Spring - School Library Association of New South Wales

Transcription

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING ADVOCACY RESEARCH
iLeader
Journal of the School Library Association
of New South Wales
The safe
haven of the
library:
Investigating the
school library as
the “beneficial
physical space”.
05
03
19
Also in this issue:
• Author/illustrator Christina Booth welcomes home the whales
• Learning from Aboriginal voices
• Investigating QR Codes - do you have ideas to share?
• Kids’ Lit Quiz Australia: Year 2
VOLUME 2 • Issue 3 • Spring 2013 ISSN 2201-2184
Leading
perspective
Here we are at issue #3, the
weather has warmed up
and another Book Week
has come and gone...
When searching for a self pic for
this editorial, I had hoped to find
one that was reflective of the
galactic-scaled Book Week theme
for 2013, Read across the universe.
I remembered the historic plaque I
had hunted down in Linlithgow,
Scotland, last April (below right).
Yes indeed, I found the future
birthplace of Star Trek’s Chief
Engineer Montgomery Scott.
Thanks to Annet House Museum!
Ian McLean, teacher
librarian at Penrith
Public School, is
Contributing Editor.
In the preparation of this issue, the
teacher librarian listservs at nswtl
and OZTL_Net have proven to be
invaluable. Martin Gray was able to
The United Kingdom is dotted with promote an online survey form,
plaques identifying historical
which enabled him to quickly
locales and I was also thrilled to
gather results for his research
find Helene Hanff’s beloved 84
article on the school library as a
Charing Cross Road, a former
“safe haven” (pp 5-10). It was also
bookshop (below) in London. It is
interesting to watch the cumulative
now the location of an excellent
results of the survey grow
and friendly Léon de Bruxelle’s
automatically, and represented as
Belgian restaurant. The staff was
colourful pie charts, thanks to the
amusingly ignorant of the shop’s
importance to the many anglophiles slick Web 2.0 tools that Martin
learned about at the Google
and bibliophiles who come to visit.
Teacher Academy (see last issue).
codes for my websites to a blog
entry, in preparation for a MANTLE
conference presentation. It was
more of an an awareness-raising
exercise for attendees, and a
confidence-building exercise for
myself, at: ianmclean.edublogs.org/
2013/05/16/qr-codes-and-mantleconference/ It is hoped to share
some innovative QR code ideas
from TLs in a future issue. Please
contact iLeader if you would like to
be involved.
Remember that the Association
maintains a web presence at
www.slansw.asn.au - recently
revamped - or use the QR Code on
p. 20. Key articles from past
quarterly issues of the journal are
online, and available to the general
public. SLANSW members have
password access to whole issues
of each iLeader in digital form. 
Similarly, a question raised on the
listservs, about using QR codes (i.e.
those ubiquitous square barcodes
that pop up on movie posters,
business cards and advertising
brochures) in school libraries,
enabled me to contact several
teacher librarians for permission to
share their ideas beyond the listserv
groups. I had already added QR
SLANSW Inc extends thanks to the following contributors to iLeader, Volume 2 Issue 3 (Spring) 2013, ISSN 2201-2184:
Christina Booth, Marj Brown, Nicole Deans, Linda Gibson-Langford, Martin Gray, Yvonne Hyde, Karen Irving, Bronwyn
Jackson, Ian McLean, Peta Newsam, Jan Poona, Jae Rolt, Libby Saxby and Bill Sommerville.
Cover images courtesy of Ian McLean, George Ivanoff and Nutcote Museum.
This publication has been prepared for the members of the School Library Association of NSW Inc. The opinions
expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of SLANSW Inc. While reasonable checks
have been made to ensure the accuracy of statements and advice, no responsibility for any loss occasioned to any person
taking, or refraining from, action, as a result of material in this publication, is accepted by the authors or SLANSW Inc.
Copyright of articles is held by SLANSW and by each author therein.
2
School Library Association of NSW
George Ivanoff,
writer-in-residence
In my presentation to the Year 9 students, I
spoke about the process of writing a novel covering the steps of initial idea,
brainstorming, planning, writing, re-writing
and editing. Many students were amazed
that, typically, one of my novels will go
through about ten drafts. This worked as a
way of introducing students to the writing
process and all the steps involved, and
hopefully instilled a greater appreciation of
the material they would go on to read.
I ran general workshops with each of the Year
10 English classes. These sessions aimed to
introduce students to basic techniques, and
to spark an interest in writing.
George Ivanoff is a Melbournebased author. He has written over
70 books for children and teens,
including non-fiction books, school
readers, chapter books, novelettes,
novels and a short story collection.
His first book, Life, death and
detention, was recently republished
in a new edition.
Check out his website at:
georgeivanoff.com.au
There is a lot to be gained from author talks
and general class writing workshops in
schools. These events can enthuse students
about reading and inspire and encourage an
interest in writing. But much can also be
gained from smaller workshops with selected
students who demonstrate a particular
aptitude for, or interest in, writing.
Having done three types of sessions at the
same school over the course of a week-long
writer’s residency, I can now sit back, assess
how it all went and make some observations.
The process of writing a novel
Last year, I spent a week as writer-inresidence at Mentone Grammar. I presented
a series of basic workshops with English
classes, a talk to Year 9 students, and a set
of more intensive workshops with small
groups of students from Year 9 to Year 12.
During these sessions I encouraged students
to do some simple writing exercises: asking
“What if...?” questions to turn an ordinary
situation into a potential story, and creating a
list of characteristics for a potential character.
