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A new look for a trusted learning resource

By Article by the Schools Catalogue Information Service (SCIS)

Issue 135, Term 4, 2025

trusted tool that’s supported teaching and learning for more than a decade. Hōpara Kaupapa (Topic Explorer) continues its mission to help teachers, school library staff and students in Years 0–13 (NZ classification) discover quality, curated online resources. The name hōpara kaupapa means ‘to expl

New websites and apps

By Article by the Schools Catalogue Information Service (SCIS)

Issue 139, Term 4, 2026

ast.com/for-the-love-of-libraries-an-alia-schools-podcast/episodes/understanding-australian-readers-with-anna-burkey This ALIA schools podcast for school library staff covers a range of topics suitable for everyone from newcomers to experienced library staff and even school leadership. The podcas

The Educational Lending Right (ELR) school library survey is upon us!

By Samantha Bound

Issue 139, Term 4, 2026

thank all our authors, creators, publishers, library vendors, literary organisations, Government bodies (including Office for the Arts) and of course school library staff for their participation and support. Stay tuned for the term one edition of Connections next year, where we will share some o

Non-fiction: the elephant in the library

By Rebecca Tobler

Issue 107, Term 4 2018

ools and fields illuminated a growing sentiment — that we didn’t need non-fiction at all! I was understandably floored by this turn of events. Most school library staff will not disagree with the notion that we are ‘fighting a losing battle’, but have we already lost, and simply not noticed yet?

Love and Autism

By Kay Kerr

Issue 125, Term 2 2023

periences. As our society continues to have conversations about diversifying the voices and perspectives in our storytelling, what role do you see school library staff playing in educating young people when it comes to not just neurodiversity, but diversity in general? I’ve actually just start

Stereotypes and the mythology of race: legacy thinking that keeps us divided

By Dr Jared Thomas

Issue 137, Term 2, 2026

Aboriginal and non-Torres Strait Islanders seeing themselves , all within the context of society as a whole. Jared emphasises that it is the role of school library staff to ensure collections are diverse and representative, and there are plenty of resources available to enable this. It’s the author

Authority File Maintenance - An Ongoing Task

By Carolyn Brown and Jane Withers

Issue 36, Term 1 2001

ions where we were uncertain. Maintenance of authority files is an ongoing, ultimately rewarding task. We would advise Teacher Librarians and other school library staff to undertake the process in small manageable 'chunks' and to use the power of the library system to make changes and corrections

Website and app reviews

By Nigel Paull

Issue 109, Term 2 2019

ustry’. Categories include resources for primary; secondary; and tertiary, TAFE, and vocational. This website is a useful resource selection tool for school library staff and teachers. SCIS no. 1909720 Farm and livestock management software www.agriwebb.com AgriWebb is an Australian software

SCIS is more

By Dr Ben Chadwick

Issue 113, Term 2 2020

n is unfolding and events are shifting day by day. The school library community is facing many challenges, but despite this we hear daily examples of school library staff sharing suggestions, information and encouragement to their colleagues, and striving to deliver value to teachers, students and f

ASLA Australian Teacher Librarian Award 2021

By Kerry Pope

Issue 118, TERM 3 2021

t offers in having a centrally based cataloguing service has enabled many schools the opportunity to access catalogue records. This frees up time for school library staff to undertake other tasks that need to be performed in the school library. I have been a proud supporter of SCIS right from the be

SCIS is more

By Renate Beilharz

Issue 122, Term 3 2022

tative Committee (SSC) was inaugurated in August 2021 and exists to help ensure that SCIS draws from a range of perspectives when updating standards. School library staff from around Australia and New Zealand were selected to join the SSC, ensuring a range of school types are represented. The curren

SCIS is more

By Anthony Shaw

Issue 123, Term 4 2022

ss, resourcing issues associated with both the pandemic and skills shortages, and changing delivery models. I’m sure these all sound very familiar to school library staff who face these same challenges and more. My work with public libraries focused  on data analytics, streamlining workflows and p

Leading whole school literacy from the library

By Dr Margaret Merga

Issue 124, Term 1 2023

, 2019b) and they have skills in meeting the needs of diverse literacy learners (Merga, 2019a). There is a growing body of research linking qualified school library staff and positive effects for student literacy performance (as reviewed in Lance & Kachel, 2018).  Cross-curricular. Teacher libra

SCIS is More

By Anthony Shaw

Issue 130, Term 3, 2024

School Library Association South Australia (SLASA) and CBCA SA conference, Captivate-Connect- Curate. It was great to catch up with so many dedicated school library staff and hear about how they’re helping to support better outcomes for students. The conference program was packed with wonderful pr

SCIS is more

By Anthony Shaw

Issue 133, Term 2, 2025

dback and more than 10% of you responded. One clear message was that the survey was too long, so we’ve shortened the 2025 version. We appreciate that school library staff are time poor and would rather spend their time supporting students and teachers than completing surveys. The 2025 SCIS custome

Vale Renate Beilharz, 1962–2026

By Schools Catalogue Information Service (SCIS)

Issue 139, Term 4, 2026

final contribution to the library community was the Schools Cataloguing Community of Practice. As the instigator of this group, she brought together school library staff from all roles, locations and levels of experience, creating a supportive environment where learning and connection were at the h

Collector, curator or collaborator?

By Jennie Bales

Issue 100, Term 1 2017

rces, and expertise — all of which are fundamental to being a successful and effective school library practitioner. To be a powerhouse of expertise, school library staff need constant and regular exposure to new ideas embracing educational and technological developments, sources, and resources. An

SCIS interviews Teacher Librarian Award winner Megan Daley

By Megan Daley

Issue 126, Term 3 2023

school administrators and the wider community. Those of us who work in the industry intimately understand the value and the importance of the work of school library staff. But for those outside of our circles, I think we do need to collect data – as much as numbers and data aren’t my thing. I thin

Learning online: MOOCs for library staff

By Martin Gray

Issue 90, Term 3 2014

ent or the chess clubs in schools, who meet and improve each other's skills through playing. Pros and Cons Both these courses would be useful for school library staff and teachers, whether library qualified or not. The mapping course is a good introduction to self-paced learning courses, being s

School library spotlight: Melbourne High School

By Pam Saunders

Issue 99, Term 4 2016

In this issue of Connections , we introduce a new regular feature, ‘School library spotlight’. This article gives us an opportunity to interview school library staff, so we can share with our readers what is happening within school libraries in Australia and New Zealand. Do you have any quest