The Post-Pandemic School Library Learning Commons: Assessing Innovation and Moving Forward

As a writer, presenter and consultant, 

Anita Brooks Kirkland specialises in school library learning commons practices, program assessment, research, and advocacy. She draws on her extensive experience as a teacher educator, both as an instructor in teacher-librarianship for the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto, and in her previous role as the Consultant for K-12 Libraries at the Waterloo Region District School Board in Ontario.

Anita was a contributing writer to Together for Learning, Ontario’s guideline document for the school library learning commons. Anita is very active in professional organisations, currently serving as chair of Canadian School Libraries (CSL) and co-editor of the CSL Journal. She was the 2014 president of the Ontario Library Association, and also served as president of the Ontario School Library Association in 2005. Anita shares an extensive collection of program resources, articles, and presentations on her website and blog, www.bythebrooks.ca.

To explore more about our International Speaker Series or to register, please visit https://www.slansw.net.au/event-3850461

It was such a pleasure to attend the online meetup on Tuesday, August 4, to hear Pooja Mathur, a SLANSW Committee member, present on the unquestionable importance of including Australian multicultural literature in our school libraries. As a teacher librarian, Reading Club coordinator and member of the Wellbeing team at The King's School, Pooja spoke from a position of personal experience about this topic. Her passion for promoting reading for pleasure amongst the students and staff of her diverse school community was evident during her presentation, and her personal anecdotes added much to the authenticity of her content.

To read the full blog post by Karen Seeneevassen, click here and login to your Member Portal.

The SLANSW Management Committee recently endorsed a revision of SLANSW regions, based on Local Government Areas. The map and following text, explains the new regions and clearly defines the parameters of each region and the LGAs they fall within.

ILLAWARRA & SOUTH COAST, representing areas 5, 6 & 7 on the map.
a.      Illawarra / Shoalhaven (5): Kiama, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Wingecarribee, Wollondilly, Wollongong
b.      Far South Coast (6): Bega Valley, Eurobodalla
c.       Monaro Alpine (7): Snowy Mountains

NORTH COAST, representing areas 1,2 & 11 on the map.
a.      Far North coast (1): Ballina, Byron, Clarence Valley, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley, Tweed
b.      North Coast (2): Bellingen, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie-Hastings, Kempsey, Nambucca, Mid-Coast
c.      New England (11): Glen Innes Severn, Tenterfield, Uralla, Walcha, Armidale

GREATER HUNTER, representing area 3 on the map.
a.     Greater Hunter (3): Cessnock, Dungog, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Muswellbrook, Newcastle, Port Stephens, Singleton, Upper Hunter

NORTH WESTERN AND SLOPES, representing areas 12 & 13 on the map.
a.      Northern slopes (12): Gunnedah, Gwydir, Inverell, Liverpool Plains, Tamworth
b.      North Western (13): Moree Plains, Narrabri, Walgett, Warrumbungle

WESTERN REGION, representing areas 14, 21 & 20 on the map.
a.      Upper Central West Plains (14): Bogan, Coonamble, Gilgandra, Warren
b.      Far Western (21): Bourke, Brewarrina, Broken Hill, Central Darling, Cobar
c.       South Western (20): Balranald, Wentworth

RIVERINA, representing areas 17, 18 & 19 on the map.
a.      Eastern Riverina (17): Albury, Coolamon, Greater Hume, Junee, Lockhart, Wagga Wagga
b.      Southern Riverina (18): Berrigan, Edward River, Federation, Murray River, Southern parts of Murrumbidgee
c.      Northern Riverina (19): Carrathool, Griffith, Hay, Leeton, Narrandera, Northern parts of Murrumbidgee

SOUTHERN RANGES & SLOPES, representing areas 9 & 16 on the map.
a.      Southern Ranges (9): Goulburn Mulwaree, Upper Lachlan, Yass Valley, Queanbeyan-Palerang
b.      Southern Slopes (16): Cootamundra-Gundagai, Hilltops, Snowy Valleys

CENTRAL RANGES & WEST PLAINS, representing areas 10 & 15 on the map.
a.      Central Ranges (10):  Bathurst, Blayney, Cabonne, Cowra, Lithgow, Mid-Western, Oberon, Orange
b.      Lower Central West Plains (15): Bland, Forbes, Lachlan, Narromine, Parkes, Temora, Weddin, Dubbo

GREATER SYDNEY REGION, representing area 4 on the map.
a.     Greater Sydney (4): The Hills, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Burwood, Camden, Campbelltown, Canada Bay, Fairfield, Hawkesbury, Hornsby, Hunters Hill, Kogarah, Kuring-gai, Lane Cove, Liverpool, Mosman, North Sydney, Parramatta, Penrith, Randwick, Ryde, Strathfield, Sutherland, Sydney, Waverley, Willoughby, Woollahra, Bayside, Canterbury-Bankstown, Central Coast, Cumberland, Georges River, Inner West, Northern Beaches.