I asked a few of the students to read out
what they had written. 
3
George Ivanoff (cont.)
Even though it was only a few of them who had the
chance to read, the feedback I gave could be taken on
board by the other students. I aimed to be as
encouraging as possible and point out how a student’s
writing could be expanded upon. But in a workshop
like this, there is only so far that you can go. With a
large group of students, there is little chance for
individual attention, and by necessity the sessions
remained quite general.
Workshops for writing
The intensive workshops
were organised in a
different way. In the
weeks leading up to my
residency at the school,
students had the
opportunity to apply to
attend the intensive
workshops. In their
applications, students
needed to state why
they wanted to attend.
They also needed to
submit a piece of
creative writing. These
workshops had a
maximum of ten
students per group, and
each group had two
hour-long sessions.
There were three
discernible benefits to
these workshops:
1. No distractions:
Most obviously, there
were no distractions from disinterested students.
When presenting to a whole class, it’s likely there will
be at least a couple of students who are not interested
in writing, or learning about writing. These students will
usually zone out and not pay attention. In a worst case
scenario, they can distract the class and detract from
the learning experience of others. The application
process insured that all the students in attendance
were enthusiastic about being there.
2. Individual attention: With smaller groups of
students, there was greater opportunity for individual
attention. I have found that students tend to learn
4
better from their own examples. In these sessions,
attendees were able to ask questions that were
relevant to their individual writing needs and I could
steer the workshop in those directions.
3. Content: The greater length of time, afforded by two
sessions per group, allowed for a greater depth of
content. In the general writing workshops I covered
only a few basics: a little about characterisation, a little
about structure; but I focused mostly on getting
started, and the importance of personal experience as
a springboard for writing fiction. With the intensive
sessions, I was able to go
into greater depth on
characterisation and
structure, as well as
examining perspective,
tense and voice. I was
also able to look at
individual students’
needs — whether that be
answering specific
questions about the
writing process, or
reading and commenting
on their pieces of writing.
My conclusions
Schools are generally
focused on getting the
maximum benefit for the
maximum number of
students from an author
visit. In these cases, a
presentation or a general
workshop with a whole
class is certainly the way
to go.
If there are students who show a particular aptitude or
interest in writing, schools can consider scheduling
additional, more intensive workshops. Yes, it requires
greater commitment from a school… but the benefits, I
believe, are worth it.
Above: Read across the universe - in a TARDIS! George is
a longtime science fiction media fan and is passionate about
Doctor Who. He has been fortunate to write tie-in books for
the franchise. George’s wife hand painted this amazing
TARDIS jacket, which has proven popular at conventions and
during his school visits. Book cover on page 3 reprinted
courtesy of Paul Collins, Ford Street Publishing, 2013.
The safe haven of the library
- some preliminary research
by Martin Gray, Singleton High School
on occasion, though, I had to read the week’s
school welfare notices to discover that such
recommendations for a particular student
had already been made.
I believe that the library as a refuge is one of
the most important roles for our space, and
decided to ask informally, on the nswtl
listserv, if this was common. It was. An
summary of results later appeared on
the listserv addressing the idea of a library as
a safe haven.
School libraries are often seen as a
refuge where students who are
uneasy in the playground can feel
more comfortable. Anecdotal
evidence suggests that this role is
actively encouraged in many
schools, often with head teachers
recommending or requiring certain
students to attend breaks in the
quieter, more structured
environment of libraries - to both
relax and avoid trouble. Hard
numbers on how common this is
can be difficult to find.
This article seeks to quantify the
occurrence of what may be one of
the library’s most important social
functions within a school: that of
the beneficial physical space, or
the “safe haven”.
Martin is a secondary teacher
librarian. In the last issue of
iLeader, he discussed the benefits
of attending the Google Teacher
Academy.
Introduction
Last year, I became aware of an increase in
the number of students on the Autism
spectrum, or with social welfare issues, being
sent to the school library by staff. This was
due to the library being seen as a place
where socially or physically vulnerable
students could be given respite, or be kept
out of trouble. In most cases I was consulted;
At Singleton High School, I often find that the
two weeks I close for annual stocktake are
accompanied by an increased number of
incidents and suspensions of some of my
more interesting patrons. This has also been
noticed by my school executive and
Principal, who are all very supportive of the
school library as a safe haven.
I wanted to see if there were any writings on
this phenomenon. There were several
mentions on the use of libraries for both
physical and educational benefits. With
regard to public libraries, research on the
benefits for women, and lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth,
found that public libraries were seen by these
stakeholders as a valuable resource.
For example, Denise Agosto, Kimberly Paone
& Gretchen Ipock (2007), in The femalefriendly public library, say:
“Perhaps the most surprising of these
three major roles of the public library
is the library as a beneficial physical
environment. Some of the teens who
used the library in this way viewed it
as a place of refuge, either from a
dangerous home or neighborhood
environment, or from the higher noise
levels of home and of public places.”
Lyn Hay & Ross J Todd (2010) mentioned the
library as refuge in School libraries 21C, while
researching the roles of the library in aiding
learning, concluding that the school library is
an essential element for schools striving to
achieve student equity. 
5
The safe haven of the library (cont.)
