SearchConnections

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. Backgroun

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 hear

Working together: collaboration between libraries and bookstores

By Kristen Proud

Issue 112, Term 1 2020

My partner Lucky and I opened Squishy Minnie, a specialist childrens and young adults (YA) bookstore, just over two years ago in Kyneton, a small regional town in Victoria. Our main aim was to increase the access local children and young people had to quality literature and to literary events. Prior

Navigating the information landscape through collaboration

By Elizabeth Hutchinson

Issue 101, Term 2 2017

School libraries and school library professionals have a huge role to play in supporting teaching and learning within a school. I often hear visiting authors comment on being able to identify a good school by how well the library is used. School librarian Caroline Roche penned the phrase ‘heart of t

New Zealand school libraries respond to COVID-19

By Glenys Bichan

Issue 114, Term 3 2020

How do you run a school library when no-one can enter it? The lockdown made us all reflect on our practice and on the questions, ‘Who are we?’ and more importantly, ‘Why are we?’ School libraries are a place of transformation for our students and our staff. Students can flourish, grow and explore th

Easy access to library services: public and school libraries working together

By Adie Johansen

Issue 116, Term 1 2021

Since 2015 we’ve been modernising our library service for the Manawatū community and embracing change. Our vision is simple: to be ‘the best little library in New Zealand’. A library is more than just an avenue for books. Libraries are community hubs where you can learn, create, feel safe and engage

EAL/D in school libraries

By Nicki Moore, Martin Gray

Issue 121, Term 2 2022

At Singleton High School in New South Wales, Nikki Moore is an EAL/D teacher who is based in the school library. Situating Nikki in the school library has led to collaboration between the library staff and the EAL/D teacher, as well as the non-native English-speaking students who often use the libra

Planning a thoughtful STEM learning approach

By Adrian Bertolini

Issue 122, Term 3 2022

You can’t develop great STEM learners in a piecemeal approach, and it doesn’t have to cost too much either. As research into excellence shows, high performance in any field arises from ‘a confluence of dozens of small skills or activities, each one learned or stumbled upon, which have been carefully

Pivot! Moving a library forward when COVID gets in the way

By Catherine Barnes

Issue 117, Term 2 2021

‘Pivot’ used to be a word from the netball court, then it became the butt of a joke from the much loved Friends TV show, but over the last 12 months it has become an everyday reality in our schools. In 2020, our school calendar was full of excursions and incursions overwritten with the word ‘Cancell

The time to read

By Gabrielle Mace, Merrilyn Lean

Issue 117, Term 2 2021

As educators we often lament that our students are no longer reading books for enjoyment. Sadly, our students are not alone. With an ever growing curriculum and the frenetic pace of the academic school year many teachers are reading for enjoyment far less than ever before – or worse, not at all. In

School library spotlight: University High School, Melbourne

By Stephanie Ward

Issue 123, Term 4 2022

1. What is your role and what does your job entail? My job is Head of Library and Research, so most of my work is library management and overseeing the events, programs, services and work of the team. We’re really lucky at Uni High, we’ve got a staff of five; two library technicians and three teache

Dystopian literature: more than just the end of the world to teens

By Jessica Finden