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Leadership is not optional – it's a job requirement
By Hilda Weisburg
Issue 101, Term 2 2017
William Shakespeare in Twelfth Night had Malvolio say ‘Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ‘em’. Change ‘great’ to ‘leaders’ and ‘greatness’ to ‘leadership’ and you have a message for all school librarians. I am well aware our profession has experience
The importance of school libraries in the Google Age
By Kay Oddone
Issue 98, Term 3 2016
ol Library Association 2014, ‘What is a teacher librarian?’, Australian School Library Association, viewed 11 February, 2016, http://www.asla.org.au/advocacy/what-is-a-teacher-librarian.aspx Earls, N 2015, ‘It’s not about shelving the books and keeping kids quiet’, web blog post, viewed 7 Februa
Bring the teachers in: enticing teachers into the library
By Brett Moodie
Issue 90, Term 3 2014
The primary focus of the school library has always been to support the information and learning needs of staff and students. However in most schools the focus invariably falls on providing for the needs of students, whilst supporting staff professional development is an auxiliary function. Back
Positive promotion of the school library
By Jae Rolt
Issue 93, Term 2 2015
After I was named Australia's Favourite Librarian people began asking what it is that makes me so popular with my students, families, colleagues, and community. Whilst the ideas here work for me, they may not work for everyone. Sometimes you need to try other ways to find what works for you and yo
It’s time: let’s improve schools' perceptions of teacher librarians
By Bev Novak
Issue 99, Term 4 2016
I recently noticed that a work colleague shared a link to Sally Dring’s fabulous article published in 2014, ‘Don’t overlook your school librarian, they’re the unsung heroes of literacy’. When I read this article a couple of years ago, I shared it on Twitter, and was delighted to read Sally’s reply:
Ten ways to advocate for your role as a teacher librarian
By Jenny Kemp
Issue 103, Term 4 2017
One of the challenges faced by teacher librarians is that it isn’t always easy for the rest of the school to understand why we are important. In my experience, comments like ‘Surely everything’s online these days?’ and ‘What?! You went to university to get a library qualification? Isn’t it just abo
Celebrating the school library officer
By Madeleine Galbraith
Issue 103, Term 4 2017
If you were listening carefully when Leigh Hobbs began his term as the Australian Children’s Laureate, you might have heard a collective cheer coming from a westerly direction. It arose when he announced that the aim of his tenure was ‘to champion creative opportunities for children, and to highlig
School libraries: miracles and madness
By Jackie French
Issue 104, Term 1 2018
The first school I went to burnt down. This was not my fault. The library didn’t burn down, because there wasn’t one — just a classroom with a shelf of books. I won third place in the lottery to read one of the two or three new books donated each year: The Magic Pudding . Three weeks later, it was
Making the library the true heart of the school
By Caroline Roche
Issue 105, Term 2 2018
That the library is the ‘heart of the school’ is a commonly accepted phrase nowadays, certainly in the United Kingdom. You see it in ads for a new librarian, you see it in tweets, you see it in newspaper articles, and it is even the title of the All Party Parliamentary Group white paper on school l
All together now: recognising the work of all school library staff
By Karys McEwen
Issue 107, Term 4 2018
fail to focus enough on the wide and vital roles of other staff and, in particular, the loss of qualified library staff in schools. ‘School library advocacy groups are mostly represented by teacher librarians and schools from the independent and Catholic sectors. I absolutely applaud the work they
Making connections online
By Clare Forrest
Issue 111, Term 4 2019
al. It satisfies our need to experience our colleagues’ joy in what they do — not to mention giving us an opportunity to steal some of their ideas! Advocacy toolkit School librarians in Aotearoa, even those well qualified and experienced, are often not remunerated well. We ran a discussion to co
Do we need library lessons?
By Barbara Band
Issue 104, Term 1 2018
A school library is (or should be) a whole-school facility, enabling the learning needs of all students, supporting staff to deliver the curriculum, and providing resources for reading and information within a unique space. That’s the theory. The reality, however, is likely to be library staff cons
Guerrilla book fair: getting staff involved in your school library
By Lucas Maxwell
Issue 100, Term 1 2017
Getting staff members involved in your school library can be tough. They are busy people, and any free time they do have is precious to them. Over the past few years, I’ve identified several ways to get staff excited about library programs, which in turn helps to make your library the thrumming hea
Morris Gleitzman on the uniquely contributive role of school libraries
By Morris Gleitzman
Issue 109, Term 2 2019
During my time as Australian Children’s Laureate, I have continued to visit many schools — something I have been doing for about 30 years. I speak to lots of school library staff, because of my long-held interest in the health of school libraries. Over the last 18 months, this has been particularly
Improving literacy levels in remote Indigenous communities
By Karen Williams
Issue 111, Term 4 2019
We are all about exciting, engaging, and connecting kids to the wonderful magic of books. We’re about opening a door — for young minds and imaginations — to a world without limits. The Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) is an Australian organisation that works to reduce low literacy rates among A
The future of Australian educational publishing
By Lee Walker
Issue 116, Term 1 2021
The year 2020 was a year like no other, and Australian educators and students have faced extraordinary challenges as schools closed, reopened, and then closed again in response to COVID-19. Overnight, teachers had to radically change how they delivered their teaching, and I have great admiration fo
Navigating the information landscape through collaboration
By Elizabeth Hutchinson
Issue 101, Term 2 2017
the heart of learning. School librarians need to be aware of current research, the importance of their professionalism, and the power of their own advocacy. It is essential to talk to senior leaders, discussing with them the importance of embedding information literacy into the curriculum and pro
Students need great school libraries
By Nicole Richardson
Issue 109, Term 2 2019
ne is it’s an amazing job and we can have an incredible impact on young people’s lives,’ says Barbara. ‘You can’t put a value on that.’ To keep the advocacy campaigns going, Holly, Barbara and Morris ask for the support of the wider school library community. ‘We’re trying to achieve something real
School library spotlight: Yarra Valley Grammar
By Dr Mark Merry, Miriam Meehan
Issue 112, Term 1 2020
Dr Mark Merry Please tell us about the new Yarra Valley Grammar Research Centre and why the school has invested in it? There was a reasonably shallow view at one stage that libraries were going to go out of fashion because everyone could sit at home and do their research online. That misses the
School libraries and sustainability
By Katalin Mindum
Issue 113, Term 2 2020
With the current focus on climate change and the impact we are having on the environment, many of us are wondering how we can make a real difference. Libraries are quite naturally places that people turn to for ideas as well as answers. They tend to be positive, proactive and full of amazing, commu