have attempted to ensure private service providers face the same conditions as public institutions, enabled private sector access to public data and clarified conditions under which these data can be used. For example portals have been developed that provide an overview of available PSI and conditions for use. Important questions are: which access regimes and re-use arrangements maximise the positive economic and other benefits of PSI, and which may for example develop commercial activities based on government-created content/data. In some OECD countries access regimes allow commercial re-users have cheap and readily available access to PSI. They then add value to the public data and re-sell it to firms and consumers. Some studies argue that such open access regimes improve competitive market conditions for PSI re-use, stimulate economic growth and create jobs. However there are also arguments that commercial re-users may have low-cost access to data which was costly to create for the government, and that taxpayers may pay twice for the PSI content (once for creation of government content, and the second time when purchasing the content from a commercial re-user, although provided re-use is non-exclusive, users can also go to the original source for the original information, presumably at lower cost, but without value-added services). On the other hand, in other OECD countries, there are access regimes where the public sector holds public sector information for its own use or employs cost-recovery strategies that allow only limited and potentially expensive access. In this scenario there are arguments that potential consumers of this data may have only restricted access to it, and that this approach is more costly to the consumer and for the taxpayer. Moreover, the potential economic gains from development of new commercial activities based on PSI reuse may be foregone. The economic and equity arguments surrounding commercial re-use of public sector information and content are complex and deserve considerably more analysis and policy attention. If public sector content is to be more widely available through ICTs, it is crucial that cultural institutions have adequate in-house capacities and sustainable financial resources for digitisation. In many countries the cultural sector has faced cuts in public funding, and efficient digitisation has been a challenge for small and regional institutions. While public resources will remain important, private-public partnerships and the development of e-learning markets provide alternatives to finance content digitisation. Public sector information can also be sold and monetized to develop self-sustaining revenue streams helping data creation and digitisation efforts. Networks and interactive communities are also important because they allow cost reductions along the lines of open software development. With respect to copyright many challenges for content preservation and diffusion arise. This study addresses challenges and related policy issues with respect to both PSI and public sector content. It is a first review of the area of public sector information and content and it is proposed that follow-up work be carried out in this area, particularly on the economic and distributional aspects of different access, cost, pricing and distribution models for public sector information and content. (A bibliography is included. Selected examples of digital education institutions/projects, recommendations for online cultural content, and related abbreviations are annexed. Contains 7 figures, 17 boxes and 6 tables.)

A day in Cape York, in the far north east of Australia, can change the life of a modern Australian. In that time, one can see hundreds of examples of rock art that are up to 36,000 years old, sharply contrasting the history of Indigenous people and the immigration of Europeans.One such visit led to a proposed collaboration between the Quinkan Culture Elders and a team of metadata researchers. The researchers proposed a Qualified Dublin Core style catalog to be used to identify and record examples of Quinkan Culture so Elders could at last gain access to information needed to manage the proliferation of unauthorized publications about Quinkan culture, and to "bring back home" cultural representations. In addition, the catalog would allow the Elders to make decisions about publishing their own representations. This paper describes the journey of members of the team developing "Matchbox," a cataloging system, as they have sought a way of using Qualified DC metadata (QDC) to describe, collect, and represent Quinkan Culture. One focus in this paper is how developing a QDC representation has led to questions of cultural definition and, simultaneously, of the use of technologies such as HTML, XML and RDF. (Author)

This paper begins with a discussion of outsourcing. The first section summarizes an Australian Computer Society paper on information technology outsourcing, including reasons for outsourcing and critical issues. The second section discusses the outsourced library, including: the use of the Internet to deliver services; replacement of the library with a remotely delivered service; provision of online services by specialist information services run from computer systems located anywhere in the world; the need for standards-based systems; the use of XML (Extensible Markup Language) as a format for metadata; the ongoing need to cope with multiple standards; and the role of libraries in ensuring future access to digital materials. The third section addresses the use of the Linux operating system to provide database and World Wide Web transaction processing systems for library applications. The fourth section considers what is left for the library to do, including the library's role in creating a more diverse publishing system by supporting open standards and in helping to mitigate the problems of consolidation of global corporate publishing. The fifth section covers the role for the library, including providing access to the Internet for the community and access to information for the disabled. (MES)

This paper examines the processes of interaction and exchange that are involved in the creation and circulation of literary and scholarly works, texts that contribute to the Australian information commons. For this purpose, the paper refers to specific aspects of the scholarly work cycle of the Australian historian, Henry Reynolds, and comments on the interaction between scholars and creative writers and the libraries and archives they explore. The first section provides an overview of Reynolds' work, including research in the Public Records office and the library of the Royal Commonwealth Society in England, the archives of North Queensland, the British House of Commons, the London Missionary Society, and Rhodes House Oxford. The second section discusses the value of historical resources and the intersection of public and academic spheres. The third section addresses issues related to libraries as critical institutions, including funding problems, the increasing volume of information in more formats, and ownership and access. (Contains 34 references.) (MES)

