Issue 136

With the memories of great summer reads, New Year’s Eve fireworks, and the sounds of the beach and leather hitting willow drifting into our collective subconscious, summer holidays have passed, and Term 1 is upon us once again.

The theme of this issue of Connections is school library spaces, which got me reminiscing about the school libraries from my school days. If I go back a (very) long way to when I started school in suburban Sydney, my first memory is of a school library that only grade 5 and 6 students were allowed to use. I clearly remember my eldest sister’s excitement when she had library lessons and was allowed to use the library, borrowing a new book every week. Sadly for me, boys left primary school to go to their high school at the end of grade 4, so the school library remained off-limits and generally only ever imagined by me and the other boys.

Moving school for grades 5 and 6 meant we had access to the primary school library for the first time. I have vivid memories of the book-filled space, which was strictly ruled by Brother Phillip. There was no talking, laughing or fun allowed — and woe betide any boy who dared smuggle food into the library. Books were to be revered and always read silently. Brother Phillip patrolled the space, somewhat like a combination of Yoda and Darth Sidious but with a jaunty trilby on his head and an ever-present ssshhhhh poised on his lips. Anyone who transgressed was quickly removed from the library and had to stand in the corridor for the rest of the “lesson”, hoping not to be caught by the very strict head of primary.

Upon completion of primary school, we were introduced to the secondary school library. Suddenly a whole new world was opened to me and my peers. Fiction and non-fiction shelves filled with books covering all sorts of subjects, the somewhat baffling Dewey decimal signs on the ends of shelves and then the large mysterious cabinet of catalogue cards. It took some time to master both Dewey and the catalogue, but upon doing so my world opened even further.

The well-stocked shelves and the cataloguing tools weren’t the only new experiences for me. Having access to a school library before and after school as well as at lunchtime was a brand-new adventure. I was able to read when and what I wanted to (within reason, of course — this was a Catholic school after all!), as well as escape the cold or the heat, and sometimes take refuge from the hustle and bustle of the playground. The school library was definitely a safe space, and the library staff were as concerned about student wellbeing as they were with overdue loans or eating in the library.

By modern school library standards, the space wasn’t comfortable or adaptable and the only tech available was a photocopier, but then tech wasn’t really a thing. As much as I have fond memories of that senior school library, I’m also grateful that school library spaces have mostly evolved and changed with the times. Imagine if school library staff were still spending their time manually creating catalogue cards, rather supporting students and educators. Thank goodness SCIS is here to automate cataloguing for you.

Thanks for indulging my walk down memory lane (or perhaps the walk through Dewey 994 or 930) and let’s look ahead to the wonderful year to come.

The SCIS cataloguing team will continue to work towards its commitment to “Enhance SCIS Data to cultivate respectful, culturally appropriate subject headings, descriptive cataloguing and presentation of data” through the work for the inclusion of Ngā upoko tukutuku (Māori Subject Headings) in SCIS Data. We hope to be releasing this new thesaurus in Term 3 or 4 this year, to coincide with Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week).

Further to this, throughout 2025 the SCIS Standards Committee approved revisions to subject headings for Dreamtime stories and Dreaming (Religion) Fiction. For more detail on this and further revised headings, see our “New and revised SCIS subject headings” article.

To learn more about SCIS cataloguing standards, you can refer to SCIS Data website.

The SCIS team has another busy year of conferences planned. We’ll be exhibiting and/or presenting at conferences in every mainland state throughout the year. Our first conference will be the WASLA Library Officers Day in Perth. Ceinwen Jones, our wonderful Editorial and Professional Learning Lead, will be attending.

We also have a full professional learning calendar throughout the year — please go to our professional learning page to find what we have planned and to register. And remember, our professional learning is free, and every registered attendee receives the link to the recording, even if you’re unable to make the live session.

From the entire SCIS team, we wish you a wonderful and wonder-filled 2026 and we welcome you to Issue 136 of Connections.