SLAV Online Book Club – September 7th, 2023 – New Adult

Our thanks to those who were able to join us for our SLAV online Book Club on Thursday September 7th, 2023, to discuss the topic: New Adult.

We absolutely encourage you to reach out to the wonderful Jenny at The Younger Sun as an invaluable resource in this area, for further information and recommendations. The staff at The Younger Sun are incredibly knowledgeable!

As always, so many of you had so many wonderful contributions to share with us, and it is very appreciated. Join us again in term four where our topics will be:

  • Thursday October 12 – Topic: Promotional Tactics
  • Thursday November 16 – Topic: Short Books and Short Stories

This was our sixth book club meeting for 2023, and we want to say a very special thank you to all who have attended and contributed to these informal and informative meetings. We cannot wait to see you at our next meeting, your generosity is greatly appreciated.

In term four we will also be asking for feedback and ideas for 2024 – we look forward to your suggestions.

At our September meeting the wonderful Alida shared how her school stores and displays the equivalent of New Adult in their library.  These photos are of their space. Thank you to Alida for sharing.

Download Jenny’s list HERE.

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 student’s 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.

New Adult Suggestions from the attendees

Crying – Michelle Zorner
Love and virtue – Diana Reed
Lessons in chemistry- Bonnie Gamus
The Modern – Anna Kate Blair
The House in the Cerulean Sea – TJ Klune
13 Reasons Why – Jay Asher
Stephen King titles
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
Convenience Store woman by Sayaka Murata
Chris Hammer titles
Kyle Perry titles
Scarecrow – Matthew Reilly
Ragdoll – Daniel Cole
Beyond the Body Farm – Jon Jefferson
Bridgerton series – Julia Quinn
The Queen is Dead – Stan Grant
Heat and Light – Ellen van Neerven
Norwegian Wood – Haruki Murakami
Stella Prize titles may be appropriate for this category
Tony Birch books,
The Last daughter – Brenda Matthews
The Fell – Sarah Moss
Summer Water – Sarah Moss
It sounded better in my head – Nina Kenwood
Interview with a vampire – Anne Rice
Holden Sheppard – The Brink
The Coast by Eleanor Limprecht
Unnecessary drama – Nina Kenwood
Ninth House’ – Leigh Bardugo

NEW ADULT books we are reading ourselves

The inbetween – Chris Tsolkas
The librarianist – Patrick deWitt
Cuddy – Benjamin Myers
Nothing Bad Ever Happens Here – Heather Rose
Last daughter – Brenda Matthews
Demon Copperhead – Barbara Kingsolver
Yellowface – R F Kuang
Nine Days – Toni Jordan
Different for Boys – Patrick Ness
Lenny Marks gets away with Murder – Kerryn Mayne
The Wager – David Grann
The Lying Life of Adults – Elena Ferrante
Wifedom – Anna Funder
When the coffee gets cold series – Toshikazu Kawaguch
Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens – Shnakari Chandran
The Slap – Chris Tsolkas
The Lost Estate by Henri Alain-Fournier
Apples Never Fall – Liane Moriarty
Three Wishes – Liane Moriarty
You Need to Know -Liane Moriarty
The Memory Police – Yoko Ogawa
The Dressmaker – Rosalie Ham

Media Release – SLAV President – December 8th, 2020


Media release – School Library Association of Victoria (SLAV)

• 2020 Awards
• 60th Year – Collegiality, Partnerships and Showcasing Best Practice

 

We acknowledge and celebrate the winners for our 2020 Awards.

Penny Geoghegan Award
Lynn Swannell, Librarian, Mount Eliza Secondary College
for her dedication to the local branch and wider networks of the profession and her continued collegiate support of her colleagues.

Innovators Award
Bridget Forster, Teacher-Librarian, Strathcona Baptist Girls’ Grammar School
In recognition of The Independent Learning Project – a skills-based enrichment activity developed for remote learning.

Research Fellowship
Luke Featherston, Learning Leader, Resource Centre Manager, Trinity College Colac
For efforts to improve literacy skills through the development of a homework wide reading program.

School Leaders Award
Peter Houlihan, Principal, De La Salle College
In recognition of his outstanding and ongoing support of the reinvigoration of school library services at De La Salle College.

John Ward Award
Julie Pagliaro, Head of Libraries, St Kevin’s College
In recognition of her outstanding contribution to the profession of teacher librarianship.