But how - and what - will our young
people be reading into the future? Let’s
set the scene here with a brief book
trailer. I’m sure many of you will have
already seen these - but the point it
makes is an interesting way to start our
discussion. Watch this Youtube video
for an animated trailer, It’s a book by
Lane Smith (Macmillan Children’s):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=x4BK_2VULCU
Chart 1: 140 responses were received, and a pie chart was automatically generated
by the Google docs software. (This chart has been recreated for publication using
the free generator at piecolor.com)
“A pervasive concept was that of safety. The
school library provides a safe place, a safe
haven for students (recess/lunch/before
school/after school) (1A.43) for learning to
work with diverse and conflicting sources
available through the internet, as well as a
place for the investigation of controversial
and conflicting topics in safety. According to
respondents: the library presents a real, yet
safe environment to explore the expanse of
information available (1A.8); have fun, feel
safe and enjoy literature (1A.10); and some
students need the space as a ‘refuge’ and
others come into the space because they
‘need to be needed’ while others get the
opportunity to develop leadership skills
through years of mentoring and helping
others in the library (1A.9)” [p. 7].
Dorothy Williams, Carolyn Wavell & Louisa Coles
(2001), in Impact of school library services on
achievement and learning, mention "... vulnerable
students seeking refuge as volunteer librarians", and
note that this aspect of library service was “poorly
researched”.
I found that while a library as a safe haven was often
acknowledged, the stereotype was likely to be
presented as students “hiding” in the library, and that
there were no statistics available to measure how
commonplace was such use. Recently, I decided to
send out a more formal survey to obtain quantifiable
local numbers. This was done out of a professional
interest, but also as a way to show colleagues in other
school roles a component of school library work that
was both underestimated and underappreciated.
6
Method
A survey form was created using Google docs,
consisting of five multiple choice questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Do you have students who are recommended
to spend breaks in the library?
Do you have students who are required to take
breaks in the library?
If “yes” to 2 or 3, were you consulted on these
recommendations?
Do you have students in the library who you
know are not comfortable with open social
situations, such as free time in the playground?
Are you Primary, Secondary, Central?
The URL for the online survey was sent out over
the nswtl (NSW DEC teacher librarians’) listserv and the
OZTL_Net (Australian teacher librarians and information
professionals’) listserv. The results were automatically
collated by Google drive.
“The school library became
my physical and psychic
refuge...”
Kevin Jennings (2006), “Librarians make a
difference”, Knowledge Quest vol 34, #5
A total of 140 responses were received. Cumulative
results were coming in over the course of a week, and
there was little variation in percentages over the survey
period. 103 responses were from government schools
and 37 from the non-government sector (Chart 1, top).
Chart 2: It was common in a large majority of schools for certain students to be
encouraged to spend break times in the library, more so for government than
non-government schools.
Public schools used libraries as a
recommended break time location for
targeted students for 86% of respondents,
compared to the non-government schools
with 78%. This small variation may be due to
differences in cohort or in school structure; it
can be stated that most schools surveyed
have students who are recommended to
spend breaks in the library.
returning from suspension, or for medical
reasons.
The results of these questions show that,
across all systems and all stages, school
libraries are commonly used as beneficial
physical space by schools, both formally and
informally. Hay & Todd’s study referred to the
use of libraries as a safe environment. Here
we see this use is recommended to certain
students in most schools (84%) and for some
students, in a small majority of schools,
library attendance is a requirement (61%).
Across all sectors, the majority of school
libraries have students who were required to
take breaks in the libraries. 54% of nongovernment schools and 63% of government
school respondents say “Yes”.
The use of the library for these purposes,
which comes under the library's “whole
It was universal across all sectors and age
school” role, shows the valuable contribution
divisions for the library to be used by
of a school library - and its staff - to school
students who are not comfortable in
welfare. To maintain this role, a library has to
unstructured environments, such as
exist and be well staffed, with those willing to
playgrounds during break time. Hay & Todd’s maintain its position as both a place of
pervasive idea (2010), of the library being
learning, and as an environment of more
seen as a safe place to socialise or study,
structure and consistency, than the
has been entirely reflected in these results.
playground. This may have ramifications for
school staffing allocations and library
timetabling; for example, when negotiating
What do these results mean for
trade-offs about staffing the library at breaks.
library staff?
Do you have students who are
recommended to spend breaks in the
library? This could be a formal or informal
recommendation by any member of staff.
e.g. a student being bullied.
Do you have students who are required to
take breaks in the library? e.g. a student
If “yes” to 1 or 2, were you consulted on
these recommendations? e.g. a phone call
from recommending teacher before
finding out in a communications meeting.
The results of this question are of concern.
While the majority of teacher librarians - 55%
- said that they are consulted about individual
students being required or recommended 
7
to use the library during specified periods of the
school day, a very large minority, 45%, are consulted
“sometimes” or “never” (Chart 3, below).
The reasons for this have not been examined; it may
vary from the forgetfulness of an overworked
executive, a simple communication breakdown, or
perhaps indicate lack of professional respect from
colleagues. Regardless the reasons, students are
being recommended, or - more specifically required to attend the library for social, medical or
disciplinary reasons without prior notification, and
this raises several professional issues.
For example, if the student is attending the library for
medical reasons, and the library has not been
forewarned, they may be unprepared for a medical
emergency. Should a student who has created a
disturbance in the library be required to come to the
library for respite from the playground or classroom?
Whose responsibility is it if a student encouraged to
attend the library is elsewhere? It would seem that
consultation with library staff is of high priority.
Do you have students in the library who you know
are not comfortable with open social situations,
such as spending their free time in the playground?
