School libraries in South Australia 2019 Census

International Literacy Day 2020 marked the launch of the first ever comprehensive study of school library resourcing and staffing in South Australia. Commissioned by the School Library Association of SA (SLASA), the School Libraries in South Australia 2019 Census surveyed South Australia’s public, private and Catholic schools to better understand the links between library programs and critical skills including reading, digital and information literacy.

The independent study was prompted by the findings of a Parliamentary Inquiry in 2011, which highlighted a ‘fundamental need’ for hard data on school library staffing and the link between school library programs and literacy, with a particular focus on digital literacy.

“SLASA commissioned this study to commence answering that fundamental national need,” Mrs Molloy said. “Our objective was to gather that evidence for South Australia and to also now encourage other states to replicate the survey, so that the models and contribution of school library programs to supporting students to develop these essential skills is clearly understood at the national level.”

The census was undertaken by the Australian Council for Educational Research and surveyed school leaders on the various models of library program delivery, staffing, funding and school culture in all schools in South Australia. “We now know that effective delivery of critical literacy and inquiry skills in South Australian schools is influenced by factors such as a culture of support as well as facilities, collections, access and funding as well as staffing,” Mrs Molloy said.

“The census provides us with a clearer picture of the current resourcing levels of South Australian school libraries, including that 94% of schools have someone to manage their library collection but the burden of managing resources and providing appropriate support to teachers and students to develop literacy and inquiry skills is now falling on staff who have neither teaching nor library qualifications in just over a third of our schools. Just over half of the staff managing school library services in South Australian schools are not library-qualified and only 23% of schools have a qualified teacher librarian on their staff. The census results give us the hard data to now work towards implementing strategies that will support schools to address the disruptions of COVID-19 and ensure our school students are fully equipped to deal with the challenges of a digital world.”

Information, the Executive Summary and full Report are available HERE
The Fact Sheet is available HERE
You can follow the release on the SLASA social media platforms, and like and share the information widely.

SLAV Online Book Club – 27th August 2020 – Engaging Covers

Our biggest thanks to those of you able to join us for our recent bookclub meeting. As you can see the list is quite lengthy, which is a wonderful result! Some titles have an indicated suitable age range next to each title, however this is merely a guide and as always we encourage you to use your own judgement, as you know your students best.

Disclaimer: The lists generated as a result of Book Club discussions are not, by any means, an exhaustive list of all titles or authors for each genre/category discussed. Nor will all titles be suitable for all libraries. We advise staff discretion when referencing these lists, to properly confirm individual title suitability for individual libraries, school and students needs. These are suggested titles only, shared by our members and inclusion on, or exclusion from, a list does not suggest SLAV endorsement or rejection of a title.

Happy reading and don’t forget to join us for our next meeting on October 14 2020 to dicuss biographies. Register HERE.

Covers that do well to engage readers:

George Ivanoff – new reprinted new covers of his series are excellent

The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey

Real Pigeons Fight Crime Series by Andrew McDonald and Ben Wood

Polly and Buster Trilogy by Sally Rippin

Justin D’Ath – Extreme Adventures Series

Heartstopper Graphic Novels by Alice Oseman

Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte

Lost Soul Atlas by Zana Fraillon

Film tie-in covers work well in YA

Five Nights at Freddy’s book series based on the video game

It Sounded Better in My Head by Nina Kenwood

The Stranger Things Books by Various

The End of the World is Bigger Than Love by Davina Bell

Design styles that don’t work as well to engage:

‘Babyish covers’ in a secondary school and other covers that suggest a young audience or young characters

Kids hate old fashioned covers

Cartoonish or illustrated covers in middle grade

Stereo typed colours – pink being for girls

Currently Reading:

Pax by Sara Pennypacker

The Strangeworlds Travel Agency by L.D. Lapinski.

Emergency Rescue Angel by Cate Whittle

Fox Eight by George Saunders

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Metal Fish, Falling Snow by Cath Moore

Ghost Bird by Lisa Fuller

Plain Janes Graphic Novels

Lumber Janes Graphic Novels

Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow – Siobhan Curham (Yr 9)

Taylor Before and After – Jennie Englund (Yr 8)

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

Snow by Gina Inverarity

Yellow by Megan Jacobsen

The Scythe Trilogy by Neal Shusterman

Monuments and Rebel Gods by Will Kostakis

Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte

Blood Moon by Lucy Cuthew

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Kwame Alexander Titles

Sarah Crossan Titles

The Dog Runner by Bren MacDibble

Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

A Silent Voice by Yoshitoki Oima

The Anchoress by Robyn Cadwallader

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

SLAV Book Club July 29th 2020 – Reluctant Readers

 

 

 

 

 

Our biggest thanks to those of you able to join us for our recent bookclub meeting, sharing with us your tried and tested recommendations for reluctant readers. As you can see the list is quite lengthy, which is a wonderful result! We have indicated suitable age range next to each title, however this is merely a guide and as always we encourage you to use your own judgement, as you know your students best. JF – indicates Junior Fiction, MG – Middle Grade, YA – Young Adult, A – Adult.

