Jacqueline Maley wrote in The Sun Herald on Sunday about her observations of commuters engrossed in activity on smartphones. I look back at my school days. People had mobile phones, but they were primarily used for making phone calls, and they were not commonly used on trains.
Some would read a newspaper or a book, or otherwise simply look out the window.
Maley made an interesting point that book sales have declined post-pandemic, while book costs have risen. Although not mentioned, it is likely that some schools have had their book budgets reduced due to either reduced school funding or changes in broader school priorities.
She is right about one element of smartphones: We don't engage with the content as deeply as if we were, say, reading a book. Algorithms often dictate what we read in a digital world, whereas with printed books, we can engage more deeply but also show more curiosity.
Digital technology can also stifle creative thought, whereas a printed book can stimulate that, as well as writing and reflection. Reading and writing can also take us to unexpected places.
What does it mean for me? What does it mean for Teacher Librarians?
We can do something to encourage reading in the commute to school, but also shift students away from devices, even for a short period of time each day. The solutions are simple, and you may already be applying them in some form.
To begin with, consider the students who travel a long distance to school. My school does have a large number of students who reside out of the area (Inner West, Hills Shire and Sydney CBD). I have worked in schools where students were travelling much further, which I have seen and still see for myself as I commute on either the T4 (particularly), T9, or Sydney Metro lines. Encourage them to make use of the time to read. Emphasise the benefits, e.g. can calm and relax a person. It can slow a brain down, and I see this for myself and others; it calms one down. It amazes me in my School READ sessions how the noisiest and "loudest" students can be easily calmed by reading.
Quick reads, e.g. graphic novels and verse novels, should be encouraged. They could even be used as a "hook" to encourage students to read longer-form books.
If you have a wide reading program. Well done. That encourages one to read for a longer period of time, while also providing opportunities to be introduced to texts that they may not be familiar with.
Does this mean that she would be discouraging eBooks? Not at all, but it allows us to be more wise with our use of screens. For some, there are benefits, e.g. audiobooks or being able to read a book in a larger font.
In the library, encourage books using the motto "Reading is Power" to resist algorithms. Books let you decide what you think while algorithms decide what you see. Book Reviews by students should be encouraged, whether they are posted on the shelves, through the library catalogue or a mixture of both.
At the recent School Library Association of NSW Summit in Parramatta, I attended a workshop focusing on the role of AI in the School Library Context. I was asking a question on how it would improve library management. Then I shared an account of how I manually catalogue an item on ChatGPT, applying the cataloguing procedures used by SCIS. This included uploading the procedures book (pdf format) into the chat, and it did a scan.
This situation arose because SCIS will not accept items without a publication date and needed to have them catalogued. The item was identified in a stocktake of the non-fiction collection as not being catalogued because the barcode was not connected to it.
Ultimately, it fixed a problem that would have left me in a difficult situation.
Click here to view the transcript that aided me in cataloguing the item.
Last week, I had the opportunity to present a research skills lesson to a Year 12 Community and Family Studies Class. They are undertaking an assessment task that requires them to locate newspaper articles on homeless people and the aged.
I embraced this opportunity given how I value the role of newspapers in education and would like to see students engage with newspapers (preferably in print form but digitally as a minimum) to locate valuable and reliable material.
The presentation focused on:
The School Library Associaton of NSW (SLANSW), commenced its monthly webinar series this week. The theme was Practical ways to engage reluctant readers and featured contributions from Allison Tait (Author), Jade Arnold (NSW Premier’s Program Officer – Reading and Spelling) & Amanda Craig (Teacher Librarian - Telarah Public School)
I attended because I facilitate a READ group at school for students in Years' 10-12 that struggle to actively participate in the daily 20 minute session, where all students engage a time of silent reading, and wanted to be informed of some strategies applied to by others to encourage reluctant readers to add to my "tool kit".
I know two other READ groups that provide additional support to students in my school, and I should invite those groups to borrow during READ time. I have a small group already, and with my session in the library, I can open up the space to invite groups to borrow during that time and provide the opportunities that my group has access to, such as the lounges and beanbags to encourage them to relax. This would support the suggestion to make all students in a class borrow a book, unless there is a book of their own that interests them.
Reading goals are essential as well to encourage reluctant readers. I applied this strategy with general class groups e.g Litgym at MLC School (2014), but should use this to both groups as well. It has worked for me with regular groups and I cannot see why it would fail with both groups.
Book labels also arose, and I didn't realise the impact they could have on reluctant readers, given that genre labels can guide students in selecting related texts or reading particular stories that interest them. I have been involved in the setup at my school. While it has consumed time and resources, it is a good investment, even if it's not a financial one because my goal is to have students borrowing and reading books that interest them. If students borrow and read more, I will be happy, and feedback from the wider student body will be favourable to date.
In the latest issue of INCITE magazine by ALIA (Australian Library and Information Association), I read a case study on Barker College Library’s efforts to expand and update its graphic novel and manga collections. In 2024, the library undertook a review to ensure those collections align with student interests and to encourage diverse reading experiences. The process involved forming a committee, gathering data and consulting students.
As a result, they made informed decisions to refresh displays, shorten loan periods (two weeks to one week) and introduce new, age-appropriate titles.
One of the changes implemented by Barker College has been reducing the loan period from two weeks to one week. At my school, graphic novels are loaned for two weeks, and to encourage greater engagement with graphic novels, I should consider whether a shorter loan period would work for them.
Selecting age-appropriate manga is a challenge that confronts school libraries. While manga titles have a rating system, some of the themes may not be consistent with the rating, so it does need to be scrutinised. It also needs to align with the values and ethos of the school, whether it is a public or private school.