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What a month it has been! For many schools, this has been the time to shine. Celebrations of both the CBCA Book Week and Australian School Library Day, have shown our communities how passionate we are; highlighting the many benefits school libraries their communities. The opportunity to celebrate books, individual reading interests and the importance of school libraries in students lives is such a privilege, remembering that School Libraries Build Brighter Futures.
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In today’s educational climate, school libraries need to ensure they are visibly promoting to, and collaborating with, key stakeholders. This essential work keeps the school library at the forefront of decision making and ensures that the spaces and services align with the needs of the school.
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Purchase today to access this keynote presentation by Robyn Ellard as she details a straightforward, step-by-step guide to becoming a successful advocate in your school.This webinar is for all primary and secondary school library staff.
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REGISTER NOW!
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Registrations are now open for our upcoming webinar AI in Education: navigating the perfect storm. In today's 'information perfect storm,' we are faced with unprecedented access to information, blurred lines between fact and opinion, and the rapid content generation enabled by generative AI technologies. Guest speaker, Dr Kay Oddone (Lecturer and Course Director MEd. Teacher Librarianship, Charles Sturt University) will explore how this current information landscape influences students and teachers, by focusing on the impact of generative AI and the skills needed for navigating this environment. Register here.
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SPOTLIGHT ON: DANIELLE LYSAUGHT
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So you work in a library, tell us about your role and how you got there.
I'm the teacher librarian in a public high school in South Western Sydney. I came into this role at the very end of 2020 when our previous teacher librarian moved to a different school and our Principal asked for expressions of interest from staff keen to give it a try. I'd been an English and History teacher for 9 years, and this move was all very sudden.
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I literally had one day to make the decision and say goodbye to my classes before starting this new role the following day. I quickly realised there was a lot for me to learn! When the position was advertised 6 months later I was faced with the tough decision to apply or return to my classroom position, but by that time I'd fallen in love with the library so I committed to the retraining and was successful in my application to be the permanent teacher librarian. I'm so glad I was brave enough to take that leap of faith - I haven't looked back since!
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What is your most successful program or event in the Library?
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I've worked hard over the last few years to make the library more visible to our school community. One of the programs I've built up over the past few years is our Wide Reading Program. This program aims to address the issues leading to a decline in teen reading by providing students access to appropriate, self-selected texts and by setting aside a 60 minute period each fortnight to allow students time to explore, share, and value their reading in a socially supported positive learning environment. It originally started out with only 1 class in 2022 but the word has spread and the program has since grown to include all 10 of our Year 7 and 8 English classes, and has been embedded explicitly into the English units for the new syllabus. While it hasn't always been easy and we're facing constant interruptions to our lessons, it's been worth it to see students who might otherwise never have picked up a book finding something that piques their interest and changes their perception of themselves as readers.
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What are you reading at the moment?
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I'm a bit chaotic with my reading habits - I'll often have a few books going at once and dip in or out according to my mood. I've just finished Throne of Eldraine: The Wildered Quest by Kate Elliot. It's a novel set in the Magic: The Gathering universe which follows royal twins Rowan and Will as they attempt to find their missing father, the King, and free him from a terrible curse. I picked it up because I run a trading card club every Monday during the breaks and a lot of the students who attend enjoy the lore behind the game. I'm also listening to the audiobook of Stephen Fry's Heroes, narrated by the great man himself. The next book I'll read will probably be A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L Jensen or the first Crescent City novel by Sarah J Maas, since students have been requesting them and I'll need to assess if they're appropriate for our collection.
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I love libraries because...
Libraries welcome everyone! They're the heart of the school and, while our work sometimes goes unnoticed, when the services and resources we offer are given the opportunity to flourish, so too does our school community.
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Have your say
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ABC Education want to know what teacher librarians need from them. So steal 5 minutes from the day, complete 6 questions to have your say and be in the chance to win a visit from BTN Team and featured on ABC Education.
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Advocating together
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Advocating for libraries and school library staff something we are always striving for.
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ACSL provides a united and professional voice to advocate for Australian school libraries and school library staff.
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