Chart 3: 122 schools responded to this question.
Chart 4: All 140 schools responded to this survey question.
8
Almost every school that replied to the survey stated
that they had students in the library who were not
comfortable with open social situations (Chart 4, page
8). This, once again, shows how common it is for
school libraries to play a social role in schools and
highlights the importance of a well staffed library,
particularly before, after, and in between, regular
classes.
Conclusion
The results of this study show that the societal view of
school libraries being used as a safe haven are
quantifiably accurate. Across all sectors and stages,
students who may have difficulty in the playground
environment are commonly required, or recommended,
to attend breaks in the school library. Furthermore,
many students with these difficulties voluntarily use
libraries at break time.
These findings seemingly have ramifications for school
library staffing. Ongoing, open dialogue between the
professional stakeholders would seem to be essential.
Justifications could be made for extending contact
hours for teacher librarians and library administration,
and how school libraries are staffed during break
sessions.
From this study, two further questions arise. Firstly, in a
situation similar to this, how frequently are libraries
used for in-school isolation, such as timeouts and
suspensions? Secondly, what are the views of
executive staff who make these recommendations or
requirements? 
References and further reading
Agosto, DE., Paone, KL., & Ipock, GS. (2007). “The
female-friendly public library: gender differences in
adolescents’ uses and perceptions of US public
libraries”, Library Trends, Fall:
dspace.library.drexel.edu/bitstream/
1860/2736/1/2006175428.pdf
Hay, L. & Foley, C. (2009) “School libraries building
capacity for student learning in 21C”,
Scan 28(2), pp. 17–26. Viewed 27 September, 2013.
www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/
schoollibraries/assets/pdf/Schoollibraries21C.pdf
Hay, L & Todd, RJ (2010). Report of the School libraries
21C online discussion, School Libraries and
Information Literacy Unit, Curriculum K–12 Directorate,
NSW Department of Education and Training.
schoollibraries/assets/pdf/21c_report.pdf
Note: The executive summary of the above report,
School libraries 21C: the conversation begins, was
published in Scan 29(1), February, 2010, pp. 30-42,
and is available online. Viewed 27 September, 2013.
schoollibraries/assets/pdf/21cexsum.pdf
Jennings, K. (2006), “Librarians make a difference”,
Knowledge Quest vol 34, #5, American Libraries
Association. Viewed 27 September, 2013.
aasl.metapress.com/index/qnw4456n8h71513h.pdf
Williams, D., Wavell, C & Coles, L (2001). Impact of
school library services on achievement and learning,
School of Information and Media, Faculty of
Management, Robert Gordon University, UK. Viewed
27 September, 2013.
http://www.rgu.ac.uk/3AC6AB20-595B-11E1BF5B000D609CB064
Snapshots: The
library as a haven
Jae Rolt, TL, Cessnock West Public
School, says:
“I have a few students that just need some quiet time
out from the classroom. The noise of the classroom
can be quite distracting for them and makes one [in
particular] a bit emotional, so they are allowed to ask
for time out and they come to me, or their teacher will
just send them to me with a note that says ‘Respite’.
Respite might be for child, or teacher, or the class!
“I have mattress squares and bean bags. Students
come in and find a quiet corner, lie down and have a
read while I'm teaching. Sometimes they fall asleep (for
some of our students, their bed is in the lounge room,
so if parent/s are watching a late movie, the child is still
awake until they go to bed.)” 
Read more about Jae Rolt, “Australia's
Favourite Librarian”, at
www.alia.org.au/sites/default/files/
documents/advocacy/Jae%20Rolt_0.pdf
Libby Saxby, TL, Bundaberg North
State High School, Queensland,
says:
“I would be happy to be part of the survey about
libraries as beneficial physical spaces. Our library has
been so busy this year at lunchtimes, especially packed
with boys. I think that a large part of this has been the
fact that so many of our students were (and many still
are) displaced by the floods. It has been a safe,
welcoming, shared space, and we are amazed at how
many of the boys are in here. 
9
Snapshots (cont.)
“My own theory is that the girls will talk to
each other more readily when they are upset
or stressed but boys don't do it like that. They
come in here and their chat is incidental to
the laptop game, chess, jigsaw puzzle,
graphic novel or whatever else they are
doing. Also, many of them lost their books,
games, etc. to the floods - and also their
space, as many students had (or still have)
other families living with them, even if they
did not lose homes.
“It gets noisy, but they are having fun and
they are not doing anything wrong.” 
Peta Newsam, TL, Leeton
High School, says:
“Yes, we have some regulars who don't want
to be outside in the big wide world. They
know that I will not let certain others in here
to talk to them, or, as is often the case, try to
pass nasty messages on.
“The chess players were in the library
practising, and a few of the respite students
have now taken an interest in chess and have
learnt to play. One, now in Year 10, has
earned a position on the school’s Reserve
Chess Team.
“The down side is that some students can
become reliant; the school library becomes
“too safe” a haven. When we are closed, for
something like Anzac Day or NAIDOC Week
morning teas, they do worry. I will see them
alone, reading their DEAR book, out in the
sunshine.
“In a couple of cases, after discussing with
them that they probably need to be
elsewhere sometimes, I have made certain
days a library-free day for them. That seems
to have worked a little and, sometimes by
choice, they are not here on other days.” 