We have linked each title through to the Readings Website. Please keep in mind that if an item is out of stock, it may take some time to become available again, particularly if it is coming from overseas.

Disclaimer: The lists generated as a result of Book Club discussions are not, by any means, an exhaustive list of all titles or authors for each genre/category discussed. Nor will all titles be suitable for all libraries. We advise staff discretion when referencing these lists, to properly confirm individual title suitability for individual libraries, school and students needs. These are suggested titles only, shared by our members and inclusion on, or exclusion from, a list does not suggest SLAV endorsement or rejection of a title.

Happy reading and don’t forget to join us for our next meeting on August 27th 2020 to dicuss book covers! Register HERE.

Books that have been turned into films often work
The Enemy Series by Charlie Higson YA
Polly and Buster Series by Sally Rippin MG
Choose Your Own Adventure by George Ivanoff MG
Real Pigeons Fight Crime Series by Andrew McDonald and Ben Wood JF/MG
Swerve by Philip Gwynne YA
Pale by Chris Wooding YA
Cherub Series by Robert Muchamore YA
Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowitz YA
The Bad Guys Series by Aaron Blabey JF/MG
The Fall and Two Wolves by Tristan Bancks MG
Royal Flying Doctor Series by George Ivanoff MG
Escape From Furnace Series by Alexander Gordon Smith YA
Wings of Fire Series by Tui. T Sutherland MG
Warrior Cats Series by Erin Hunter
Rangers Apprentice Series by John Flanagan MG
The Witching Hours Series by Jack Henseleit MG
Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens MG
Ruby Redfort Series by Lauren Child MG
It by Stephen King A
Skullduggery Series by Derek Landy YA
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen YA
Exploding Endings by Tim Harris JF/MG
The Minutes to Danger Series by Jack Heath MG
Scythe, Toll and Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman YA
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series by Jeff Kinney MG
Treehouse Series by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton JF
Bro by Helen Chebatte YA
David Walliams Books MG
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (post movie) MG
Barrington Stoke Series (for students with reading difficulties) MG – YA
Orca Series JF
Weirdo Series by Ahn Do JF
Able by Dylan Alcott YA
Audio books were also suggested as a way into story
Graphic Novels and Manga also allow a way into the story through illustration
Amulet Series by Kazu Kibuishi MG
Sport Biographies
Nova Weetman titles ALL
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck YA
Garfield JF
Lark by Anthony McGowan YA
Iris and the Tiger by Leanne Hall MG
Once and Then by Morris Gleitzman MG
Grimsdon by Deb Abela MG
Ghost by Jason Reynolds YA
The Dog Runner by Bren McDibble MG
The Stubborn Seed of Hope by Brian Falkner (short stories) A
The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley MG
The Girl Versus the World Series by Various MG
Speak and Shout by Laurie Halse Andersen (trigger warning – sexual assault) A
One by Sarah Crossan YA
Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers YA
Nit Boy by Tristan Bancks JF/MG
Life On the Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers YA
Risk, Black, Wreck and Found by Fleur Ferris YA
Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link (short stories) YA
M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman (short stories) MG/YA
The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman YA
Road to Winter Series by Mark Smith YA
10 Futures by Michael Pryor MG
The Iron Man by Ted Hughes MG
Lips Touch by Laini Taylor (short stories) YA
Things a Map Won’t Show You (short stories) YA
Little Legends Series by Adrian Beck and Nicole Hayes JF
Specky Magee Series by Felice Arena MG
Take the Shot by Sue Whiting YA
Tiny Timmy Series by Tim Cahill JF
Sporty Kids by Felice Arena JF
The Legend Series by Michael Pankridge MG
Foul Play by Tom Palmer YA
The Bench Warmers by David Lawrence MG
Little Fur Series by Isobelle Carmody MG
More Than a Kick by Jennifer Castles and Tayla Harris ALL
Shatter Me Series by Tahereh Mafi YA
My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier YA
The Breakways by Cathy. G Johnson MG
Boris Series by Andy Joyner JF
Selby Series by Duncan Ball JF
Rabbit and Bear Series by Julian Gough JF
Parvana by Deborah Ellis YA
Tom Weekly Series by Tristan Bancks MG
All Graphic Novels by Raina Telgemeir MG
One of Us is Lying Series by Karen. M McManus YA
Special Forces Cadets by Chris Ryan MG
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo YA
The Artemis Fowl Series by Eoin Colfer MG
Heartstopper Series by Alice Oseman YA
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas YA
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han YA
Unwind by Neal Shusterman YA
Ice Station by Matthew Reilly YA

