School libraries

Australian Library Design Awards and Conference, 19 June 2017 Melbourne

This conference presentation (PowerPoint slides) provides two examples and two schools of thought in the approach taken to design school library spaces suitable for 21st Century education.

In 2013, the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) set out to investigate (1) How will libraries remain relevant for users? (2) What changes will institutions and individuals in the sector experience? (3) Will ‘library and information professional’ continue to be a necessary and desirable occupation? Three years on, we have reviewed the themes, actions and what we have learned since the original investigation. This is the May 2017 update of the Future of the LIS Profession: School Libraries report.

Australian school libraries power high performance government, Catholic and independent schools through providing modern learning environments, digital hubs, developing student research skills, promoting reading for pleasure, providing curriculum support and cybersafety education, celebrating diversity, enabling participation and access, coordinating special programs, and building communities.

ALIA 2016 National Conference, 29 August-2 September 2016, Adelaide: Engage, Create, Lead

[Peer reviewed] This paper engages with the issue, raised by Lonsdale in 2003, of a lack of data regarding national staffing trends in Australian school libraries. The authors review the literature available, including general census data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, library sector-specific information, and data from the education sector (including school libraries). Particular focus is given to the Staff in Australian Schools survey, as well as its limitations.

ALIA welcomes the Australian Government’s commitment to online safety for children but we are concerned that creating a new position may not achieve as much as investing in existing programs and activities.

This paper is submitted as feedback to the Productivity Commission’s Issues Paper relating to the National Education Evidence Base. ALIA comes to this from a number of perspectives: as a member of the informal coalition of organisations promoting a national early literacy strategy for Australia; as the peak body for libraries, with members in the school, academic and public library networks; and as an Australian Research Institute supporting deeper knowledge and evidencebased practice in the library and information sector.

ALIA National 2014 Conference, 15-19 September 2014 Melbourne : together we are stronger

Not only will this conference presentation make theoretical connections between schools, libraries, technology and how integral teacher-librarians are to this process; but it will also make strong links between school and public libraries and the opportunities that exist for ongoing collaboration, with the primary aim of establishing consistent messaging about knowledge-sharing and positive use of digital technologies.

ALIA National 2014 Conference, 15-19 September 2014 Melbourne : together we are stronger

This conference presentation draws upon a recent study (Bland, Hughes & Willis, 2013). After a brief literature review, it outlines the research design (qualitative case study, semi-structured interviews, and grounded theory analysis).

ALIA National 2014 Conference, 15-19 September 2014 Melbourne : together we are stronger

Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and Australian School Library Association (ASLA) statement emphasising the importance of qualifications for a teacher librarian.