“One positive is that these students can be
encouraged to pick up a book or magazine
and read. It is also a time to discuss things
with them; they often open up and it probably
does them good to have someone who will
listen. In many cases, this doesn't happen at
home. They can also get some morale
building by being my ‘step and fetch it’ helper
sometimes.
122 schools responded to the question of consultation (Chart 3, see page 8).
Here is the breakdown of those replies:
10
Schools
Total 122
Gov.
Non Gov.
Primary
Secondary
Central
Always
26
18
8
10
15
1
Mostly
42
31
11
10
29
3
Someti
mes
40
30
10
10
15
5
Never
14
11
3
2
9
3
Welcome
home:
written & illustrated by
Christina Booth
This book is a timely reminder of
our whaling history and its
consequences as we anticipate
and hope with the return of the
whales in southern Australian
waters.
It is July 2013. A large southern
right whale was spotted and
photographed breaching in the
Derwent River, Hobart, Tasmania.
Not by a wildlife photographer, nor
a whale watching craft, but a water
taxi ferrying people across the river
to the city for work. The
passengers captured the image on
their phones and it spread across
social media pages with great
excitement and anticipation. They
are back, we say! Slowly but
surely, they are returning. But
where did they go?
In August 2010, a southern right
whale swam into Hobart’s Derwent
River and gave birth to a calf – the
first known birth in over 190 years.
Why is it so?
During the early years of European
settlement, southern right whales,
Christina Booth is an
award winning
Australian children’s
author/illustrator. Four
of her picture books
have gained places on
the CBCA Notable list,
and Kip was an Honour
Book in 2010.
including the Reverend Knopwood
of Hobart Town, Van Diemen’s
Land, the water literally boiled with
whales. In order to not be knocked
out of your boat, you needed to
travel close to the shore and be
alert. The whales were an easy
prey. The females, migrating up to
the warmer waters from Antarctica
for the winter, birthed in the
Derwent and other southern
waters around Australia, New
Zealand, and southern Africa. The
taking was easy and the once
numerous mammal was a
commodity that attracted hunters
to our waters; so many were
hunted that they soon
disappeared. The southern right
whale can only have a calf once
every three years, so this approach
to hunting saw a fast decline,
resulting in the long term
decimation of a once numerous
species.
Welome home is an
important new book of
hope and reconciliation.
Southern right whales were the
first species of whale declared as
protected in Australia and New
Zealand: this happened in 1935.
By 1900, whaling had ceased in
Tasmania, as the whales had been
hunted to near extinction.
so named because they were
considered the “right whale” to
hunt, were hunted to the point of
near extinction in only a few short
years. The Derwent River was
known as a whaling nursery and, in
diary accounts of early settlers,
Their numbers are very slowly on
the increase and, nearly 200 years
later, they are still considered a
threatened species. But why would
one return after so many
generations to birth in a once
popular nursery?
Resources for a unit on whales:
Booth, C. Christina Booth: Australian author &
illustrator for children, http://
christinabooth.weebly.com/index.html
James, S. (2012). The whale shark song, Cabarita
Publishing. [Not about a whale, of course, but a recent
CBCA Crichton Award nominee.]
Morpurgo, M. & Birmingham, C. (2008). This morning I
met a whale, Walker.
Mumbulla, P., Robinson, R. & Bancroft, B. (1996), The
whalers, Angus & Robertson.
Norris, R. (2013). “Tamarama engraving site”, Sydney
Aboriginal rock engravings:
http://www.atnf.csiro.au/people/rnorris/
SydneyRockArt/sites/Tamarama/ Also at this URL:
Timbery Beller, B. “The arrival of the Dharawal”.
11
Welcome home (cont.)
Why did it take so long for a whale to return
to the place of her ancestors to have her
calf?
This is the question award-winning
children’s author and illustrator Christina
Booth asked when she heard the story. She
questioned why it had taken so long for
them to return to the nursery. How did they
know to stay away after so many
generations? How did this female know it
was safe to return? Do whales pass on
stories the way we do to our children? We
can never know, but it became the
inspiration for her latest book, Welcome
home (Ford Street Publishing, 2013).
One whale’s journey
Welcome home, a story about a boy and a
whale, was the result. A warm and inviting
book, filled with gentle prose and emotive
watercolour sketches, capturing the essence
of a Tasmanian winter and the energy of the
southern right whale. The book teaches
about the history of whaling in southern
waters in a safe and non-preaching way. It is
the journey of a whale as she returns home
after many generations, telling her stories to
a young child and asking if it is safe to return.
But what can a young boy do? What can he
say? Is it enough to change the future?
This is a timely book written with the aim of
showing the younger generation how our
choices can impact our future, with the hope
that it might play a small part in seeing
whales return safely, and be understood, in
our southern waters. And it appears that,
Nutcote
museum,
former home of
May Gibbs:
This photo is
courtesy of
Yvonne Hyde,
editor of Nutcote
News. Turn to p.
19 for Jan
Poona’s
remembrance
of May’s iconic
Gumnut babies.
Right:
Nutcote Museum,
Neutral Bay, NSW.
12
A warm and inviting book, filled
with gentle prose and emotive
watercolour sketches, capturing
the essence of a Tasmanian
winter and the energy of the
southern right whale.
just in time for the launch of the book, they
are on their way back. Sightings of southern
right whales are on the increase, especially
around Tasmania and in the Derwent itself.
Now, in 2013, is this the same whale from the
story? Is it the whale from three years ago
that has returned to birth again? We can only
watch and hope.
Book cover on page 11 reprinted courtesy of
Paul Collins, Ford Street Publishing, 2013.
