Issue 133

Students reading in one of Christian College Geelong's libraries.

What is your role in your school library?

We have five campuses, and I’m the only library technician across all of them. I work one day a week at each campus, following a set schedule. For instance, today is Wednesday, so I’m at our Junior School in Belmont. I’m the only one here on Wednesdays, and there are no classes in the library. That was a deliberate choice so I could be available if someone needs assistance, but my primary role is technical, as I manage our library management system (LMS).

I also coordinate stocktaking at the end of the year across all campuses, update our borrowers and other facets of our LMS, provide reports and statistics to staff as needed, and catalogue our ebook collection, among other things. There is a lot to manage, and SCIS is very important in that.

How do you manage that across five campuses?

Cataloguing is my priority at each campus, to ensure new resources are available for students and staff as soon as possible, so my role is quite focused. We have five campuses catering to years K–12. Because of this, the resources at each campus are quite different.

There is some overlap, of course, but each campus has its own way of doing things, usually due to the differing ages and needs of students. Having one person oversee the catalogue helps maintain consistency across all campuses while still allowing for those differences.

What are the most rewarding aspects of working in a school library?

I don’t know, there’s just something about books and kids. They’ll walk past while I’m working and ask, ‘Oh, can I have that?’ and I have to say, ‘No, not yet.’ Or they’ll be at the OPAC [Online Public Access Catalogue] searching for something and ask, ‘When are we getting a new one?’ and I’ll say, ‘Well, actually, I’ve got it in the pile.’ ‘Oh, can I have it?’ ‘Not yet.’ That excitement, especially in such a digital world, is wonderful.

Kids still love books and magazines, and no matter what I’m doing in the catalogue, they’re engaged. I love that interaction, seeing what they like, handling books, and being part of it all. And I love my colleagues – they’re awesome, too. I have 11 of them across the 5 campuses: a combination of teacher librarians, librarians, library assistants and me.

What kind of challenges do you encounter at your school in engaging kids with reading?

I think the way our staff approach reading makes a big difference. We have Reading-forPleasure sessions for all students weekly up to Year 10, where they come into the library. Our librarians know the stock, they know the kids, they know what the kids like, and they buy books based on those interests. The kids know this, and they can request books if they’d like something purchased. They get really excited about it.

I mentioned to our principal not long ago that the OPAC is often the first research tool younger kids use. Whether they’re searching for a book, an author or a series, just using that tool is great learning for them. They’re gaining skills before they even have a book in their hands. Sometimes they’re disappointed when a book they want is already checked out, but we show them how to reserve it, so they’re constantly learning.

Library staff take the time to talk with kids about what they’ve read and what they might like next. They make recommendations and that personal touch really helps. And it allows the kids to drive their own reading choices, and watching their tastes grow from year to year is a wonderful journey to be on.

Every campus is different, too. One of our campuses is down on the Surf Coast, so there’s a strong interest in books about water and sports, whereas another campus is closer to farmland, and that can influence students’ interests as well. At the senior school, a lot of reading is focused on research for schoolwork, so the way students engage with the library changes as they move through the years.

Do you celebrate national occasions in your libraries? For example, National Reconciliation Week is coming up in Term 2. Is that something you celebrate?

Absolutely. I’m also a member of our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) working party, where I lead the Community and Events area. National Reconciliation Week is a major focus for us, and we ensure it is a key part of our agenda across all campuses.

Our RAP team includes students, staff, a college board member and parent representatives, and we are very active year-round in truth-telling and fostering reconciliation.

Last year, for National Reconciliation Week, which had the theme Now More Than Ever, our middle and senior school students led an initiative to make and sell bracelets across all five campuses. Everyone from kinder students to staff participated, and they were so popular that we realised we needed to do something similar every year, starting earlier and making even more. The proceeds were donated to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. There are activities every day of the week to enhance our students’ learning and the ultimate goal of Reconciliation.

We are always highly active in reconciliation initiatives and committed to keeping them front and centre in our school.

What sort of other events does your library celebrate throughout the year and how do you do it?

We’ve recently celebrated Harmony Week at every campus, International Women’s Day and Library Lovers’ Day, and the library staff at each campus at the moment have done an exceptional job promoting Easter.

We make a point of recognising important events and special occasions throughout the year, particularly ones about diversity. There’s always something happening, and we ensure the library is involved in highlighting and supporting these moments. It’s an important part of what we do. Of course, these events are often linked into the curriculum, too, and the learning that happens across every subject at every year level.

What are some of the best lessons that you’ve learned across your career working in school libraries?

Oh, gee. I come from a time before we had computers, so I’ve learned you have to be patient when technology doesn’t work the way it should. We didn’t have that issue back in the day. 

One thing that hasn’t changed is kids. They’re the same now, towards the end of my career, as they were when I first started. Thankfully, books haven’t been completely replaced by ebooks. While I love digital platforms and think they have their place, that tactile experience of holding a book is still important to our users and borrowers. Kids still get excited when they see a book they love, and that hasn’t changed at all.

What has changed is how students learn. The internet has transformed research, and the way we teach research skills is very different from when I first started. We still teach bibliographies, referencing and all those core skills, but copyright has become a much bigger focus than it used to be. The job is constantly evolving, there’s no way it ever gets boring or stuck in one place because things are always changing.

Another big change is how people perceive libraries. They used to be seen as quiet places where everyone had to shush and you couldn’t really interact. Now, I think libraries, certainly ours, are much more user-friendly and welcoming. They’re places where people come together, share their love of books, and engage in different activities. We have many clubs and programs that bring people in, and there’s a real sense of community.

A lot has changed, but one thing remains the same – kids still love reading, and they still love libraries, and that’s a wonderful thing.

Why do you think libraries are important in 2025, school libraries in particular?

Oh, look, apart from promoting reading for pleasure, school libraries play a crucial role in student learning. From kindergarten, our four-year-olds come in to borrow books and have a lesson once a week, and that continues all the way through to Year 10, where students spend dedicated time reading in the library each week.

That kind of focus on reading wouldn’t necessarily happen elsewhere. Kids are so busy these days, and they’re surrounded by technology, so the library offers a chance to slow down, relax, engage with books and see things from a different perspective.

Libraries also provide essential research skills. Our librarians spend a lot of time tailoring research guides specific to units of work in the curriculum at every year level. They work closely with learning leaders, heads of faculty and teachers to develop resources that don’t just leave students sifting through hundreds of Google search results. The research skills we teach through these guides are absolutely irreplaceable in supporting the curriculum and students’ learning.

And libraries are just a great place to hang out. Let’s face it.

What are your favourite aspects of SCIS?

Favourite aspects of SCIS? Oh, look, I couldn’t do without it.

I’ve been cataloguing since I got here this morning, and it makes my job so much easier. Everything is there for you. If a record is already in the database, I just add what I need. I love that. Of course, I make some changes, every library likes to individualise things for their own needs, but having the subjects, publishing information and descriptors already provided saves so much time. If I had to type all of that out myself, I’d be here forever.

It’s also great to have FYI [the journal of School Library Association of Victoria] and Connections to keep us connected with what other people in the industry are doing. If I ever have a query about something in a MARC record, I can just contact SCIS, and someone always gets back to me very quickly with an answer.

It’s a really good collaboration, and I just couldn’t do without it. Honestly, who wants to spend hours a day flipping through five volumes of the Dewey system to get call numbers when SCIS just gives them to you? It’s awesome.