This paper identifies aspects of information flow that are affected by online provision of internal information. Reference is made to four case studies of Western Australian government agencies' steps toward becoming Internet information providers, and to the lessons learned from their experiences. Three key interdependent elements of organizational information infrastructure or capability for Internet information provision as identified by the case studies are: organizational structure and processes; information technology infrastructure; and information management infrastructure. The paper concludes with the following recommended strategies for managers to prepare their organizations to become online providers of internal information: (1) develop in managers an understanding of the new information and business environment; (2) develop managerial, professional and operational staff understanding of the organizational role of computer-based communication media; (3) re-engineer business processes whose end-product is information provision; (4) develop policies and procedures for management of online information about the organization; and (5) provide appropriate staff with suitable information technology and skills for online information access and provision. (Contains 12 references.) (AEF)

On October 20, 2008, the New Media Consortium announced the release of a white paper produced in conjunction with the Economist Magazine and in collaboration with Apple, Inc. This paper reports the results of a study of nearly 300 CIOs and technology leaders inside and outside of education to gain deeper insight into the wider impact of technology on both higher education and the job-preparedness of today's graduates. Appended are survey results.

This paper discusses one person's experience with the library and research services of the Australian Federal Parliament. The first section describes the multiple functions and roles of politicians, as well as their various information needs, e.g., the need for information on bills, for overseas travel, for writing speeches, and to develop special interests. The second section addresses committee dependence on parliamentary information and research services. Examples are presented of two inquiries of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee that benefited from access to the expertise of parliamentary information specialists and analysts: an examination of the state of Australia's public hospital system, and an inquiry into child migration. The third section considers the significance of access to DPL (Department of the Parliamentary Library) expertise on conscience votes, i.e., free votes when party policy does not apply. The conclusion offers two suggestions: to establish a Parliamentary Library Committee with parliamentarians on the committee, and to publicize the work that the Parliamentary Library and Research services do. (MES)

This paper examines the place of reading in the acquisition of information capability among young people and considers the extent to which this is nurtured and aided by works of the imagination, whether in print or electronic form. Information capability presupposes a range of skills that, in addition to technological skills and the knowledge to use information sources, includes general literacy. The growing literature on information literacy tends to stress the first two requirements. However, a world of information may be physically and politically available, but this is of no value if it cannot be accessed because an individual lacks the ability to read. Today, works of the imagination are not just confined to print; there are many excellent World Wide Web sites providing works of imagination. Works of imagination in electronic format and the use of electronic facilities in accessing and discussing works also make a valuable contribution to achieving information capability. There is evidence in Australia, for example, that such facilities are encouraging more boys to read. A study in the United Kingdom and Australia is proposed to look at the issues outlined and to link these with provision in school and public libraries. (Contains 33 references.) (Author/MES)

Digital reference services at university libraries in Australia and New Zealand are a recent phenomena dating back to the late 1990s--following the developments in Web-based online library services. This paper examines the move towards the provision of e-mail reference services based on the study of 16 randomly chosen university libraries in Australia and 4 in New Zealand. The Web sites of these 20 university libraries were analyzed. This paper presents findings for each of the following questions posed by the study: (1) How accessible is the e-mail reference service on the library's homepage? (2) Are the parameters of the e-mail reference service fully explained in terms of types of questions handled and the maximum response time? (3) Are the guidelines of privacy or confidentiality spelled out? (4) Is there a feedback facility evaluating or commenting on this service's effectiveness? (5) Who can access the e-mail reference service? For example, is the service extended to users in the community? (6) What information is required from users of this service? (7) How useful is the design of the e-mail reference form for conducting a successful reference answering service? Further steps are also discussed. (Contains 26 references.) (AEF)

This study addressed, within the context of Australian public libraries, how people with disabilities can more easily share in the new world of instant information and communication offered by the Internet. Eight public libraries from Victoria and one from Wagga Wagga participated. The sample consisted of 85 adults with a variety of physical and intellectual disabilities. The first stage of data collection involved the evaluation of a range of different equipment considered suitable for public settings. The second stage saw the development of training focusing on the equipment recommended as a result of the evaluation stage. This paper presents results in the following areas: (1) evaluation of adaptive equipment and software, including Intellikeys, Enhancing Internet Access (EIA), trackballs, and the Opera browser; (2) selecting appropriate technology, including criteria to be considered, characteristics to avoid, and recommended equipment and software related to these criteria; (3) training for EIA and Opera; (4) training recommendations; and (5) access policies. Key project recommendations include: adaptive equipment/software need to be selected with care; attention needs to be paid to associated accessibility issues; disability awareness kits can play a valuable role for library staff; library staff require training and reference guides to use adaptive equipment/software effectively; and partnerships with local disability organizations should be established. (Contains 13 references.) (MES)