Kids’ Lit Quiz
How do
schools
enter Kids’
Lit Quiz?
Australia: Year 2
Nicole Deans, teacher librarian
at Kinross Wolaroi School,
Orange, is National Coordinator.
This year, in three locations
around Australia, keen readers
from ages 10 to 13 met in teams
of four to show their knowledge of
books and reading, and to
compete to represent Australia on
the world stage. Each heat was
led by the Quizmaster Wayne
Mills, who started Kids’ Lit Quiz in
New Zealand over 20 years ago.
He has since taken it around the
world including UK, South Africa,
Canada and USA. Australian
joined in 2012, and the 2014
competition will include Singapore
and Hong Kong.
Reading as a team sport
Reading is often thought of as a
solitary pursuit and, when children
are awarded for excellence in
reading, we often think of
certificates and acknowledging the
number of books read. Kids’ Lit
Quiz turns that idea on its head by
making reading into an exciting,
team sport that rewards excellence
in a fun, inspiring way. In the same
way that excellent sports people in
schools have opportunities to
compete with others who are
passionate about their sport, Kids’
Contact Nicole Deans, the
National Coordinator, at
[email protected]
and you will be sent
registration forms, along
with information about
when and where the heats,
and the National Final, will
be held. 50 pre-test
questions will be sent,
which teachers and teacher
librarians can use to help
select and train teams.
Lit Quiz offers normally-solitary
readers the opportunity to share
their passion and their expertise
with like souls. It encourages
enthusiastic readers to keep
reading and, at an age when
reading is known to drop off, Kids’
Lit Quiz gives students a focus and
purpose for their reading, teamed
with intrinsic enjoyment that keeps
good readers reading. With our first
heats in New South Wales in 2012,
we had 13 teams and 52 children
take part. This year, we grew to
three heats (in NSW, Queensland
and Australian Capital Territory. The
final, with 49 teams, had almost
200 student participants. Each heat
has a unique set of 100 questions,
with short-answer questions on
each of ten categories. Students
write their answers; generally
answers are only one or two words
each. Participants find out the ten
categories when they arrive, at
which point they choose the
category they want to be their
“Joker” round (in which double
points can be earned). This became
very important in all our heats, 
Quizmaster
Wayne Mills
ready to start
a heat at a
Kids’ Lit
Quiz
tournament.
13
Kids’ Lit Quiz Australia (cont.)
Dogs, Gods, Harry Potter, Symbols and Music.)
Competitors have the opportunity to choose
one category as their team’s “Joker” round.
but especially in NSW, where there was only one point
between first and second places. A wise choice for the
“Joker” round can make a big difference!
The excitement doesn’t end with the teams competing.
Authors of the calibre of Brian Falkner, Narelle Oliver,
Chris Dongers, Michael Gerard Bauer, Charlotte
Caulder and Deb Abela gave their time to compete
against, and cheer on, the students. The audience of
teachers, parents and other students is also given
opportunities to participate during the breaks, when
the Quizmaster asks them some questions.
It is the hope of organisers that we will have lots more
teams in our three heats in 2014, with the possible
addition of a second heat in Sydney, and even more
heats in 2015.
•
At the end of each round of ten questions,
while the scores are being marked, Wayne
asks the audience questions and members of
the audience have the opportunity to win
books, book vouchers, or even cash, by
answering a question, usually based on the
category the team has just completed.
•
The winning team of each round wins a book
each for its members. Each team can only win
a round once, so 40 students will go home
with a book!
•
The winner of each heat will be invited to the
National Final and will be given
some money to assist in
transporting the team to the venue.
It would be wrong to suggest that Kids’
Lit Quiz is a mere test of book
knowledge. It is also a powerful
modelling of reading promotion. Wayne
Mills calls his questions organic,
showing not only the knowledge of the
participants, but also exposing them to
a range of genres, and introducing
both the participants and the audience
to new and exciting literature. All
teachers and teacher librarians who
accompany the teams as coaches
return home with a long list of
recommended reading for the students
in their schools. There is no reading list
for the quiz, instead participants are
encouraged to read widely. Each team
needs students with varying interests
in literature, as the questions cover
every aspect of children’s literature
over the last 2000 years!
•The National Final has less
rounds, but more questions per
round. Instead of writing the
answers, the students press a
buzzer to answer. The questions
are also longer and start harder,
with subsequent clues making it
easier to answer as the question
progresses. Thus, team work is
really important. Students receive
two points for a correct answer,
but lose one point for an incorrect
answer, so strategic thinking also
comes into play.
•The winning team of the National
Final is invited to participate in the
World Final. In July 2014, this will be held in
Truro, Cornwell, in the United Kingdom.
How Kids’ Lit Quiz works
•
•
•
14
Heats are run locally, where there is a
coordinator willing to organise a venue large
enough to hold a minimum of 12 teams of four
students, plus spectators (i.e. teachers,
parents, other students, members of the
community, and author cheerleaders. (In the
UK this year, popularity had grown to the
extent where teams were turned away; over 50
teams were taking part in one heat.)
To ensure consistency, Wayne Mills runs each
of the heats; and each takes three hours. Each
of the heats has a unique set of questions.
When teams arrive for their heats they are
allocated a table, and given the opportunity to
see the ten categories that the questions will
be based upon. (Categories have included
Aliases, Bears, Birds, Book Knowledge, Cars,
Who can take part?
