Issue 134

Claire Elliott (centre), with SCIS Catalogue Content Manager Renate Beilharz (left) and ASLA president Martha Itzcovitz (right).

What does being named ASLA’s School Library Professional of the Year mean to you personally and professionally?

I don’t know that I really separate the personal and professional, because they’re very much enmeshed for me. I really enjoy my job. I enjoy literature, reading and connecting readers to books. That might be family members and friends, or it might be in a work context. Either way, I love it.

I dedicate a lot of my time to library outside of work, because really I enjoy finding out/learning about trends in literature and reading. I’ve also always been studying. Ever since I graduated from university, apart from a short gap of maybe three or four years, I’ve continued to study for the past 10 to 15 years.

To me, the award is an acknowledgement that all my hard work hasn’t been wasted. It’s all those things that I get joy from and find rewarding being recognised. I never did anything for the extrinsic rewards. I’m very self-motivated, and it’s always been about the intrinsic value of learning for me. But every now and then, it’s really nice to receive an acknowledgement for what you’ve been doing for the last 15 years or so.

One of your achievements cited in the awards speech was that you led the revitalisation of Barker College’s wide-reading program. How did you go about aligning it more closely with the curriculum and student interests?

My boss Kat, the Director of Library Services, and I both started at Barker College at the same time, about two and a half years ago. We made a promise to ourselves that we’d spend our first year just observing before we decided to change anything. In reality, that lasted barely six months.

During this initial period, we gathered feedback from English teachers, particularly the Head of English and others who were involved with our wide-reading program. What came through was that the program wasn’t necessarily consistent across classes. With two year groups with 16 classes each, the English teachers and department were looking for a more cohesive experience for students. So we focused on ensuring greater consistency in what was being delivered.

For example, we introduced the idea of having consistent genres. Year 7, for instance, would focus on a specific genre, like historical fiction, and every student in that year level would engage with that genre in some form. At the same time, we made sure that teacher libarians still had room to bring in their own flavour, books they were passionate about or familiar with. So while the learning outcomes and genre focus were the same, the delivery could vary slightly based on the librarian’s individual style.

We also looked at creating a more consistent workflow. What we’d found was that each teacher librarian was essentially doing the same lesson, but were creating their own materials, slides, research, everything. It was a lot of duplicated effort. So instead, we moved to a model where one person would take responsibility for developing a shared lesson, and others could just deliver it. Of course, they could still tweak it to suit their own preferences, but the core lesson was already there.

Around the same time, the NSW English curriculum changed. It placed a stronger emphasis on fostering a love of reading and exposing students to a variety of genres, as well as encouraging discussions about books. We took that on board and built those elements into our program.

We made a promise to ourselves that we’d spend our first year just observing before we decided to change anything. In reality, that lasted barely six months.

Another key piece of feedback we received from English teachers was that there wasn’t much accountability for students. They weren’t producing any work as part of the program. Initially, that was intentional. We wanted students to just engage with reading and have dedicated time for it. But teachers asked for some kind of light-touch accountability. So we introduced a book response task.

At first, this was twice a year, once per semester. Students would produce a response to a book and then share it in small groups. This proved a bit too much for our reluctant or non-readers. We’ve since pared it back to once a year. The requirement now is just that they engage with one text from start to finish, whether that’s a novel, graphic novel, rapid read, or even a picture book. It’s about lifting the level of engagement without making it overwhelming.

We also surveyed the English teachers at the end of the year, and the feedback we received helped us reshape the program. From there, we reworked the program, mapped out what needed to be done, and divided it up amongst the team. Different teacher librarians took responsibility for developing different lessons. The aim was to make sure that what we were doing held students accountable, was consistent, made time for independent reading, while also being time-efficient for staff as well.

When I returned to Australia after working overseas, I joined ASLA thinking it would be a good networking opportunity, but it ended up being so much more.

The subject-specific LibGuides you introduced were also praised during the award speeches. What role do they play in supporting teaching and learning at your school?

The subject-specific LibGuides were something Kat and I really spearheaded together. We realised that, while the library had a strong digital presence in terms of databases, there wasn’t actually a clear online landing page for the library itself. After our first year of running research skills sessions, which are separate from the wide-reading program, we wanted a way to track and tailor the resources we were recommending to students, particularly by subject area.

Teacher librarians have subject liaison roles for each subject area, so we created a dedicated LibGuide page. For example, PDHPE is one of my areas. I included links to relevant databases at the top, then supplemented those with freely available resources, such as websites, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and others like sports science sources. We also collaborated with subject teachers to include podcasts they recommended, specific books they found useful, and anything else that supports student research in that area.

It’s still a work in progress, but we're building momentum. We’ve also introduced an online booking system. Teachers can contact us to schedule in-class research sessions, and we use those sessions to direct students to the relevant LibGuide. On top of that, students can now book one-on-one sessions with a teacher librarian through an Outlook booking page. This allows them to get tailored research support or referencing help, whether it’s checking their Chicago style or fine-tuning APA citations.

What do you think is most important to pass on to those entering the profession?

I think it’s important to come into the profession with an open mind. What you think a library is might not reflect what it actually is, or what it will become. Libraries are no longer just quiet spaces or repositories of books. They’re dynamic, evolving environments, and you need to be adaptable.

One of the best things you can do is visit other libraries. Seeing different spaces and how they operate helps you break out of set ways of thinking and brings fresh ideas back to your own practice. An openness to change and learning from others is essential.

You’ve contributed at both local and national levels of professional organisations. Why is that kind of engagement important to you?

When I returned to Australia after working overseas, I joined ASLA thinking it would be a good networking opportunity, but it ended up being so much more. Being involved meant planning conferences, working with experienced professionals, and staying on top of trends in the field. It pushed me to think ahead about where libraries are going and what we need to offer to support that. It’s been incredibly valuable for my professional and personal growth.

Finally, if you could change one thing about how school libraries are understood or supported in education, what would it be?

I’d like to see a stronger connection made between having a qualified teacher librarian and the impact that can have on student literacy. Libraries aren’t just about books, they’re about expertise, resources, and supporting both students and teachers to foster a genuine love of reading. When schools don’t have library support, it’s often assumed teachers can do it all, but not every teacher reads for pleasure or knows how to bring literature into the classroom. A well-staffed library can make all the difference.