The awards were presented online by the SLAV President, Di Ruffles, at our virtual conference on Friday November 27. This conference was the culmination of a year of change and new learning as the association moved to support members effectively and safely, exploring possibilities that supported and inspired our learning communities.

• Collegiality, Partnerships and Showcasing Best Practice

During 2020, the associations 60th year, the School Library Association of Victoria has sought to remain connected, use technology effectively and strengthen partnerships.

In response to the restricted environment SLAV aimed to be agile and creative. The association Modified and changed much of our professional learning program. This included:

Creating an Online Book Club for the sharing of ideas around student reading during the first pivot to remote learning. The lists created by this large and active group were then shared more widely on SLAVConnects. This relaxed online offering was collegiate and timely.

Expanding our Masterclass series online to include a series on Library Design with consultant Kevin Hennah, a masterclass on LibGuides – a curation tool for the dissemination of online resources, and a Masterclass on Media Literacy featuring Misha Ketchell, Managing Director of The Conversation.

Creating a Picture Book Showcase online exploring the work of Graeme Base, Anna Walker and Jess McGeachin and featuring the Wilderness Society’s Environment prize for Children’s Literature.

In partnership with Association colleagues in NSW (SLANSW), offering a webinar entitled Practical Preparedness: Dealing with Compounding Disasters to assist regional school libraries to prepare for the possibility of fire and flood.

In partnership with the Languages and Multicultural Education Resource Centre (LMERC) offering an online masterclass entitled: Powering Learning: Supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives featuring keynote Professor Marcia Langton.

In partnership with LMERC, Stella Schools, and the teaching association VicTESOL, presenting online the: Culturally Diverse Literature Professional Learning Series

To end our 60th year we held our November Conference: The Power of Reading online and in partnership with the National Education Summit offered a day showcasing best practice in school libraries with featured speakers Ursula Dubosarsky, Australian Children’s Laureate, the Deakin University Teen Reading Research Project and guest creators Saroo and Sue Brierley. This day experimented with a virtual trade exhibition and interactive gamification.

Our sixtieth year has been a year of challenge, of experimentation and learning. We wish to celebrate our award winners and also the achievements of our innovative and proactive professional community in a time of change and opportunity.

For further information please contact:
Dianne Ruffles
President
School Library Association of Victoria
dmruffles@mgs.vic.edu.au

Dr Susan La Marca
Executive Officer
School Library Association of Victoria
0477 439 593
slav@slav.org.au

SLAV Online Book Club – 14th October 2020 – Biography and Non-Fiction

Our biggest thanks to those of you able to join us for our October bookclub meeting. As you can see the list is quite lengthy, which is a wonderful result! Some titles may 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, we hope to see you in November!

Maybe Tomorrow by Boori Monty Pryor and Meme Macdonald
The Top End Girl by Miranda Tapsell
Billy Connelly Autobigraphy
Becoming by Michelle Obama
I Am Malala by Christina Lamb and Malala Yousafzai

Lion and A Long Walk Home by Saroo Brierley
Ugly by Robert Hoge (good comparison with Wonder)
The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do
Her Fathers Daughter by Alice Pung
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
Football and Soccer player biograhies
Biographica series (scientists, artists and pop stars) infographic format
Leather Soul by Bob Murphy
Steven Curry biography
Elon Musk biography

Diary of a Young Naturalist Dara McAnulty
Jacinda Adern biography
Able by Dylan Alcott
More Than a Kick by Tayla Harris
Little People Big Dreams Series
Fourteen by Shannon Molloy
Tim and Tigon by Tim Cope
A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen
Queer Heroes (53 LGBTQ heroes)
The Girl from the Tar Paper School by Teri Kanefield

A Promised Land by Barak Obama (due November 2020)
Dreams From My Father by Barak Obama
Unmasked by Turia Pitt
Astronauts Guide to Life On Earth by Chris Hadfield
Notes From a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig
Reasons To Stay Alive by Matt Haig
The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddi Jaku
Not All Superheroes Wear Capes by Quentin Kenihan
The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank

ADULT Reading

The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein

Just Ignore Him by Alan Davies
Electric Blue by Paul Verhoeven
To Cook a Bear by Mikael Niemi
Between a Wolf and a Dog by Georgia Blain
Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohleben
Gilgamesh by Joan London
Untwisted by Paul Jennings
The Arsonist by Chloe Hooper
Museum of Words by Georgia Blain
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
1000 Ships by Natalie Haynes
A Man Called Possum by David Harris

A big thanks to Lynda Santolin, who shared the below with us after the meeting. 