Students in Years 5, 6 or 7 (Year 8 children can be
included if they are of eligible age) from any school.
Participants need to be under 14 years of age as of 1st
July, 2014. Schools can enter two teams of four
students in each heat. The next Kids’ Lit Quiz Australia
will be held from 18-22
February, 2014.
How can we train?
•
Read, read, read!
•
Use the pre-test questions to get a feel for the
types of questions you might get asked at the
heat.
•
Start a Kids’ Lit Quiz club at your school where
students can discuss a range of books and
practise working in teams to answer questions.
Kids’ Lit Quiz Australia (cont.)
* Visit www.kidslitquiz.com and
explore the questions, including
samples of questions asked in
previous finals.
* Visit
readingforaustralia.blogspot.com.au
and share your reading with our
Kids’ Lit Quiz community. Find out
about lots of fantastic Australian
children’s authors, and ask
questions of other readers.
* Run your own Kids’ Lit Quiz at
your school and get lots of students
involved in the sport of reading.
(Participants might like to bring a
gold coin to enter and this could be
used to help fund entry for your
team.) Some schools do this to help
select their teams.
* Take part in the Premiers Reading
Challenge and other Read-a-thons
to expand the range of reading
taking place.
* Give your enthusiastic readers an
area to be an “expert” in, and
encourage them to share their
knowledge.
* Give students the opportunity to
write their own questions to either
test their peers or to use in your
own quiz.
* And last of all KEEP READING!!
Some questions to test you
1.
2.
3.
4.
In Running wild by Michael
Morpurgo, what animal was
Will riding along the beach
when the tsunami struck?
(An elephant)
The short and incredibly
happy life of _________ was
a picture book by Colin
Thompson about a rat with
human aspirations. What is
the missing word for the
name of the rat? (Riley.)
According to Cornelia
Funke, what was it that
Silvertongues could do?
(Read characters to life from
books.)
What was the name of the
island on which Hiccup
Horrendus Haddock III
lived? (The Isle of Berk.)
5.
6.
7.
8.
Who is any book’s first
reader? (The author.)
What type of animal was
Slade Silverwing? (Bat.)
How is the game of Pooh
Sticks played? (By dropping
sticks off a bridge into
running water, and running
to the other side to see
which stick emerges first.)
Who wanted to be “the
fairest in all the land”? (The
queen from Snow White.) 
And from Marj Brown, the
Kids’ Lit Quiz South
Africa coordinator, about
the 2013 world final, held
in Durban, South Africa:
The Kids’ Lit Quiz has been called
the Olympic Games of reading, the
pub quiz without the beer, and the
sport of reading. What the authors,
Principals and general audience
members, who came to witness the
final, were not prepared for, was the
incredible buzz: an atmosphere that
no one would have ordinarily linked
to the usually solitary pursuit of
reading.
Here were school students,
currently the best readers in the
world out of thousands of
participants of regional and national
heats, from six parts of our globe:
the best teams from South Africa,
UK, USA, Canada, Australia and
New Zealand. This was a rare
opportunity for the national teams
to travel to SA and take part in a
gruelling quiz based on the last
2000 years of literature.
Wayne Mills had spent a year
carefully crafting questions that
were interpretive, and required
higher order thinking. He predicted
that out of the 22 years of running
the quiz, this would be the most
difficult, as the teams were so
strong: four out of six schools had
been in the 2012 world finals, and
one school in the 2011 finals. He
could not have been more accurate:
the results were three teams with
one point between them – SA first,
NZ second and Canada third.
Different teams had strengths and
shone in different themes. It was
impossible to predict who would
win this final. SA answered the very
last question correctly and leapt to
victory! The winners were treated to
local trophies, made by SA artist
Robin Opperman, R6000 (approx.
$600) in cash to share amongst the
four team members, plus books, the
world trophy and certificates.
The teams were received by
Counselor Logie Naidoo at the
Durban City Hall and the quiz was
followed by a gala dinner amongst
the fish tanks at the Ushaka Marine
World. One student from each team
made a presentation about their
favourite book. Fourteen SA
children’s authors attended the
dinner, and students could buy their
books and get them signed.
All teams in the final were treated to
a week in Durban. They saw a
range of sights from Moses
Mabidha Stadium and game
viewing in Tala, to a shark
dissection at the Sharks Board!
Huge thanks should go to the
sponsors of this event, The Times
Media Group, for supporting literacy
and promoting literary excellence.
The authors present said:
“What a balm for a writer’s soul to
see such smart and committed
young readers – wow!” - Joanne
Macgregor
“I enjoyed myself hugely and was
deeply impressed by those
wonderful children.” - Lesley
Beake
“I had one of the best times of my
life last night. And the quiz was a
heart stopper.” - Edyth Bulbring
“It was a great honour and a huge
delight to be invited to the Lit Quiz
event… had the most stimulating
and happy evening at UShaka. I met
wonderful people and was
astounded by the stature of the
contestants - such great minds in
such very small people!” ___Marguerite Poland. 
15
So what is the Dreaming?
I would say the Dreaming is a
non-Indigenous term to describe
the stories of our ancestors
and how they shaped the Land
and how they are still a part of
the Land...
Across Aboriginal Australia,
there are as many different
terms for Dreaming as there
are language groups.