“Let’s reset fiction” was the catchcry of Dr Mary Ann Harlan’s presentation last Saturday 25 July, as part of the SLANSW International Speakers Series.  Her “reset” took a wider view of information as being anything that informs and highlights the kinds of information a reader of fiction can use to answer the important questions of iife.  Dr Harlan also called for an end to binary points of view on key issues for teacher librarians, such as thinking and feeling, fiction and non-fiction, reason and emotion. 

To read the full blog post by Lee FitzGerald, click here and login to your Member Portal.

Pooja Mathur is a Teacher Librarian, Reading Club Coordinator and member of the Well-being team at The King's School. She is an active member of the Management Committee of the School Library Association of NSW and holds a position on the Publications and Promotions Sub-Committee.  Pooja is passionate about promoting reading for pleasure amongst students, staff and wider school community.

The spotlight of this Online Meetup will be on migrant and refugee stories - a brief foray into the emergence of home-grown authors giving voice to their own experiences including what motivated them, and what they aim to achieve. A carefully curated list of relevant contemporary titles will be discussed and, to sweeten up the deal, their connection to NESA (NSW Education Standards Authority) and Australian Curriculum’s General Capabilities will be highlighted.

To explore more about our online meetup or to register, please visit https://www.slansw.net.au/event-3898681

Information Literacy in Reading Fiction

Dr Mary Ann Harlan is the Teacher Librarian Coordinator and an Assistant Professor at the School of Information at San Jose State University, California. She completed her PhD in 2012 in the San Jose State/QUT Gateway Program after completing research on the information practices of teens who create and share content online. Since then she has been researching how fiction provides information to teens – including representations of girlhood in YA fiction, and the information practices of teens reading fiction. Prior to entering the PhD program, she was a middle and high school (ages 12-18) school librarian. She has been an active presenter and writer around similar topics since 2000. Her most recent title is an examination of feminist Young Adult titles: The Girl-Positive Library: Inspiring Confidence, Creativity, and Curiosity in Young Women.

Often reading fiction is seen as ‘school work’, and the power of story to provide us with information is not a connection that is clearly made. This presentation will explore why this might be and how to challenge assumptions regarding information, how to engage with reading a story as a site of learning not of facts per se but of one’s self and our world. It will explore the embodied experience of reading, valuing emotional and affective actions as information.

To explore more about our International Speaker Series or to register, please visit https://slansw.net.au/event-3850447

Pooja Mathur, a teacher librarian in The King’s Senior Library, shares the successes she is having with her community of student readers. Pooja discusses advertising the reading club to the incoming year 7 cohort, the tactics employed to attract just the right number of avid readers, and highlights opportunities to promote the engaging voices of her students. She also considers the impact of COVID-19 on the Reading Club and provides links to the newsletters she has prepared while the club continues in the online space. 

Two questions for you to respond to on the full blog post in the Members’ Portal:

• How did the pandemic affect your library’s book/ reading club activities?
• Do you have a particular strategy to share that was effective in maintaining engagement in your student readers during this time?

To read the full blog post and to respond to the questions posed by Pooja, click here and login to your Member Portal.

On Saturday, 20 June, Dr. Ross Todd presented the first session in the International Speaker Series, Young People Living Safe Lives in Online Environments: Convergence, Challenges, and Chances for Teacher Librarians.  It was an engaging and thought-provoking presentation, asking us to re-think approaches to internet safety from top-down polices that might not include the thoughts of students, to empowerment. Participants worked in groups to brainstorm ideas for facilitating independence and resilience in students.  What is your approach to digital safety for your students? Have your say.

To read the full blog post and to respond to some questions posed by Lee FitzGerald, click here and login to your Member Portal.

As a service to SLANSW members, there is now a curated list of special offers available to members. These are offered by SLANSW Partners and include free or discounted rates for professional learning, resources or services. Login to the Member Portal to access the full list 'Member Offers for 2020'  or click here and sign in when prompted. 

#Litfest2444: Pen Paper Pixels moves from a face-to-face event to a digital platform.

One of the impacts of the 2020 COVID-19 situation was that festivals and large gatherings could not go ahead due to strict social distancing rules. #Litfest2444: Pen Paper Pixels, a festival of story in different forms and mediums was due to deliver its 4^th annual experience as a face-to-face event in Port Macquarie on the Mid North Coast of NSW in June. Organisers adapted the program to operate on a smaller scale in a digital environment, free to all to access. Sessions will remain free and accessible.

To read the full blog post and to respond to some questions posed by Karen, click here and login to your Member Portal.