Search results

It’s time: let’s improve schools' perceptions of teacher librarians

By Bev Novak

Issue 99, Term 4 2016

rdian, teacher librarians still need to assert their relevance within school communities. In her article in Connections 98, ‘The importance of school libraries in the Google Age’, Kay Oddone notes the positive attributes of teacher librarians, and implores readers to use her arguments as a ‘catalyst

A not so secret garden

By Kathryn Williams, Heather Harrison

Issue 112, Term 1 2020

elop students’ understanding of their natural and human environments. People questioned why we needed changes when our facility was still so new, but libraries should never remain static and, when the funds became available, we wanted to bring something innovative and dynamic to our already much-lov

Do we need library lessons?

By Barbara Band

Issue 104, Term 1 2018

ional initiatives. Communication via tutors and promotional posters has a limited reach. Lifelong learning In addition to library skills, many school libraries deliver an information skills program teaching basic competencies that are essential for both further education and the workplace, and that

Ten ways to transform your library into a flexible learning space

By Liza Moss

Issue 107, Term 4 2018

While it is true that its uses may vary among assemblies, exams and PE classes, generally each use takes place sequentially rather than concurrently. Libraries are the true multipurpose centres. The library at my school can be hosting a farewell ceremony for visiting Japanese students, providing a p

School library spotlight: Mt St Michael's College

By Sandra Mannion

Issue 106, Term 3 2018

ated in-house to provide students with subject-specific digital and interactive resources, including links to relevant websites and databases. School libraries are places where all students feel welcomed and are encouraged to grow and learn. We do a lot more than just provide books and information;

Promoting reading for pleasure in school libraries

By Emma Suffield

Issue 108, Term 1 2019

I have been a school librarian for five years now and what a journey it has been. The reason I applied for this role was to promote reading for pleasure and share my love of reading with young learners; there is nothing more satisfying than turning a reluctant reader into an avid one. When I started

Educational Lending Right school library survey

By Daniel Hughes

Issue 120, Term 1 2022

tralian Government’s Office for the Arts. The purpose of the survey is to determine an estimate of the number of copies of books in Australian school libraries. The Office for the Arts then combines the school scores with university and TAFE estimates to determine how much money will be paid to elig

What the School Library Survey has taught me

By Jen Sheridan

Issue 117, Term 2 2021

’t occurred to me as a student is that this doesn’t happen by accident but through the hard work and heart of the committed staff that work in school libraries. This has been highlighted to me through comments shared, many of which have been collated in these feature documents: softlinkint.com/blog/

Improving literacy levels in remote Indigenous communities

By Karen Williams

Issue 111, Term 4 2019

ndation (ILF) is an Australian organisation that works to reduce low literacy rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children by supplying libraries of culturally appropriate books to remote Indigenous communities. Many early literacy academics and researchers argue that cultivating a lov

Looking back: school library catalogues and the online revolution

By Lance Deveson

Issue 100, Term 1 2017

terial, purchased in rolls. We usually wasted a complete set getting the cards to line up, which furthered our interest in computing and their use in libraries. But as a young teacher librarian, I was excited to be using this new technology, and thought it a major leap forward in getting books onto

School library spotlight: Macleans College

By Christine Hurst

Issue 110, Term 3 2019

e library manager and my role is a mixture of behind the scenes and ‘front of house’ tasks. An ordinary day — if there is such a thing in high school libraries — could involve acquisition and purchases, showing a class how to access the databases we have, updating procedure documents, curating onlin

Library makerspaces: revolution or evolution?

By Chris Harte

Issue 97, Term 2 2016

The makerspace movement is gaining momentum in the world of libraries, although it is not an entirely new concept. One of the first makerspaces built specifically to invigorate the hearts, hands, and minds of young inventors opened in 1876. Established by Thomas Edison in the New Jersey hamlet of Me

School library spotlight: Chisholm Catholic College

By Monique McQueen

Issue 100, Term 1 2017

p, maintain, and promote digital resources; run events; and lead the development of learning spaces in the school. How long have you worked in school libraries, and what inspired you to go down this path? I have worked in both primary and secondary school libraries for nine years. After 13 years as

School library spotlight: Melbourne High School

By Pam Saunders

Issue 99, Term 4 2016

y 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 questions you’d like us to include in this section? Please email [email protected] What i

School library spotlight: Ocean Reef Senior High School

By Sarah Betteridge

Issue 109, Term 2 2019

d referencing sessions, and curriculum support. Our school library was one of the 17 Western Australian schools appearing on Australia’s Great School Libraries Honours List. The library team is small. I manage two school administrative support staff who job-share one full-time role. We are also extr

School library spotlight: Academy of Mary Immaculate

By Anne Chowne

Issue 111, Term 4 2019

subject headings/ ScOT terms they use. Please keep producing Connections and tapping into the wonderfulthings that are happening out there in school libraries. Image credits Images supplied by Anne Chowne

The future of Australian educational publishing

By Lee Walker

Issue 116, Term 1 2021

ely overwhelming. There was also quick action to move author events from in-person to online, and industry-wide storytime agreements allowed schools, libraries and bookstores to continue much-loved shared reading experiences at home. Australian publishers also do all they can to encourage young peop

Stopping the slide: improving reading rates in the middle school

By Narelle Keen

Issue 99, Term 4 2016

ear of middle school — that number had fallen to 16.5 books per student. Of course, these figures do not take into account books borrowed from public libraries or from friends, or books that students had bought or received from family. However, the significant drop in numbers was concerning enough t

Genrefying the fiction collection

By Susan Davenport

Issue 102, Term 3 2017

our whole genre-labelling system. Lyn Hay presented a timely Syba Academy seminar, ‘Rethinking the collection: principles and practice for 21C school libraries’, and our four teacher librarians were given the opportunity to attend. As the reasoning for genrefication unfolded, it was clear that we we

School library spotlight: Campbelltown Performing Arts High School

By Cathy Costello

Issue 101, Term 2 2017

ch a junior HSIE (Human Society and its Environment) class while simultaneously fulfilling my role as teacher librarian. I have worked in high school libraries, on and off, for more than 20 years. The teacher librarian role has been ever-changing and evolving in response to the information landscape