This paper discusses public library services to remote communities in Australia, focusing on New South Wales (NSW). The first section presents background on the public library network in NSW, including statistics, descriptors/characteristics of public libraries, and funding to establish public Internet access. The second section addresses regional libraries in NSW, focusing on the Riverina Regional Library and the establishment of the Tumut Electronic Network Centre, a project that set up telecentres in several libraries; project aims and benefits are listed. The third section describes infrastructure, goals, and funding of NSW.net, a virtual private Internet network for libraries, local government, and communities. (MES)

This paper discusses reference services in the digital library. The introduction provides definitions of a digital library, and the first section summarizes the purposes of a digital library system, as well as key roles for information professionals. The second section provides examples of mediated and unmediated digital reference. The third section addresses user expectations for reference in the digital environment. The fourth section presents results of focus groups conducted at the National Library of Australia to assess the needs of users both in the networked and print library environment; gaps in user and library perceptions are highlighted. The fifth section describes four models for digital reference: (1) the Collaborative Digital Reference Service, a pilot project developed by the Library of Congress to test the provision of professional library-quality reference service to users any time, anywhere; (2) the Co-operative Online Research Catalog (CORC), an OCLC project comprising a catalog of Internet resources and a mechanism to share pathfinders to help users identify Internet resources; (3) the Council of Australian State Libraries Working Group on Reference Issues, established to identify issues in which a collaborative approach will result in better reference services in Australian libraries; and (4) subject gateways. The final section considers future directions. (MES)

This paper discusses the Research and Evaluation Program at the State Library of New South Wales (Australia) and what it has revealed about clients' notions of value and relevance. An overview is provided of the services that have been developed in order to meet clients expectations, including reading room services and the development of the 3Tier service model comprising: (1) simplifies the process of getting started, providing tools such as guides that allow independent access and services clients can access for themselves; (2) offers assistance in getting clients started on beginning level research through offering client education programs, conducting straightforward research on their behalf, or providing professional advice on using the collection of the library; and (3) offers formalized referral to specialist sections, subject experts, or curators and tailors and customizes services to readers' needs . The library's approach to benchmarking library services is outlined, including a model that shows the relationship between the variables of client satisfaction, the X factor (i.e., client's perception of the library's value), price, service, and product. A chart presents key service attributes and the top ten factors for quality service. (Contains 12 references.) (MES)

This paper focuses on the development, adoption, and integration of resource discovery, knowledge management, and/or knowledge sharing interfaces such as interactive portals, and the use of the library's World Wide Web presence to increase the availability and usability of information services. The introduction addresses changes in library services due to information technology and summarizes the three basic functions that comprise the knowledge mediation function of the library. The first section discusses portals as an access tool and lists several types of portals, i.e., Consumer Portals, Vertical or Niche Portals, Affinity Portals, Horizontal Portals, Enterprise Resource or Corporate Portals, and B2B or Industry Portals. The second section addresses knowledge management, including trends that play a significant role in the current knowledge economy. The third section discusses the evolution of the library Web site to portal. The fourth section describes the portal development program at the Australian National University for Scholarly Information, including examples of library portals and a schematic representation of the database structure. The final section considers future challenges. (Contains 12 references.) (MES)

This paper discusses the legal obligations owed by librarians to the users of their facilities, focusing on the viewing of pornography on the Internet in the public library. The meanings commonly ascribed to the word censorship are presented. Australian federal law that governs the classification of films, videos, computer games, and publications and sets up the requirements related to their access and display is summarized. The guidelines for classification are presented, including the criteria for Refused Classification items, i.e., items that cannot legally be made available. Libraries' obligations under the Online Services Act are addressed, as well as child protection ramifications of Internet pornography in public libraries. Finally, the adequacy of existing policies in libraries is considered, and it is concluded that there are effective ways in which libraries can be both provider and protector. (Contains 26 references.) (MES)