What We Are Reading
Anything by Dervla Mc Tiernan A
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid A
Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson A
Factfulness by Hans Rosling A
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah A
Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift A
This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay A
Gulliver’s Wife by Lauren Chater A
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins YA
Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me by Kate Clanchy A
Smart Ovens For Lonely People by Elizabeth Tan A
Deep Water by Sarah Epstein YA
Every Tool is a Hammer by Adam Savage A
About a Girl by Rebekah Robertson YA
The Phone Box at the Edge of the World by Laura Imai Messina A
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett A
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens A
All Boys Aren’t Blue by George. M Johnson YA
The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta YA
Missing Person by Sarah Lotz A
The Second Sleep by Robert Harris A
Phosphorescence by Julia Baird A

The Heart of the Bubble by Trace Balla

Some very exciting news today!

Trace Balla, the much loved author and illustrator of Rivertime, Rockhopping and Landing with Wings, has published a brand new book called The Heart of the Bubble. A touching tale of a family’s awakening to what really matters, set in the time of the coronavirus pandemic. There are also free comprehensive teaching notes available.

Available now as a PDF or paperback from Traces’ website HERE

 

SLAV Virtual Book Club List June 18th, 2020

We were delighted to welcome so many of you to our second SLAV Virtual Book Club for 2020. Thank you for joining us and for your participation.

As promised we are sharing the list of titles discussed below. Members were invited to share their favourite Australian titles, whether they are new releases or perhaps, overlooked gems. We have so many wonderful Australian writers for young people of all ages, it was very difficult to cover them all with only an hour to discuss!

We have linked each title through to the Readings Website. Please keep in mind that if an item is out of stock, it may take some time to become available again, particularly if it is coming from overseas.

Disclaimer: The lists generated as a result of Book Club discussions are not, by any means, an exhaustive list of all titles or authors for each genre/category discussed. Nor will all titles be suitable for all libraries. We advise staff discretion when referencing these lists, to properly confirm individual title suitability for individual libraries, school and students needs. These are suggested titles only, shared by our members and inclusion on, or exclusion from, a list does not suggest SLAV endorsement or rejection of a title.

Australian Middle Fiction Discussed

Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai
E-boy by Anh Do
Sophia and the Corner Park Clubhouse by Davina Bell
Game On Series by George Ivanoff
Angel Creek by Sally Rippin
Threads of Magic by Alison Croggon
Nice Girls Don’t Play Footy by Kathy Helidoniotis

Australian YA or Adult Fiction Discussed 

How to Grow a Family Tree by Eliza Henry Jones
Lady Helen and the Dark Days Club Series – Alison Goodman

Take Three Girls by Cath Crowley, Simone Howell and Fiona Wood
The Diamond Hunter by Fiona Mc Intosh
The Yield by Tara June Winch
The Ghost and the Bounty Hunter by Adam Courtenay
Exploded View by Carrie Tiffany
Mateship with Birds by Carrie Tiffany
The Medoran Chronicles by Lynette Noni
Everywhere, Everything, Everyone by Katie Warner
The Unlisted Series (ABC TV tie-in) by Chris Kunz and Justine Flynn
The Aurora Cycle by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
The End of the World is Bigger Than Love by Davina Bell
Ghost Bird by Lisa Fuller
Deep Water by Sarah Epstein
Ashala Wolf Series by Ambelin Kwaymullina
My Place (abridged Young Readers Edition) by Sally Morgan
The White Girl by Tony Birch

More Middle Grade and YA Australian Authors (to name only a few…)

Will Kostakis

Leanne Hall

Jane Godwin

Adrian Beck 

Felice Arena 

Nicole Hayes

Robert Newton

Tim Pegler

Melina Marchetta

Emily Bitto

Ceridwen Dovey 

Sonya Hartnett 

Resources for selecting Australian Fiction

The Readings Children’s Book Prize

The Readings Young Adult Book Prize

The Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction

The CBCA 

Inside A Dog 

 

 

 

 

Save the Dates – SLAV Book Club

We are thrilled to be able to advise upcoming dates for our SLAV Book Club. All members are welcome to join us online from 4.30 to 5.30 on the dates below.