Popular non-fiction authors:

Amazing Athletes series (eg Kobe Bryant) – individual authors: Savage, Jeff; etc
Abdullah, Ian (Indigenous)
Adamson, Thomas K. eg Apollo 11 Moon Landing: An Interactive Space Exploration Adventure (You Choose: Space)
Deary, Terry – Horrible Histories
Eldridge, Jim
Ellis, Deborah (true-to-life, fiction)
French, Jackie
Grylls, Bear
Kettle, Phil (I Can Be.. Cricket series)
Nicholson, John (History)
Oldfield, Tom and Matt (sports biographies)
Perrett, Brian
Thomas, Ron & Herran, Joe (Macmillan Extreme Sports; Olympics; etc)
Tucker, Alan
Welcome to the Museum series including Botanicum (Welcome to the Museum) – by Katie Scott (Illustrator), Katie Haworth
Wilkinson, Carol (Ned Kelly books)
‘Yinti’ series – Pat Pike & Jimmy Lowe

Some amazing NF:

Becoming – Michelle Obama
Charles Darwin & Evolution – Ian Graham
Conversations with J.K. Rowling -Lindsey Fraser, J.K. Rowling
I Am Malala –
Maybe Tomorrow – Monty Boori Pryor
On Two Feet and Winds and The Boy With Two Lives – Abbas Kazerooni
Red Dog -Louis de Bernières
Rise: The Sam Thaiday Story: Young Readers’ Edition -Sam Thaiday
Selfie: The Changing Face of Self Portraits -Susie Brooks
Stephen Hawking – Nikki Sheehan
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind – William Kamkwamba
The Happiest Refugee – Anh Do
The Woman I was born to be – Susan Boyle
The Word Spy -Ursula Dubosarsky, Tohby Riddle
Young Dark Emu – Bruce Pascoe
Fictionalized true-to-life accounts, including

47 Degrees – Justin D’Ath – 2009 Bushfires
Refugee – Alan Gratz
My Story, My Australian story
Guantanamo Boy – Anna Perera
Freedom Ride – Sue Lawson
Cloud and Wallfish – Anne Nesbet

Term 4 Arrangements in Schools 2020

 

 

 

 

 

The Department of Education has circulated an operations guide for schools for term four. There are three seperate references to the school library or library materials (please do let us know if you see others).

The three references are:

Space out staff workstations as much as possible and limit the number of staff in offices. This might mean re-locating staff to other spaces (such as the library or unused classrooms). (page 18)

Schools should consider the necessity of using shared equipment at this time. Such items may include shared computers, class sets of teaching and learning materials, and musical instruments. If used, strict hand hygiene should be followed before and after use. Risk can be further minimised by users wiping down items where appropriate, for example using a disinfectant/detergent wipe or cloth.

There is no requirement for books to be placed aside for a given period after use or if loaned to students. (page 20)

Appendix 3: Quick reference of permitted school activities

 

 

 

 

 

You can learn more HERE

SLAV has also curated a page of resources for you to refer to, regarding library safety resources which you can access HERE. 

 

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

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!

 

Online resources

During this time, there are many lists being shared that can help you find quality resources to support online learning in your school.  We look for institutions that we know produce reliable and authentic information, and are collating a page of links to resources, guides and useful information HERE for ease of access. We will continue to update this page as we find new resources to share.

 

Professional Learning Resource Round Up

As we all respond to the directives and guidelines in relation to COVID – 19 our association is working hard to ensure we are doing all we can to support our members.

With some schools needing to close for indefinite periods of time there may be a need for your school library staff to indicate ways they are exploring professional learning during a period of school closure or changed operations.

To assist, we have created this post, listing a range of professional learning opportunities made available to members.

A range of presentations from past Professional Learning Events can be accessed via the SLAV Member Login page HERE.

Over the past two years we have created podcasts of all of our Reading Forum events as well recording a selection of presentations given at our major conferences. These podcasts are available to anyone online and can be accessed HERE.

Synergy is our online, research based, journal. The most recent edition of the journal is closed to members only but all other editions of the journal are made freely available in light of the Associations interest in being collegiate and supportive of the wider professional community. We encourage you to explore the wealth of information from current and past editions HERE. 