This paper considers innovation in academic libraries. The first part explores the definition and nature of innovation and the literature relevant to academic libraries in particular. In the second part, the outcomes of a search of library World Wide Web sites and a survey of International Association of Technological University Libraries (IATUL) and Australasian academic libraries are detailed. Results in the following areas are presented: innovations since 1995 related to physical facilities, electronic and nonelectronic information services, information literacy, community access, and library cooperation; innovation specified in mission, objectives, or strategic plan; staff development program facilitating innovation and enterprise culture; and budget provision for innovation. These results are presented first for IATUL members excluding Australia and New Zealand (n=49), then for Australia and New Zealand libraries (n=39). The third part reviews the issues that need to be considered by libraries seeking to be innovative and learning organizations in the 21st century. (Contains 17 references.) (MES)

This paper provides a brief survey of Australian newspaper publishing history and describes the National Library's Australian newspaper holdings. Its newspaper collection policy and some of the national issues and initiatives being undertaken to ensure access to and preservation of Australian newspapers are outlined. Highlights include: retention and preservation issues; progress with NPLAN (National Newspaper Preservation Plan); the National Library's retention and preservation policy; repatriation issues; cooperative microfilming projects; and the Australian Cooperative Digitisation Project, including methods employed and outcomes. Appendices include excerpts from the National Library's collection development policy regarding newspapers and the National Library policy on the retention, preservation, and repatriation of Australian newspapers, including guidelines related to retention in hardcopy, preservation action, repatriation of hardcopy newspapers in the library's collection, preservation standards, preservation storage for newspapers, microfilming standards, preservation storage for microfilm, cooperative microfilming, use of national library cold store for storage of masters, and discard of hardcopy newspapers. (MES)

The foundations of national bibliography remain an effective legal deposit regime and the use of widely accepted bibliographic standards, but its nature, format, presentation, and way in which national bibliographies are produced are evolving to reflect changes in technology and user expectations. This paper presents experiences in Australia, where the printed national bibliography has been supplanted by access to a database. Highlights include: the importance of national bibliographies and legal deposit; the need for legal deposit law to be kept up-to-date; the application of deposit to online publishing; standards in the national bibliography; changes in the format of the national bibliography in Australia; problems generated by moving away from traditional forms of publication; and the shared cataloging network--the Australian Bibliographic Network, now replaced by Kinetica. The following emerging challenges to national bibliography are summarized: (1) increasing the comprehensiveness of the national bibliography by the inclusion of a wide variety of formats; (2) continuing to cope with the volume of the national publishing output; (3) the need for an archival version of the national bibliography; and (4) making the national bibliography more user friendly. (MES)

This paper discusses access to Asian serials (i.e., Asian and Western language titles, including publications from Asia, as well as serials about Asia produced elsewhere) in Australian libraries. Background is provided on the development of Asian collections since the 1950s. Results of a 1994 national survey of Asian materials are summarized. Efforts to coordinate Australia's Asian collections are described, including the National Chinese, Japanese, and Korean (CJK) Service and the Indonesian Acquisitions Project. A survey of users of Korean materials is reported, as well as a panel on information needs of Asian studies academics. Other topics include: a collecting agreement for Chinese statistical yearbooks between the National Library and the Australian National University (ANU); World Wide Web sites for major Asian collections in Australia; serial indexing; and backlogs of uncataloged Asian serials. (MES)

This paper discusses services and technology offered to remote sites by the Curtin University of Technology (Australia) Library and Information Service. The following topics are covered: (1) imperatives driving the library to reticulate scholarly electronic information services to clients wherever they are, including the growth of distance education; (2) services offered, including the library's World Wide Web site; (3) barriers faced by the library and its clients related to demographics and communications; (4) strategies and solutions being put in place to overcome these barriers, including state government initiatives, universal telephone service, educational television, and telecenters and MITEs (Modular Interactive Telecommunications Environments); and (5) information/technology transfer, including precautions for transferring technologies to developing communities. (MES)

Teaching within a student-centered paradigm in an information society means accepting the responsibility of teaching for the acquisition of integrated information habits and fully adaptable lifelong information skills. Education today demands classroom teachers who can: model good practice in education programs that teach students to become aware of their own process of learning from a wide variety of bibliographic and technological sources of information; act effectively as mediator by identifying the zone of intervention for each student or class; and carry out teaching only in those areas where the student can learn successfully from a variety of sources. This paper discusses an Australian study which assessed teachers' perspectives of the information search process. Since teachers act as mediators, they need to be shown how to use information- related strategies to teach problem solving and learning more effectively. A key factor is the personal construct or mental model that a teacher brings to the equation. Professional development must be designed to help teachers clarify their personal perspectives and competencies with information seeking and the information search process. Likewise, initiatives related to the introduction of new technologies need to focus on the conceptual demands of information access and communication within these environments rather than just the mechanics of information access. (SWC)