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All together now: recognising the work of all school library staff
By Karys McEwen
Issue 107, Term 4 2018
end a conference to hear the widespread discussion about how shrinking budgets and staffing cuts are affecting the industry. But amid all the debate, school library staff are working hard to show how valuable they are to the communities they service. There are countless ways in which we are proving
Empowering school library staff to navigate the AI frontier
By Dr Kay Oddone
Issue 126, Term 3 2023
realisation by firstly presenting a brief discussion about generative AI technology, before considering what it means for educators (and particularly school library staff) to be AI ready. It concludes with an evaluation of three generative AI tools that may be used in learning and teaching – QuillBo
Preserving the past: becoming the archivist in the school library
By Naomi Heyman, Nigel Paull
Issue 107, Term 4 2018
ation and future-proofing of the school’s archives were essential elements of the archiving overhaul prior to the sesquicentenary, and are things all school library staff and archivists should consider. Adequate and safe preservation of precious items for enjoyment well into the future is an importa
Two sides of children’s literature: gatekeeper and creator
By Karys McEwen
Issue 121, Term 2 2022
, especially if reading isn’t necessarily valued at home. Librarians have the power to put the right books into the right hands at the right time. School library staff undertake their role in different ways; we all have our tried and tested methods for readers’ advisory. One of my favourite activ
Working together to ensure student access to high-quality school library services
By Holly Godfree
Issue 113, Term 2 2020
Tell me if this sounds familiar: A local group of school library staff are meeting to share ideas. One teacher librarian, let’s call her Janice, is describing how she’s been building a culture of reading with her Year 6 students — trying to reverse the trend we see of teenagers turnin
ASLA Conference and Awards 2023
By Australian School Library Association
Issue 124, Term 1 2023
The Australian School Library Association (ASLA) is very excited to announce its Biennial Conference and Awards for school library staff. ASLA is the national authority and peak forum in the field of teacher librarianship and school library resource services. The 2023 conference will be held in Apr
Students need great school libraries
By Nicole Richardson
Issue 109, Term 2 2019
braries campaign, and Barbara Band, committee member of the Great School Libraries campaign, about what’s driving their campaigns for change, and how school library staff can get involved. Australian Children’s Laureate Morris Gleitzman also shared his insights about how we can work together to enco
The value of podcasts for school library staff
By Amy Hermon
Issue 110, Term 3 2019
No one likes to feel foolish, and I don’t know anyone who wants to admit that they don’t know something. This is how I became such a fan of podcasts and decided to create one of my own. I was never more aware of my kryptonite than sitting in my first class in library school. With nine years of ex
SCIS is more
By Ben Chadwick
Issue 120, Term 1 2022
lly Rippin, Emily Rodda, Nova Weetman and Nadia Wheatley, amongst many, many others. Most importantly, Connections has been a reliable avenue for school library staff to contribute their voices, exchange ideas, discuss issues, and share concerns. In my time there have been contributions from a h
Educational Lending Right school library survey
By Daniel Hughes
Issue 120, Term 1 2022
Many thanks to the hundreds of school library staff members who participated in Educational Lending Right (ELR) 2021–22; the SCIS team is very grateful for your ongoing commitment to the creation of Australian books. The school library survey is conducted by Education Services Australia (ESA) on
SCIS is more
By Anthony Shaw
Issue 125, Term 2 2023
ataloguers around Australia and in New Zealand, who work creating high quality catalogue records that reflect the SCIS Cataloguing Standards, so that school library staff can simply download the catalogue records with a click of the mouse. SCIS works closely with our colleagues across the publish
ELR interview with Kim Brunoro
By Education Services Australia
Issue 123, Term 4 2022
that ensures Australian creators and publishers can receive compensation for the free use of their books in school libraries. Why is it important for school library staff to participate in ELR if they’re invited? School library staff are in an important position to be able to provide data on thei
What the School Library Survey has taught me
By Jen Sheridan
Issue 117, Term 2 2021
oftlink School Library Survey. While the survey looks at statistical information, such as budgets and staffing, it also provides an opportunity for school library staff to share their thoughts about working in a school library. Over the years, I have learnt so much from these comments that have
Interview with Gabrielle Wang, Australian Children's Laureate
By Gabrielle Wang
Issue 122, Term 3 2022
eading. So I would encourage teachers and teacher librarians to give students books about other cultures, especially by diverse authors. Every year school library staff are invited to participate in the Educational Lending Right School Library Survey (ELR). The survey is part of a process that det
Students Need School Libraries (and teacher librarians)
By Cherie Bell
Issue 128, Term 1 2024
econdary school, students are expected to start developing research and referencing skills, and it is the school library that leads this development. School library staff collaborate with classroom teachers to give students access to resources that are relevant to their studies and to the age and st
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
Ten easy tips to be a library rockstar
By Gwyneth Jones
Issue 109, Term 2 2019
The first thing I need to say is that I don’t know that I really love the term ‘library rockstar’, because I think all librarians and library professionals are rockstars or have an inner rockstar just waiting to come out. I also think it sounds a wee bit elitist. But who doesn’t want to rock at the
The professional learning hat
By Barbara Braxton
Issue 97, Term 2 2016
The core of our mandate as teacher librarians is to enable our students to become lifelong learners. By teaching students, staff and other members of the school community about the information literacy process , we provide them with a scaffold that they can use in any area. This allows them to f
The future role of the teacher librarian
By Dr James E Herring
Issue 100, Term 1 2017
I began my career as a school librarian in the UK as part of the local public library service. What struck me when I started — and this is still true today — was that my teaching colleagues were expected to teach their subjects, advise students, and complete administrative tasks. As the school libr