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ALIA Multicultural e-News
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The ALIA Multicultural e-News is a platform to share news with a Multicultural focus relevant to the Library Information Sector (LIS). It is open to people across LIS to contribute information of relevance. If you have some news to distribute broadly you can contact us via email. If you are interested in contributing a blogpost to our website you can also reach out via email to discuss ideas.
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And the theme for this eNewsletter is...
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The theme for this edition is around advocacy work and library collaborations, and our members and their library teams have been doing some exciting work in the field.
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The main piece centred around this theme is written by one of our members Fei Chang, an LIS student from Adelaide. Having recently presented at ALIA's New Librarians’ Symposium XI in September, Fei is passionate about sharing her experiences from creating meaningful professional connections as an emerging LIS practitioner. She writes:
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... building meaningful professional networks can empower new practitioners by creating learning opportunities, fostering collaboration and professional support, strengthening resilience to navigate change, and ultimately contributing to inclusive and equitable library services.
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Elaborating upon how participating as a speaker at the Symposium has brought her valuable self-reflection and transformative growth as an emerging LIS practitioner, Fei shares how the opportunity helped her:
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- Build confidence in public speaking in English
- Gain inspiration and insights from diverse perspectives
- Expand my professional network across different library sectors
In the spirit of library collaborations, Fei also shares what she has learned listening from other speakers' presentations, emphasising their particular relevance to inclusive library services for Indigenous and multicultural communities. Common messages from these presentations advocated for building strong library partnerships, and engaging with multicultural communities with inclusion and respect.
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Read Fei's full piece "Strengthening Belonging Through Connection and Collaboration" on our website here.
Thank you Fei for sharing!
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Welcome new members!
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ALIA Multicultural would like to take a moment to introduce the following new members to the group:
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Dianne has 19 years of experience teaching Humanities and Literature subjects in the Philippines and at Melbourne Uni’s pathways program, and has administrative experience from the Royal Melbourne Hospital’s Leadership, Culture, and Learning team. Now holding postgraduate qualifications in Information and Library Management, she is a collections project officer at the Centre for Culture, Ethnicity & Health, managing and enhancing the Health Translations library for the Victorian Department of Health. Dianne also volunteers in the Filipino community, focusing on mentoring, professional development, and community building.
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Kasumi is originally from Japan and has recently graduated with a Diploma of Library and Information Services, and is looking forward to developing a career in libraries.
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Simon is a Senior Library and Learning Services Officer in the library for Chisholm Institute, where he leads the libraries' multicultural and inclusion strategy across events, programs, and collections. He facilitates conversation club sessions and is learning Dari Persian to better support the multilingual student cohort. He also brings a strong focus on digital literacy and contribute as a VATL (Victorian Association of TAFE Libraries) committee member and as a casual Library Officer with Frankston City Libraries. He is excited about the opportunity to collaborate on initiatives that strengthen inclusion in libraries and that deliver positive outcomes for diverse communities.
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Tanja holds a PhD in Archaeology and has a background in research, cultural heritage and community engagement. Having experienced firsthand how public libraries can be a lifeline for immigrants to Australia, Tanja is passionate about supporting initiatives that ensure libraries reflect and serve diverse communities.
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We are always looking for passionate and dedicated members!
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You can find out how to join ALIA Multicultural at the end of our eNewsletters or on our website here.
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Image source: Photo by Mabel Amber via pexels
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Successful community collaboration and great partnerships: Khmer Community Book Day 2025
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Greater Dandenong Libraries has kindly shared one of their amazing events that featured a successful community-library collaboration. They write:
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Greater Dandenong Libraries in partnership with the Cambodian Association of Victoria delivered a successful Khmer Community Book Day in March 2025. Established since 1985, Cambodian Association of Victoria works in close collaboration with the Greater Dandenong Libraries LOTE team since 2023, to provide community engagement opportunities to Cambodian community in Greater Dandenong.
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Khmer Community Book Day was an engaging and fun event for the Cambodian community to connect with the library; to explore new Khmer collection, library services and spaces, borrow items and provide feedback for collection development. Forty-eight adults, and twelve kids participated and enjoyed amazing Cambodian traditional dance performances, book displays, and kid’s activities on the day.
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Greater Dandenong Libraries aspire to foster impactful and mutually beneficial community collaborations and partnerships to support the community. This is one such success story that created impactful community engagement for the Cambodian community in Greater Dandenong.
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Overwhelmingly positive feedback received from the participants, the Cambodian community, well-wishers, enthusiasts of Cambodian culture and traditions. Cambodian Association of Victoria played a significant role in providing cultural advice, translation assistance, event promotions, and dance performers to make this event a success.
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It was a truly remarkable community engagement with people belonged to diverse cultures and generations coming together to enjoy and to celebrate the Cambodian community in Greater Dandenong.
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Thank you My Van and Ruwnadhi for sharing!
