Issue 124

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 April on the Gold Coast, with the theme School Libraries: Navigating the Future. This year, there will be three award categories open for nominations: the ASLA Australian Teacher Librarian Award, the ASLA Early Career Teacher Librarian Award, and the ASLA Library Advocate Award.

Registration is now available at an all-inclusive price. Our pre-conference day will include tours of local school libraries and bookshops, as well as a selection of masterclasses. The main conference will include sessions on topics such as literacy, dynamic spaces, and key skills for future learning, and will feature two keynote speakers, Lee Crockett and Dr Margaret Merga. Lee Crockett is an inspriring and engaging world-renowned speaker from Future Focused Learning. Dr Margaret Merga, ASLA’s Patron and Library researcher and author of School Libraries Supporting Literacy and Wellbeing, will be speaking on what school libraries can do to have the most impact on our students, our school and our world. Importantly, the conference will provide a chance to make new connections with mentors and colleagues.

This year will mark the 20th anniversary of the first presentation of the prestigious ASLA Australian Teacher Librarian Award, and we are proud to acknowledge that the award will be sponsored by SCIS. The Teacher Librarian Award recognises and honours an Australian teacher librarian who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession of school librarianship. The recipient of the award will receive a $1,000 Professional Learning Grant generously donated by SCIS, and free ASLA professional development for two years, including Conference Registration for 2023. The winner will also receive a certificate and trophy, plus will be mentioned and be invited to publish in SCIS's Connections magazine and ASLA’s ACCESS journal.

To make a nomination for the ASLA Australian Teacher Librarian Award, please follow the instructions on the ASLA website. Nominees must be members of ASLA (although the nominator does not need to be), qualified teacher librarians, and residents of Australia. Although applications don’t officially close until Friday 24 February 2023, we would greatly appreciate nominations via email as soon as possible. If you’d like to be considered or would like to nominate a colleague, please email your nominations to: [email protected]. Previous nominees are also welcome to be re-nominated.

Please remember nominations are also open for our other two awards: the Early Career Teacher Librarian Award, and the Library Advocate Award. Application details can be accessed on the ASLA website.