Vale Michele Huston

Today I heard that Michele Huston passed away. I am very sad. I will miss her very much: the sound of her voice, her laugh, her wit and her wise advice when I needed it.

We worked together for some years at the Australian War Memorial and continued to collaborate after she left the Memorial to work at the National Library of Australia. I enjoyed working with her and talking with her immensely.
She encouraged and championed new thinking from perspectives well away from the traditional areas in cultural institutions.
The Australian library sector has lost much with her passing, but she leaves a legacy in the people she encouraged and in many of the web initiatives she set in place.
There is a wonderful photo of Michele by Russ Weakley on Flickr with one of the talents she nurtured at both the Memorial and at NLA, Paul Hagon.
Farewell my friend. My sympathies to her loving family.


Professor Heidi Julien on Information Literacy: Conceptual Challenges

This was a joint event run on 2 August 2010 by UTS Library and the UTS Centre for Information and Knowledge Management. Our Thanks to Professor Julien who is a Professor and Graduate Coordinator in the School of Library and Information Studies of the University of Alberta.


We broadcast the talk live on UStream and will also put a recording up on our website as soon as we can. I will advise when this has been done. (Check http://www.lib.uts.edu.au/)

Orchid update


IMG_0544
Originally uploaded by Mal Booth

The beautiful orchid given to me a few weeks ago in memory of my late brother Muz is still going really strongly. The colours are very vivid still and maybe some of the rain we’ve had recently has helped.

These images were taken with my new camera and an older 17-85mm lens, playing around with exposure settings and the macro manual focus.

Breakfast at Chowder Bay

My imaginary friend Kenny and I went to Chowder Bay this morning for breakfast with my sister Mez, my brother-in-law Phil and their dogs Hettie and Tiffany. I’ve been sick with a head cold or some weird virus for about a week now so I had to rug up well, but it was good to get out of the house and to see the dogs. They always make me happy.

Warning! This post contains cupcakes

But you have to find them . . .


I gave a talk to staff of the Australian Museum about our Wallwisher feedback board today. On the way back I took the opportunity to take a few images with my new camera. I’m still learning about its use and all of its features. The morning wasn’t too cold but it was really still and clear. The sky was a vivid blue and made a perfect background. I’m enjoying just being in Sydney with all it has to offer and my work at UTS Library.