Back on May 16, I attended a School Library Summit at the senior campus of Abbotsleigh School at Wahroonga.
I have not missed a summit since they began in their current format in 2018, and this one would rate as the best I've attended to date.
The summit was literacy-focused on the theme All the Literacies: Read, Discern, Discover.
The speakers were excellent and made us reflect on how we promote literature, how we promote a positive reading culture, the benefits of reading (educational and well-being), how we promote deeper reading, and, for me, how can we improve information literacy to help our students counter misinformation.
For me, the key "take-away" points from the summit were:
- Focus on developing the cultural diversity of my school's picture collection, given the wide range of cultures represented in my school's student population.
- Use picture books to promote intercultural understanding.
- Acquire and promote picture books that promote diversity across society, e.g. disability.
- Experiment with fun and engaging strategies to encourage students to read. Consider running an audit of how reading is encouraged at the school.
- What strategies could I identify to improve information literacy to effectively counter misinformation?
- Poor reading is associated with lower well-being, according to research. The question I need to ask back at school is how I can respond and apply a research model focused on six strategies to support reading engagement.
- Books of nostalgic appeal are gaining popularity. We have a classics display stand (permanent display) with a selection of classic novels. How can we enhance the appeal of classics, or even popular reads from certain periods, e.g. Millennials or Generation X?
