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Making connections online

By Clare Forrest

Issue 111, Term 4 2019

ions. Here are some of the many topics we have explored together as a community. Virtual library tours A popular topic was a call to show off our libraries by taking people on virtual library tours. There’s something about ‘visiting’ other libraries that is very satisfying, probably because we d

(Re)Designing the library through school community participation

By Dr Hilary Hughes

Issue 111, Term 4 2019

atory design approach, as outlined in this article, can assist in generating evidence-based responses to these questions. With the view that school libraries are essential social learning spaces, I share suggestions for enabling all interested stakeholders to have a voice in designing their school

Enhancing the flexibility of library services

By Claire Elliott

Issue 106, Term 3 2018

Libraries and librarians are built around relationships. It is essential that they provide exceptional customer service as a means of ensuring sustainable growth. With this in mind, a number of changes were implemented in the Trinity Grammar Preparatory School library to improve the services that w

SCIS is more

By Renate Beilharz

Issue 122, Term 3 2022

‘The Schools Catalogue Information Service (SCIS) creates high-quality, consistent catalogue records for school libraries.’ The quote above introduces SCIS to all those who use our website. High quality means that we adhere to international cataloguing standards, ensuring SCIS records are compat

The new librarian: leaders in the digital age

By Digital Promise staff

Issue 96, Term 1 2016

ge and small, have cut librarian staffing to part-time or eliminated positions entirely. These cuts can impact both students and teachers. Although libraries remain open, they lack trained educators to support students, despite a technological landscape that makes information literacy more importa

Non-fiction: the elephant in the library

By Rebecca Tobler

Issue 107, Term 4 2018

resource the entire curriculum — that’s what subscription services and other online repositories can be for. However, we can and should resource our libraries with fiction and non-fiction books that spark the imagination and create interest in reading. References ACT Government Education 2016

School library spotlight: Modbury High School

By Linda Guthrie

Issue 108, Term 1 2019

ts, Research Project and Research Practices. Our school library was also one of the 23 South Australian schools appearing on Australia’s Great School Libraries Honours List (http://bit.ly/agslhonours). I negotiate with teachers for the team-teaching of collaboratively planned units of inquiry, or

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

By Bev Novak

Issue 99, Term 4 2016

dian , 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

What do our students really want?

By Megan Stuart

Issue 101, Term 2 2017

ith the fear and excitement that disruptive technology can bring, it is library staff. Over the course of nearly four decades teaching in schools and libraries, I have witnessed incredible change and welcomed exciting progress in the way information is accessed, books are published and students are

A not so secret garden

By Kathryn Williams, Heather Harrison

Issue 112, Term 1 2020

op 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

l 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

Engaging students with emerging technologies

By Chelsea Wright

Issue 94, Term 3 2015

it is to still be having this conversation, we have not yet convinced every raised eyebrow to relax when it comes to the evolving identity of school libraries. If the school library is not seen as a natural place for new technologies to appear, and if technology-oriented initiatives such as a Tech

School library spotlight: Mt St Michael's College

By Sandra Mannion

Issue 106, Term 3 2018

ed 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;

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

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 star

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

Making an impact: A guide for new school librarians

By Caroline Roche, MA, FCLIP

Issue 124, Term 1 2023

questions. The situation, in the UK at least, was exacerbated by the fact that sometimes people were being appointed with absolutely no knowledge of libraries at all. They had been thrown into the ‘deep end’. Sometimes this was because the school’s Senior Leadership did not understand the full exte

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

Turning the school library into a thriving community hub

By Anne Devenish

Issue 103, Term 4 2017

iture, colour, contemporary interior design, and a sense of space are an excellent start. At Camberwell Girls Grammar School, the senior and junior libraries are currently in their third successful year of contributing to the school calendar by offering an array of community programs, including Ta

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 l