At each meeting we will have a featured topic, focusing on books for young people. Towards the end of the session, in the last ten minutes, we will consider participants recent adult reading.

Lists will be made of all recommendations and posted on the SLAV Blog and linked to the Readings Bookshop website.

2020

Term Two

Thursday June 18

Australian titles

We have so many wonderful Australian writers for young people of all ages. Let’s celebrate our favourites.

Towards the end of the session, in the last ten minutes, we will consider participants recent adult reading.

Term Three

Wednesday July 29

Books for Reluctant Readers

What book always works for you with the reluctant readers?

Towards the end of the session, in the last ten minutes, we will consider participants recent adult reading.

Thursday August 27

Good Covers / Bad Covers

We all judge books by their covers. But what makes a good cover is very subjective. Bring along the covers you, or your readers, love or hate.

Towards the end of the session, in the last ten minutes, we will consider participants recent adult reading.

Term Four

Wednesday October 14

Biographies

Real stories about actual people often strike a chord with young readers. Share your favourites.

Towards the end of the session, in the last ten minutes, we will consider participants recent adult reading.

Thursday November 19

Classics or Hidden Gems

What classics deserve to be remembered? Or, what wonderful books do you think are hidden in your collection – special books that for various reasons were not celebrated by others but you know they are wonderful stories young people would appreciate if they found them.

Towards the end of the session, in the last ten minutes, we will consider participants recent adult reading.  Or, what are you looking forward to reading on the Summer break!

 

SLAV Virtual Book Club List May 21st, 2020

We were delighted to welcome so many of you to our very first SLAV Virtual Book Club! Thank you for joining us and for your participation.

As promised we are sharing the list of titles discussed below. This first list is quite eclectic, owing to the fact that there was no theme for this particular session, we simply invited you all to share what you had been reading over the past few months.

Moving forward, these meetings will be themed, resulting in lists that we hope will be useful for your classrooms and libraries. We also hope to align titles to curriculum areas, where possible, and specify if they are suitable for primary or secondary students.

We have linked each title through to the Readings Website. Please keep in mind that if an item is out of stock, it may take some time to become available again if it is coming from overseas.

For now though, we present the first list and hope you enjoy!

May 21 SLAV Book Club Suggestions

Suitable for Older Secondary Students

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
A Single Thread by Tracey Chevalier

Ruin, Scholar and Good Turn – all by Dervla Mc Tiernan
The Erratics by Vicki Laveau Harvie
The Testaments by Margaret Attwood
The Sin Eater by Megan Campisi
The Binding by Bridget Collins
Bruny by Heather Rose
Deep Water by Sarah Epstein
Catching Teller Crow by Ambelin Kwaymullina & Ezekiel Kwaymullina
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Olive Kitteridge and Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
The End of the World is Bigger Than Love By Davina Bell
Promise Me Happy by Robert Newton
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Small Spaces by Sarah Epstein
Please Don’t Hug Me by Kay Kerr

Non Fiction
Bewildered by Laura Waters
Made in Scotland by Billy Connelly
Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to taking back the English language by Amanda Montell
The Convent by Stuart Kells
Educated by Tara Westover

Suitable for Upper Primary and Beyond
The Year the Maps Changed by Danielle Binks
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell

Beyond Belief by Dee White
The Art of Taxidermy by Sharon Kernot

Safe Work Practices in the Library.


Disclaimer – This post is not intended to replace and or substitute any medical or governmental advice. The suggestions below are merely suggestions and as such are shared in good faith and open for discussion. While every effort is made to ensure that the material is accurate and up to date, we do not guarantee or warrant the accuracy, completeness, or currency of the information provided.

As some students and staff return to, or plan to return to school, and items, of various kinds, are returned to the library it is important that we have a range of procedures in place to keep the community safe.

Over the past few weeks, our membership discussion forum has enabled SLAV members to share their ideas around practices and procedures that they have found helpful. We are sharing those ideas and practices here for wider community access. We encourage members to continue to share and contribute to the discussion forums HERE

Most of our members are placing returned items on a separate trolley or in a seperate space, and leaving them there for at least 24 hours before wiping them down with antibacterial or antiseptic wipes and returning them to shelves. Many are leaving returned items aside for 3 days or more, some up to a week.

For many libraries, there has been a suspension of hiring items such as headphones during this time, as they are harder to sanitise effectively. Questions around the sanitisation of laptops, calculators and other hardware have been asked, as these items should not be subjected to sanitising sprays and wipes due to their potentially corrosive nature.

