About Us
"All school library staff will have equitable access to affordable and relevant skills workshops, networking and professional support."
The Library & Information Focused Training (LIFT) group began as the Library Officers’ Focus Group (LOFG) and was established in 2011, under the auspices of the Institute for Professional Learning (IPL). The group was established to be a representative group of Library Officers to devise and deliver programs that would enable the professional growth of Library staff in WA.
In May 2015, it was announced that the IPL would focus on “building the leadership capacity of staff in schools to meet the continuing challenges of school autonomy and delivering on the priorities of Focus 2015”. This resulted in the cessation of the support for both the LOFG and other groups that represented school support staff. Existing LOFG members decided to continue their work rebadged as LIFT.
Membership of the group is voluntary and is supported by our Principals, allowing time out of the library when required, for meetings and to facilitate or present PD workshops.
Since our establishment, we have facilitated sessions and interactive workshops both in the metropolitan and regional areas.
Hundreds of Library Officers from across the State have attended these sessions and provided very positive feedback about sessions covering financial responsibilities, audit requirements, copyright, cataloguing, digital technologies, library & community networking and building relationships with local and state libraries.
With the combined experience and knowledge of members, we are able to offer practical advice and support on how school libraries work. We as a group are competent in choosing PD that is relevant, beneficial and affordable.
In 2021 we were advised that we were not able to continue operation in our current form.