Students Need School Libraries (Campaign)

This week, state and national school library associations along with the Australian Library & Information Association teamed up to launch the Students Need School Libraries campaign.

The aims are simple:

• Every school should provide access to high-quality library resources and services.
• That school libraries are staffed by qualified professionals, led by a teacher librarian.

It also advocates that each school should appoint a teacher librarian as equip students with skills essential for lifelong learning including:

• Research Skills 
• Cybersafety
• Information Literacy Skills
• Instilling a love of reading

The campaign has resulted from Australia's ranking falling in educational standards against OECD nations. Some schools have neglected the role of libraries as part of the learning process, questioning their relevance. Concerns have also been raised over staffing of school libraries i.e. unqualified staff or not appointing teacher librarians, which has meant that students are missing out on opportunities to develop skills required for lifelong learning.

The website for the Students Need School Libraries campaign can be accessed here. 

Sorting fiction items by genre

Schools have been embracing genrefication of the fiction collections. In my practice, I can see the benefits.

• Allows students to locate fiction items more easily.
• Students can locate items by personal interests and identify related texts.
• As a Teacher Librarian, I can easily located related texts on the shelves without having to refer to the catalogue. 
• Can be modelled on the genres already in use by the library. 
• Case studies show more engagement with genrefication e.g. more borrowing.
• Can stimulate ideas for new displays that revolve around genres. 

However, there are disadvantages

• May require more shelving.
• May not accommodate books that are tied to more than one genre. The question that has be asked as to which genre should the item be placed in.
• Time consuming - especially if genre labels have not been placed on books. This can restrict access to resources for students.
• Identifying which genres should be allocated shelving and what types of literature would be listed under them.

Never be limited by what genres may be listed in cataloguing systems or the labels that be provided by suppliers such as RAECO. If you feel the need to have a "Quick Reads" genre, which is one idea I would like to try, do it if you believe that it would support reading programs. My idea of the "Quick Reads" genre stems from the need to accommodate weak or reluctant readers who may be challenged by longer or more challenging literature.

The use of "Graphic Novels" & "Picture Books" in tertiary institutions

Recently, a teacher told me that in tertiary institutions:

• Graphic Novels are known as Graphic Texts.
• Picture Books are referred to as Visual Texts.

I was told that the school library should use these terms to prepare students for tertiary study.

I could tell straight away that it didn't seem right, so I checked out how such texts are referred to at major Sydney Universities.

There was no reference to Graphic Novels as Graphic Texts. With Picture Books, there were different classifications, subjects or format but Picture Book emerged as the most common term used.

Also I observed that the term Graphic Text to descriptive Graphic Novels is misleading. A Graphic Text tends to be content that explains information or ideas such as diagrams, tables, graphs, photographs and illustrations. It tends to be more relevant to non-fiction items. 

This week, I also posted a survey on various Teacher Librarian forums to gain a greater insight as to how Graphic Novel and Picture Book collections are referred to in school libraries. Click Here to complete the survey.

Next week, I will share findings while I have shared some interim results on one of the forums.

Special Needs Students and the Library

This week, I have reflected on why some schools may timetable special needs students for library classes.  I have filled in two schools where such programs operate, but never have asked myself why or what the school's purpose is.

I thought about it and realised that the sessions are not just to support their development of literacy skills or to develop basic information literacy skills, but to promote inclusiveness within the broader school community.

As a teacher librarian, it is part of my role to provide library services to all students regardless of their learning abilities.

All students are entitled to equitable access to the library along with its collections, resources and spaces.

Then I have asked myself this question: What skills or abilities have I demonstrated through undertaking the program's with the students?

• Modified instruction to accommodate special needs e.g repetition of tasks or instructions.
• Teaching at a slower pace e.g. reading information slowly. 
• Use of visual cues e.g. showing number cards in bingo for students to read and placing them on the table in order. 

If I had to place this into one sentence, I would state that I have through accomodating special needs students, I have provided equitable and convenient access to library services and collections.

The benefits of OLIVER

In the current issue of Scan (Volume 35, Issue 1), Sonya Engelen outlines some benefits that OLIVER has bought to the students at Thirroul Public School.

OLIVER has become the standard for library catalogues in schools in NSW. Not only is it used in Department of Education Schools, but also through schools managed by the Catholic Education Office, Sydney and independent schools.

I have used or being exposed to other systems over the years and OLIVER is by far the best. Sonya has raised those benefits well like the Web 2.0 interface and ability to create lists containing resources for a topic. It simplifies the work in locating and selecting resources. As a teacher, I actually like creating and maintaining resource lists because it guide me in which resources to use in the classroom but also share it with students, so that they can actively use resources. This can be easily updated and changed as resources come and go.

Also the students can take ownership through providing book reviews, particularly if one is struggling to pick a book of their choice. This can also be tied into library feature reports in school newsletters

She does point one challenge in terms of educating students in how to login and access the catalogue, which is one challenge I'll have to set myself to do. At  Waverley College, I introduced students to the basics of OLIVER, like how to do a search, locate lists and identify the format of resources, but need to focus on the more advanced features like accessing the lists, advanced search features and even how to actually reserve a book without one having to go to the information desk.