There has also been much discussion around capping numbers of students and staff in the library at any given time, and how to manage this, particularly with winter approaching and students wanting access to indoor spaces rather than being outside in the weather.

ALIA has developed an extremely comprehensive guide that not only provides guidelines for best practice, but document templates for planning library reopening. You can download this document HERE.

ALIA Safety Guidelines are as follows –

Physical distancing

Maintain at least 1.5 metres distance between people.

• Rearrange furniture and computer facilities.

• Provide a separate entrance and exit to the space.

• Mark out the distance from the main service points, to minimise

face-to-face interaction.

• Ask people who are feeling unwell to stay away from the library.

Limit the usage of the space to one person per 4 square metres

• Calculate the area of the public floor space. Divide the area by four. Limit the

number of people in the space (including staff) to this number.

• Set up a safe queueing space outside the library – marking every 1.5 metres on

the ground.

Safe handling of physical materials

• Wear gloves when moving collections into quarantine and remove them

immediately afterwards.

• Ask visitors to use self-checkout machines to minimise the exchange of

physical items.

• Avoid handling cash or credit cards – use ‘tap and go’ if receiving payments.

Sanitising objects and surfaces

• Provide hand sanitiser and/or alcohol-based soap for staff and visitors.

• Clean and disinfect computer equipment between uses.

• Avoid the sharing of close-contact equipment such as headphones and

VR headsets.

Quarantining and sanitising collections

• For paper-based products, leave books untouched in a dedicated quarantine

area for a 24-hour period prior to handling and recirculating. Sanitising books with

liquid disinfectants can damage books and is not recommended.

• For DVDs or other materials with plastic covers, wipe them down with alcohol wipes.

• Clean and disinfect hard, high-touch surfaces, such as railings, doorknobs, faucets,

light switches, at least once a day – more often if possible.

This information has been gathered based on guidelines provided by Safe Work Australia (4) and advice provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (ILMS) (5) and the Northeast Document Conservation Center. (6)

The American Libraries Magazine has also published a informative article addressing many of these issues, you can read it HERE.

 

Share Your COVID-19 School Library Experience

From the team at Students Need School Libraries

COVID-19. It changed Term 1, 2020. It changed the way students and school staff approach Term 2, 2020. It changed the way we view education. It changed the world. What it didn’t change was the need for school libraries run by a qualified and passionate school library team.

We want to know and share what school libraries or school library teams have been focusing on during this COVID crisis. It might look a little different from the usual, but it’s even more important during this time of change and upheaval.

The Task: We want to know what you, as a library staff member or library team, have been focusing on during this COVID crisis.

The Goal: To continue sharing the word about the importance of school libraries and school library staff. Schools are blessed to have you. And the schools without you are probably wishing they did have you right about now.

What you would need to do: Take 5 minutes to respond to the questions below or write a short paragraph about how your school library is responding to the COVID crisis and email it to blog@studentsneedschoollibraries.org.au Anyone involved in school libraries in any way is welcome to respond, from school library staff to parents or students, authors running virtual visits or publishers providing access to resources.

We will feature responses on the Students Need School Libraries Website and social media pages and we hope to share the stories around the world in collaboration with our international colleagues. We hope we can rally around each together during this time to support each other, our students, school staff and the wider community. Please let us know if you have any other ideas you would like to share.

Snapshot of a School Library during COVID-19.

  1. What has been the focus for your school library/ role during the COVID-19 crisis?
  2. What major tasks have you achieved?
  3. What has been the result for staff and/or students?
  4. What other information would you like readers to know?
  • Do you give permission for this information to be shared beyond the Students Need School Libraries website and social media, for example in an articles for a school library journal? Yes/No/I’d need to be contacted first
  • Would you like this posted anonymously: Yes/No. If no, please answer the questions below.
    • Your role/s:
    • Your school:

You can find more information here. https://studentsneedschoollibraries.org.au/blog/share-your-covid-19-school-library-experience/

NEW! Discussion Forum

SLAV have started a Discussion Forum where members can share and discuss ideas and resources. To start off, we have created four threads that respond to the current crisis. They are:

Online learning resources
Safety precautions in school libraries
Tasks for working remotely
Wide reading lessons online

We have also created an open forum that allows you to pose a question, on any topic, to the SLAV Community.

The Discussion Forum can be accessed via the link below. The system will prompt you to sign in with your SLAV member username (the email address we have for you in our system) and the password you have set.

Once in the forum it is just a matter of replying to one of the threads to start sharing and contributing.

You can tick a box to receive emails about new posts. Join the Discussion Forum HERE.