Core Domains

The three Core Domains represent the expected knowledge, skills and ethics required for all roles across the LIS workforce. The Core Domains are foundational and provide shared understanding of the sector’s ethics and values and of the wider context of the LIS sector, however, alone they are not sufficient for the majority of LIS roles. Some roles will require all the Professional Knowledge Domains obtained through an ALIA-accredited LIS qualification while others may only require evidence of one or more specific Professional Knowledge Domains. The overarching domain of Active Professionalism is an important focus for all roles.

The Core Domains are: 

While the Core Domains anchor the Framework design, people may develop understanding in any order and may come to the Core Domains after building expertise in other Professional Knowledge Domains. The Core Domains underpin the application of LIS skills within the different Professional Knowledge Domains.

The Environments and Contexts Core Domain addresses knowledge and understanding of the unique and diverse environments of the library and information services sector. Knowledge areas in this domain embrace the wider library and information context, as well as the specific sector area of employment and the way in which they operate in their areas e.g. schools, university, public, health, law, etc.

This includes current knowledge and understanding of the library and information environment, including:

  • historical background and changing nature of the library, information and knowledge environments 
  • contexts in which information is originated, described, stored, organised, preserved, retrieved, modified and used in general and in the particular sector of practice or employment
  • wider political, economic, social, cultural, educational, technological and environmental factors and events which may impact on the profession and on the particular sector of practice or employment
  • legal and regulatory frameworks which may apply to professional practice in the broader context and those that apply to the specific area of practice or employment
  • policies and standards of relevant government, corporate and professional bodies and those that apply to the specific area of practice or employment
  • terminologies and vocabularies as used in different professional and technical contexts, and those employed in the specific professional or technical area of practice
  • understanding of open access, open science, open data and Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property (ICIP).

The Respect and recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges, cultures and Country Core Domain is for all people engaged in library and information services in Australia, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, embedding recognition and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in practice. 

This involves current understanding of cultural protocols for Acknowledgement of Country across the diverse First Nations communities of Australia, and awareness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges, cultures and Country in relation to the library and information environment, including:

  • an acknowledgement that we are all living and working on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Country
  • an understanding of the diversity and importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and knowledge systems
  • the significance of Indigenous worldviews and cultural practices as these relate to the library and information sector
  • the provision of services addressing unique information needs of Indigenous people and communities 
  • the impact of colonisation and the relationship with libraries and information systems 
  • protocols around Indigenous collections and access
  • the importance of First Nations' voices and representation in LIS practice, especially in work or collections about or for First Nations peoples
  • cultural competency to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander colleagues’ wellbeing within the workplace
  • a commitment to uphold the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

See the First Nations Domains page for more information about this domain and its development.

The Ethics and Values Core Domain acknowledges that our shared ethics and values unite those working in the LIS sector and guides our service delivery. People engaged in library and information services are members of a profession committed to act with integrity, ethics, trust, expertise and for the promotion of public good. This includes upholding core ethical principles, including: 

  • Access to information
  • Responsibilities towards individuals and society
  • Privacy and transparency
  • Principles of open access and intellectual property
  • Neutrality, personal integrity and professional skills
  • Colleague and employer/employee relationships.

Australia does not yet have a code of ethics unique to this country, however, ALIA has formally endorsed (ALIA endorsement of the IFLA code of ethics statement (2018)) the document published by the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA): IFLA Code of ethics for librarians and other information workers (2012). 

ALIA will be working to create an Australia-specific code of ethics as part of the Pathways Projects in 2024.  

Further guidance on ethical behaviour is provided in the ALIA professional conduct policy statement (2020). These documents stress that people engaged in library and information services are members of a profession committed to act with integrity, ethics, trust, expertise and the promotion of public good. 

The ALIA Core values policy statement (2024) outlines eleven core values that library and information services professionals commit themselves to:

  1. Promotion of the free flow of information and ideas through open access to recorded knowledge, information, and creative works
  2. Delivery of authentic information and evidence-based practice supported by quality research
  3. Connection of people to ideas, knowledge creation and learning
  4. Dedication to fostering reading, information and digital literacies
  5. Respect for the diversity, individuality and equality of all
  6. Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first peoples of the land, and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges, cultures and Country
  7. Adherence to information privacy principles
  8. Management, organisation and preservation of the human record
  9. Excellence, accountability, integrity and responsibility in services to our communities
  10. Commitment to maintaining currency of professional knowledge and practice
  11. Partnerships and collaborations to advance these values.

The ALIA Library and Information Services Workforce Framework Explanatory Materials

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