Digital issues of our publication – FYI – can be accessed HERE. 

As a SLAV member, you also have access to resources from the International Association of School Librarianship through our partner membership status. There are some wonderful resources to be accessed on the IASL website and we encourage you to find time to explore them. Login details are available on our Member Login page.

Finally, a word on our 2020 Professional Learning Calendar. As we advised in our most recent newsletter we are doing all we can to ensure we are keeping our members and presenters safe, and are responding to guidelines and directives accordingly.

Events – cancellations and postponements

Our March 23 conference has been cancelled.

The IB workshop to be held in conjunction with DATTA Vic at Kardinia College on April 16 has been cancelled.

Our May Masterclass in conjunction with LMERC – Powering Learning: Supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives has been moved to September 4.

Our May 29 Conference – School Libraries: Powering Primary has been moved to September 14.

The National Education Summit on August 28 and 29 at MCEC, a strand of which we are a partner in providing, has been postponed to a later date yet to be announced.

All other Reading Forums, Workshops and Masterclasses

The remainder of our program are events that are to be held in school venues. At present we are continuing to plan and offer these events on the understanding that a decision will be made a month to two weeks out from each as to whether they are to go ahead. As it is very difficult to know exactly where we will be in two months’ time this approach is hopefully the best response in unknown times.

If you have any queries about this, please contact the SLAV office on 0477 439 593 or email slav@slav.org.au

We encourage all members to stay in touch with each other in these challenging times. Our branch structure is an excellent source of local support.  We encourage you to reach out and offer collegiate advice wherever you can and to ask if you need help or assistance. Our social media platforms can also be a source of connection. Please do reach out, we are open to assisting you in any way we can.

Top Tools for Learning 2015

webtoolsLast week Jane Hart, founder of the Centre for Learning and Performance Technologies released the 2015 Top 10 Tools for Learning.  Now in its ninth year, this list is a creditable indicator of trends in the top online learning tools used worldwide.  It has been compiled from the votes of over 2,000 individuals from 63 countries, working in different roles in education and workplace learning.

For the 7th consecutive year, Twitter is the most popular learning tool but it is now closely followed by Youtube.  The closing of this gap is not surprising as students will tell you, if they want to learn how to do something they head for Youtube.  Statistics indicate that the number of people watching YouTube each day has increased by 40% y/y since March 2014.

Top of the list are Twitter, Youtube, Google Search, Google Docs/Drive, Powerpoint and Dropbox.  Screencast-O-Matic has returned to the Top 100 at 27th place after last appearing in 2011 at position 82.  This is perhaps a reflection of its popularity as a video creating tool for Flipped Learning and assessment feedback in the classroom.

Amongst the tools moving off the list in 2015 are: Hootsuite, Zite, Voicethread, Flickr, Storify, Glogster Edu, Tumblr, Wikispaces, Pearltrees, Voki and Paperli.

It’s surprising that Flipboard has not yet made the list but its time will come, no doubt.  Check out Jane’s presentation with the full run down of the Top 10 Tools for Learning 2015 and associated resources yourself for a wealth of popular learning tools.

Source: Image

 

VCE English: Encountering Conflict

Screen Shot 2015-08-09 at 8.32.31 pm

ABC Radio is renowned for its podcasts, with most ABC broadcasting now available for anywhere/anytime listening.  The full list of programs and listening option can be found on the ABC podcasting page.

For a number of years, local Melbourne ABC 774 broadcaster Libbi Gorr has presented a gem of a program on Sundays appropriately entitled Sunday School.  It’s a must for VCE English students, as Libbi joins with English teachers in discussion and commentary on texts, exam preparation support and topics relating to the subject.

In this sample broadcast of Sunday School: Encountering Conflict, Christine Lambrianidis, English Learning Leader at Point Cook Senior Secondary College, joined Libbi to discuss ‘how human trafficking and slavery can affect Australians through the food we eat, clothing we wear and the services we engage.’

Christine related these key issues back to the VCE theme ‘Encountering Conflict’ and also extracted examples from the film ‘A Separation’ directed by Asghar Farhadi which is one of the optional VCE English texts.

This embedded file is from Soundcloud, however, it can just as easily be downloaded via iTunes.  Check with your VCE students to ensure they’re not missing out on this supportive resource.

https://soundcloud.com/774-abc-melbourne/sunday-school-encountering-conflict-theme