I am pleased to present the Parliamentary Librarian’s annual report for 2018–19.

The Library has served the Australian Parliament since its establishment in 1901. Over that period, it has been a vital source of high quality, confidential and impartial analysis, information and advice to senators, members of the House of Representatives and parliamentary committees.

Our services continue to evolve to support the Parliament now and into the future as it deals with critical legislative and policy issues. In an environment of growing policy complexity, fast-moving debate, and contested facts, the need for objective, insightful and comprehensive information and analysis has never been more pressing.

This report highlights the Library’s achievements and challenges in 2018–19 in fulfilment of our statutory mandate.

Achievements

2018–19 was a busy and productive year for the Library, and we performed strongly against key tasks and performance measures set out in the annual Resource Agreement. We offered significant support to individual parliamentarians and to committees on a broad range of public policy issues. The Library continued to be held in high regard, as evidenced by spontaneous client feedback, as well as by the extent to which Library advice was cited by senators and members. Our services were once again used by every parliamentarian, be it for confidential research briefs, mapping, training or orientation sessions, media services, or use of collection items.

The Library’s research output comprises both publications and individualised and confidential client research. By year’s end the Library had issued 385 research publications, including 80 Bills Digests. There were 7.9 million online uses of the Library’s publications through ParlInfo Search and the internet. Over the course of the year, the Library answered over 10,000 requests for analysis and advice from parliamentarians and their staff, below our target of 13,000 and less than the 11,656 completed the previous financial year. This outcome reflects both the shortened 2018–19 parliamentary calendar and the characteristic dip in demand in election years as committees finalise inquiries and parliamentarians turn their focus elsewhere.

More than 5,700 books and serials were added to the Library’s catalogue and over 189,700 items were added to Library databases.

Changes in information technology continued to shape the environment in which we work. Thus, in 2018–19 the Library continued to prioritise the digital delivery of products and services as set out in our digital delivery and digital preservation frameworks. The percentage of the collection available in digital form increased to more than 46 per cent (as at 30 June 2019); and there were 4.34 million searches of our online collections and databases. We explored innovative uses of technology, including implementing EZproxy to enable access to a wider range of Library services outside the parliamentary network.

In addition to our business as usual work, two major projects were completed. Library staff completed the digitisation and quality assurance of the Parliamentary Papers Series bound volumes, some 2.4 million pages in all. The full parliamentary biographies of all senators and members of the House of Representatives since 1901 from the Parliamentary Handbook database were also published digitally for the first time. Both collections are now available to all, full-text online, through ParlInfo Search.

The Library met or exceeded all its key performance measures for the timeliness of its services; and attendance at library public policy lectures and seminars and at training and orientation sessions remained high.

The Library also continued to support the Parliament’s engagement with the Asia Pacific region. Library staff participated in United Nations Development Program missions to the parliaments of Samoa and Vanuatu. The Library also assisted the Japanese Diet Library organise the conference and general meeting of the Association of Parliamentary Librarians of Asia and the Pacific.

The 46th Parliament

Preparations for the 46th Parliament were a major focus for everyone in the Library. Given the number of parliamentarians retiring, it was clear that we would be welcoming a significant number of new members and senators after the election.

Accordingly, we assembled a new and enthusiastic cohort of contact officers to act as Library ambassadors, helping senators and members and their staff make best use of our products and services. Such personalised service helps forge relationships with our new clients and gives us an understanding of their individual needs and interests so that we can better tailor our services. I presented at induction sessions for new parliamentarians; and dedicated orientation and training sessions were also provided to their staff as the new offices were established. The success of this initiative is evident in the high demand for research and library services following the general election.

Another highlight of the Library’s year was the preparation of the Briefing Book: a volume of strategic level snapshots of some of the big issues affecting Australia that were expected to figure in the Parliament’s first year. Its purpose was two-fold: to provide senators and members with a high-level perspective of key public policy issues, and to showcase the breadth of expertise of the Library’s specialist researchers.

Coinciding with the commencement of the new Parliament, the Library also refreshed its client services portal; and commenced work on the new edition of the Parliamentary Handbook.

Individualised services

Our clients face a deluge of information and opinion from articles, think tanks, universities and interest groups. To stand out in this crowded environment, the Library needs to combine our professional subject matter expertise with knowledge of our individual clients and what they need. This means that a client advice—whether to support a client speaking on a Bill, drafting amendments, participating in committee inquiries or developing policy proposals for costing—will be tailored to each client and fit for its purpose.

