SearchConnections

Library love letters

By Library love letters

Issue 138, Term 3, 2026

ibris, if you’re reading this, please get in touch! And to our other Connections readers: yes, the rumour is true. Stay tuned for more details about SCIS genre stickers! - Ceinwen Jones Dear Connections Editor, We heard a rumour that SCIS were considering making genre stickers for library b

Subject headings update

By Les Kneebone

Issue 92, Term 1 2015

Where to find summary lists of subject heading revisions A summary list of new and revised subject headings is available from the SCIS website . Readers should note that we will not list detailed changes in Connections as was done previously. Consult the SCIS website for recent changes and an ar

A note from the editor

By Nicole Richardson

Issue 103, Term 4 2017

Welcome to Connections 103! There have been lots of exciting changes at SCIS recently: after several standards changes to help make your life easier, we have just launched our new, modern, innovative and user-friendly platform, SCIS Data. And as part of our promise to bring you a more beautiful

New and revised subject headings

By Soula Kipos

Issue 90, Term 3 2014

This is a summary of new and revised SCIS subject headings implemented in June 2014. In this list the headings are marked with: * Existing allowed headings which have been updated with changes to references or notes A Headings which were previously USE references but are now headings in their ow

Digital subscriptions, your library management system and SCIS

By Ceinwen Jones

Issue 133, Term 2, 2025

ushfires. A search for this term on your library management system (LMS) will pull up all the books you have on the topic. However, if you download SCIS records for resources, your school can access as a part of its digital subscriptions – such as ClickView, ePlatform, or StoryBox – search results

School library spotlight: Strathtulloh Primary School

By Krista Thomas

Issue 129, Term 2 2024

I’m well supported, but funding is still an issue because the money’s got to go all around the school and support everybody. Recently, you won our SCIS monthly book giveaway, which was for a box of CSIRO Publishing resources. Can you tell us a bit about how your library resources and supports STE

SCIS news for subscribers

By Anthony Shaw

Issue 138, Term 3, 2026

The results of the 2025 NAP-ICT have just been published and they don’t make good reading. Based on 10,000 Australian Year 6 and Year 10 students, they show that while students are spending more time on devices, their digital literacy is at the lowest levels since testing began in 2005. In a repo

Respect first: Understanding SCIS Subject Headings for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

By Schools Catalogue Information Service (SCIS)

Issue 127, Term 4 2023

The significance of using respectful language in cataloguing cannot be overstated. The SCIS (Schools Catalogue Information Service) Subject Headings List (SCISSHL) plays a crucial role in shaping the language used to describe catalogue records’ content. Given that educators and students access thes

Cataloguing standards: what you see is what you get

By Natasha Campbell

Issue 111, Term 4 2019

It’s rare to have a day when we don’t receive a small parcel or large box of books delivered to one of the six Schools Catalogue Information Service (SCIS) cataloguing depots. SCIS cataloguers add approximately 4,500 catalogue records to the database each month, keeping it relevant and current. Th

Consistency matters

By Mavis Heffernan

Issue 108, Term 1 2019

NOTE: D ue to some changes in SCIS standards, this article was updated from its original text on September 29th, 2021. The SCIS database is well known for its high-quality catalogue records. We sometimes receive queries from SCIS subscribers about inconsistencies in our records. However, t

Demystifying barcodes

By Julie Styles

Issue 96, Term 1 2016

we understand that it can sometimes be difficult to match the exact resource you have in your hand to one of the 1.4 million records available in the SCIS catalogue. This article will look at the identifying numbers many resources are assigned, what they mean, and how each number can be located in S

Let’s talk seriously about series

By Julie Styles

Issue 100, Term 1 2017

Feedback received through SCIS workshops and surveys indicates that inconsistencies in series statements are an issue for many of our customers. It is also an issue for cataloguers, who love consistency. This article explores some of the challenges of cataloguing items within a series. Stand-alon