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Images source: Greater Dandenong Libraries
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What's On
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Mid-Autumn (Moon) Festival: 6 October
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The Mid-Autumn Festival is a popular East and South East Asian celebration of abundance and togetherness. The festival dates back over 3000 years. The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake, which has different variations depending on the country [1].
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In Korean culture, Chuseok is celebrated on October 6, as well as Tết Trung Thu in Vietnamese culture, and Tsukimi in Japanese culture.
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Here are some of the cultural events happening around Australia celebrating this special holiday:
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Image source: Photo by Hạnh Nguyễn via pexels
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Inclusion at Work Week: 17-21 November
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Diversity Council Australia (DCA) holds an annual, week-long national celebration of diversity and inclusion in Australian workplaces where they invite DCA members and non-member organisations to participate and share their diversity and inclusion (D&I) journeys and progress [2].
You can register for your organisation to take part here.
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Image source: Diversity Council Australia
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Indigenous Literacy Day: 3 September
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The Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) recently wrapped up another successful year celebrating Indigenous Literacy Day.
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Each year the ILF has varied initiatives including Indigenous Literacy Day, to share First Nations Stories, Cultures and Languages with children and adults around Australia [3].
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You can catch up on the tremendous work the ILF do and subscribe to further updates here.
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Image source: Indigenous Literacy Foundation
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‘It takes a village to raise a child’ - for many Australian families the village they need is out of reach
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Uniting NSW.ACT have recently published their 2025 Uniting Families Report and within it reveals a stark truth:
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While most Australian families value the support of a ‘village’ in raising children, not all have equal access to one. Housing insecurity, financial stress and complex care responsibilities are leaving too many families without the strong networks they need to thrive [1].
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Whilst extended family and friends form the main part of support networks for most families, the Report reveal that families often turn to neighbours, community groups, faith communities and local services like schools, playgroups, and libraries for help.
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It calls urgently upon long-term funding for these vital community spaces and services, including public libraries, to better support Australian families. It brings to awareness the positive impact of public libraries have in contributing towards family care, and the message that the work libraries do is often not in a vacuum but rather in collaboration with a wider community.
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You can read the full report here.
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Thank you Trish and Jacqui for sharing!
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AI Corner
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As AI adoption gains more traction within our libraries, the ALIA Multicultural Committee believes it would be useful for our members and readers to share some of the latest news, opinions, insights or happenings in the AI and library space!
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This edition of the eNewsletter we have:
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AI and the Future of Libraries
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This recorded discussion is brought to you by Connecticut State Library and covers briefly what AI is and how it is generally being used today, before diving into examples of how library technology companies are incorporating AI within their products.
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The panelists also share ideas about how libraries should respond to AI tools being used by their patrons and staff.
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You can listen to the full panel discussion "AI and the Future of Libraries" here.
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Rethinking AI through First Nations Knowledge
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ACU's Associate Professor Jessica Russ-Smith and Monash University's Professor Michelle D. Lazarus have recently published their new book The AI (R)evolution: Valuing Country, Culture and Community in a World of Algorithms.
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Speaking with the ABC's Natasha Mitchell Centre for Melbourne's Now or Never Festival, Jessica and Michelle call upon a "more thoughtful, inclusive approach to AI - grounded in justice, community values, and First Nations knowledge" [1].
You can read this Open Access book here.
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Image source: Igor Omilaev via Unsplash
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Join ALIA Multicultural
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Join the committee and actively participate in advocacy and key projects.
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ALIA Multicultural is a group of passionate people committed to working collaboratively on advocacy with a multicultural focus specific to the Library Information Sector in Australia. You can join our committee and be part of a dynamic collaborative group committed to information sharing, Professional Development and special projects. Visit the website to learn more about us and send us a message if you would like to be part of the group.
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If you are interested in being an active member of the ALIA Multicultural Committee send us an email to express interest.
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Connect with us
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Access key multicultural research and resources via the ALIA Multicultural website
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ALIA Multicultural curates key research and community resources with a Multicultural focus for the Library Information Sector.
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This information can be accessed via our Resources tab on the ALIA Multicultural Website.
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Do you have some research or resource to suggest as an addition? You can contact us via email with your suggestions.
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Contribute to the ALIA Multicultural website blog
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Do you have an idea to contribute to the ALIA Multicultural website blog? If you or someone you know would be interested in contributing a post, discussion about research, an opinion piece, celebration of multicultural programs and services with our community send us an email expressing areas of interest or articles. The ALIA Multicultural website is a collaborative initiative and we are seeking your voice.
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ALIA Multicultural committee members share news regularly via a number of platforms including Instagram and Facebook and Linkedin.
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Anyone can subscribe to our website and eNews.
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We welcome ideas for content to our website and news too.
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ALIA Multicultural plans and delivers PD twice a year and you can watch our PD webinars via our YouTube channel.
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