We know from feedback that such personalised services are highly valued.

This was an issue I noted in last year’s Librarian’s review, and this year we maintained a focus on building capability in this area. This included further in-house training in parliamentary business processes (detailed elsewhere) as well as an increased emphasis on personal engagement with clients via face to face meetings and briefings. Similarly, we re-tuned our support for Parliament’s consideration of the federal Budget, offering information and training options early in the calendar year rather than focusing only on the immediate pre-Budget period.

The program to deliver these more integrated and personalised services will continue and be further enhanced next year.

Budget outlook

In previous reviews I have noted the tight budgetary environment in which the Library operates as a result of the compounding impact of efficiency dividends and increased employee and collection costs. Since 2005–06, the Library’s operational funding has decreased significantly in real terms. The increase in the Department’s appropriation in the 2014–15 Budget provided welcome respite and enabled us to begin to address a number of capacity gaps. However, the inevitable erosion of the Library’s funding base due to the efficiency divided has continued, and will be accelerated by the decision to maintain the two per cent efficiency dividend for a further two years.

We have been able to offset the impact of these reductions to some extent by the (now fully realised) capacity to capitalise a significant portion of the core work of the Library Collections and Databases Branch. This has enabled us to develop and maintain critical aspects of our collection. However, it does not offer a broader solution. Providing specialist services to clients is resource intensive. Research and information services can only be provided by having sufficient skilled staff with subject-based knowledge and expertise. Despite harvesting productivity savings across the Library, Research Branch in particular is significantly below its optimum resourcing levels. In recognition of the decreasing levels of appropriation across the forward estimates, we will continue to carefully assess the allocation of staff and other resources across the Library and the appropriate balance between ongoing and non-ongoing staff to limit the impact upon services to senators and members to the greatest extent possible.

Quality of service

We know from formal evaluations and from direct feedback that parliamentarians value the Library’s independence and expertise, and rate us very highly as a source of trusted information. We know, too, that they expect us to maintain the highest standards; and that any a lapse can diminish trust and affect perceptions of the overall quality of our service. This message came sharply home during the year when a glitch in quality control processes for a Library publication resulted in controversy on social media and questioning at Senate Estimates hearings, and prompted us to refine our pre-publication processes to prevent any recurrence.

Strategies to improve consistency in quality remained a focus throughout the year.

A related priority is maintaining the professional skills and knowledge as many of our most experienced staff reach retirement age. This issue was particularly resonant in 2018–19, with eight age-related retirements. The benefits arising from the restructure of Library Collections and Databases Branch are already being realised with a sharper focus on systems and innovation. Implementation of our new strategic workforce plan will help ensure that Library staff have the right skills and knowledge to meet the current and future needs of the Parliament.

The year ahead

The focus for the last quarter of 2018–19 has been introducing the Library’s services to a new cohort of parliamentarians. A key priority for the year ahead will be a program of outreach to longer serving senators and members and their staff to ensure that they too are able to benefit from the full suite of the Library’s services. The Library will also continue its new program of visits to electorate offices to demonstrate how the Library can add value and support them in their daily work.

In regards to budgetary issues, the Library will seek to facilitate early finalisation of the Library’s Resource Agreement for 2019–20. The budget will continue to be closely managed to ensure resources are deployed to greatest effect.

We anticipate the new digital edition of the Parliamentary Handbook will be released in 2020; a new print edition will also be published.

We expect to go to market by the end of the 2019–20 financial year for the client evaluation of Library services for the 46th Parliament.

The Library will implement its strategic human workforce plan to assist the recruitment, retention and development of staff with expertise and commitment to excellence in client service, and to improve succession planning and knowledge transfer.

The Library will continue to report regularly to the Presiding Officers and to the Joint Standing Committee on the Parliamentary Library on these matters.

I would like to thank the Presiding Officers and the members of the Joint Standing Committee on the Parliamentary Library for their ongoing support. Thanks go also to the Secretary DPS and colleagues across DPS and the parliamentary departments for their collegiality and their support for the Library’s work. Finally, my particular thanks to everyone in the Parliamentary Library for their individual and collective contribution and commitment to supporting the work of the Parliament.

Dr Dianne Heriot
Parliamentary Librarian