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The Teacher Librarian and ChatGPT
By Stephanie Strachan
Issue 126, Term 3 2023
At the end of last term, an exasperated member of staff pleaded with me: how can we stop students cheating in assessments using ChatGPT and similar AI tools? Sadly, I was not able to offer any quick fix. In fact, from what I can gather, these new technologies have turned the world of academic wri
Unheard Voices: Transforming library spine labels for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation
By Written by Education Services Australia
Issue 127, Term 4 2023
The need for change Robyn Ellis, a dedicated teacher librarian at Byron Bay High School, found herself facing a challenging task. Teachers were turning to her, seeking young adult fiction that aligned with the increased focus on the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the n
The Great Aussie Book Count 2023–24
By Amanda Shay
Issue 127, Term 4 2023
When authors and publishers are compensated for the free use of their content in our school libraries, they are able to produce new content for all. Together with the Australian Government’s Office for the Arts, Education Services Australia (ESA) is currently working with school libraries acros
School library spotlight: The King's School Senior Library
By The King's School Library team
Issue 127, Term 4 2023
Tell us about your school, your library team and their roles. The King’s School is an independent Anglican day and boarding school for boys, founded in 1831. Our school community is truly multicultural and represents the diverse nature of contemporary Australian society. As a library team, our
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
21st-century literacy with graphic novels
By Iurgi Urrutia
Issue 115, Term 4 2020
Reading is reading We read books, newspapers, magazines, billboards, signs, notices, bills, websites, blogs, social media posts et cetera. When we read all those things, consciously or unconsciously we’re developing and using multiple literacy skills. Thanks to the internet and social media, we’r
How an old book created a commitment to better represent First Nations Australians
By Kerry Klimm, Dale Robertson
Issue 117, Term 2 2021
A mother’s anger: Kerry Klimm When my 8-year-old showed me his library book, I knew immediately from the cover it wasn’t going to be positive. I flicked through the pages and was disturbed at what I saw. It took me back to my childhood – growing up in the ‘80s learning about ‘The Aborigines’, def
SCIS is more
By Caroline Hartley
Issue 115, Term 4 2020
database of accurate, consistent and authoritative catalogue records, created to agreed international standards. The SCIS database is often used by school library staff as a tool for sourcing new resources in areas of interest, both for the library and to support the wider curriculum needs of thei
New Zealand News
By Rosa-Jane French
Issue 13, Term 2 1995
ed systems, as well as an increasing number of CD-ROM data-drives and modems. Another initiative this year has been to establish a Listserv so that school library staff can post messages via e-mail to everyone who subscribes. We anticipate that this will be another way of overcoming the isolation
The Question of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
By Catherine Barnes
Issue 125, Term 2 2023
future, the currency and publicity of the topic should prompt us to consider our past and current practices. Some of us would remember a time when school library staff searched databases and the internet for students through the use of complex Boolean queries we developed, and then retrieved the
School libraries and e-learning: where synergy equals opportunity
By Anita McMillan
Issue 104, Term 1 2018
E-learning is gaining momentum in schools, and opportunities abound for school library professionals to support and even lead in this area. School library staff are highly regarded for their information, critical and digital literacy skills, and well known for their early adoption of new technolo
Supporting Australian book creators
By The ELR team
Issue 106, Term 3 2018
book holdings. SCIS works closely with library system vendors to ensure that the survey runs efficiently, with minimum effort and time required from school library staff. How are schools invited? Schools are randomly selected as a representative sample of all Australian schools, across all stat
EAL/D in school libraries
By Nicki Moore, Martin Gray
Issue 121, Term 2 2022
ew South Wales Department of Education to conduct a recent survey exploring the extent to which EAL/D programs and their students may be supported by school library staff. In the past, figures on the commonality of such collaborations have been hard to come by. This initial survey, which began in Ne
SCIS is more
By Anthony Shaw
Issue 127, Term 4 2023
nding the School Library Association of South Australis (SLASA) Conference. It was a wonderful, vibrant and positive day spent talking with wonderful school library staff and learning more about how we can help support their amazing work. We were also lucky to hear some fantastic presentations. I ma
Supporting Australian book creators
By Laura Armstrong, Toni Jordan
Issue 95, Term 4 2015
s (ELR), and in the coming weeks 600 schools will receive invitations, either by mail or email, requesting their participation in this year's survey. School library staff play a critical part in the data collection process – without their assistance to extract the book count data from their library
Know your rights and responsibilities: teaching digital citizenship
By Susan Marshall
Issue 103, Term 4 2017
None of us could imagine a world without the internet. It has become an ever-increasing element of our daily life — and it is often the school library staff’s role to support students and classroom staff to maximise the benefits of engaging with the online world for learning, creating, playing and
Website and app reviews
By Nigel Paull
Issue 104, Term 1 2018
y 250 freely available e-resources, including websites, indexes, databases, e-journals, subject guides and full-text journals on a variety of topics. School library staff would benefit from becoming familiar with this content. SCIS no. 1842227 PETAA teaching resources www.petaa.edu.au/imis_pr
Website and app reviews
By Nigel Paull
Issue 107, Term 4 2018
ng. To preserve the cultural and historical significance of these languages, UNESCO has declared 2019 the International Year of Indigenous Languages. School library staff will find a variety of material on this website to resource the topic for the 2019 school year. SCIS no. 1886905 Lorax Project
Cover images and SCIS
By Renate Beilharz
Issue 109, Term 2 2019
m to promote resources and reading. ESA has been offering cover images to schools as part of their subscription since 2008. This article explains how school library staff can use these without breaching SCIS Terms of Use. Cover images Text-only catalogue displays have become a thing of the past.
Educational Lending Right (ELR) School Library Survey 2019–20
By Daniel Hughes
Issue 113, Term 2 2020
s a matter of minutes, not very long at all. It took less than five minutes. Too easy. ESA is very grateful for the enthusiastic cooperation of school library staff who took part in ELR 2019–20. ESA offers a $150 voucher to one respondent whose name is drawn at random from a list of all those