Learning from Aboriginal voices
by Dr Linda Gibson-Langford, teacher librarian, The King’s School, Sydney
The King’s School’s Head of English, Babs Helleman, invited
Linda to collaborate on the textbook, Indigenous
perspectives in word and image, which supports the
National Curriculum in English. Linda has spent almost three
decades living and teaching in the Northern Territory, which
has been enormously influential in building her empathetic
understanding of the Aboriginal Australian voice, and its
importance within the National Curriculum.
Scenario
Two colleagues were sharing a quiet time discussing
ACARA’s (2010) stance that English Studies is to help create
“confident communicators, imaginative thinkers and
informed citizens” who are “ethical, thoughtful, informed and
active members of society” (p. 1). The context of their
discussion was Aboriginal Australian texts, and the politics
of developing transitive learning activities for their students:
ones that would enable secondary students to adopt
varying reading positions, contextualising their responses to
their own life worlds.
They agreed it was a difficult area to work with given
students’ urban backgrounds but important in terms of
addressing the Aboriginal Australian voice in literature. They
also recognised the ethics of teaching literary texts from the
Aboriginal Australian perspective by teachers who were
removed from the reality of Aboriginal Australian culture.
The discussion fueled important questions for both
16
teachers. One of the teachers was able to clarify what they
were both trying to grapple with:
“I mean, how can we instill in our students the cultural
ache from dispossession, the racism, the impotency
incurred from imposed cultural values on a people that
were not the invader?”
The teacher continued:
”How can we guide our students when we,
ourselves, are so ignorant? How do we begin
to address this lack of authentic voice in our
Australian secondary curriculum and, in
particular, our less than effective discourse on
the Aboriginal Australian perspective in
literature?”
It was clear that these teachers were concerned about the
ethics of teaching Aboriginal Australians’ and Torres Strait
Islanders’ histories without firstly having the conversations
important to understanding these diverse cultures, let alone
driving analysis of such texts, in what should be a cross
curricula approach to enable the transitive factor to
emanate. They needed support to negotiate their
subjectivities between Indigenous texts, and their own
experiences and understandings, as they prepared to
transform their knowledge into good learning and teaching
strategies for their students. They needed to work out ways
in which they could bridge the chasm between their own
realities and the teaching of literary text from an Aboriginal
Learning from
Aboriginal voices
(cont.)
Australian-centred voice. And they
needed to feel confident and ethically
charged!
ACARA (2010) again:
“Students will be able to deepen
knowledge of their country and to
appreciate the ongoing contribution
of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples to Australia. The priority
involves understanding Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander ways of
interpreting and being in the world
and appreciating that Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander histories and
cultures are intrinsically linked to living
and learning in Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander communities” (p. 12).
If this was ACARA’s (2012, p. 12)
mandate then the how was
problematic. As teachers, they needed
to move from an Eurocentric
appreciation of Aboriginal Australian
texts beyond the literary, to include
spiritual and cultural knowledge. They
needed strategies to help them to
respond to this mandate as
teachers with little, if any, experience
especially considering the diversity of
groups within Australian Aboriginal or
Torres Strait Islander cultures. As
Healey-Igram (2011) observes,
“What that means for a ‘national’
curriculum is that the broad category of
‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’
“The time has now come
for the nation to turn a
new page in Australia's
history by righting the
wrongs of the past and
so moving forward with
confidence to the future.
“We apologise for the
laws and policies of
successive parliaments
and governments that
have inflicted profound
grief, suffering and loss
on these our fellow
Australians…”
Kevin Rudd,
Sorry Speech, Feb 13, 2006
‘literature’ needs to sit alongside the
teaching of locally specific cultural
texts, given that teachers have access
and relationships with local people,
writers, artists and elders” (p. 75).
Both teachers did not feel empowered
to teach Aboriginal Australian texts in
the secondary curriculum. Sure, they
could ask their students to read Davis’
plays, or Oodgeroo’s poems; they
could take them to theatre to engage
in Namatjira or Secret river and even
expose them to The chant of Jimmy
Blacksmith as film, but without
strategies to understand “Aboriginal
Arnold Zable, human
rights activist:
“... a great job of bringing to
the students these
impressive Indigenous
writers. I love the way you
combine the practical with
the inspiring - the
information is there, but also
your personal enthusiasm
for the writers. It is also
infused with a deep concern
for social justice. You write
with great clarity and
directness, and it is also
attractively designed - a plus
for getting teenage students
engaged.”
and Torres Strait Islander ways
of interpreting and being in the
world and appreciating that
Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander histories and cultures
are intrinsically linked to living
and learning in Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander
communities” (ACARA, 2010, p.
12), they floundered. Not all was doom
for these teachers. They remembered
the creation myths unit they both
enjoyed working on with their
students. They had a good text,
Stradbroke Dreamtime (Oodgeroo &
Bancroft, 1993). There was some 
17
Learning from Aboriginal voices
_ _LLearning from Aboriginal voices (cont.)
_
How the text is designed
Divided into six parts, the 15 chapters include an
overview to the National Curriculum with a focus
on Stage 4 and Stage 5 outcomes.
Lindsey Langford, Anthropologist,
Operations Manager,
Central Desert Native Title Services, WA
“You have done an amazing job and it is obvious
that you have thought through the sensitivities of
writing about individual Aboriginal people and
their experiences without falling into the trap of
depersonalising the subject in an attempt to
Aboriginalise them.
“Too often these types of books end up being
written by apologists, mystics or city people who
are disconnected from their subject as
individuals. A lot of authors writing about
Aboriginal Australians tend towards a dumbed
down, simplistic rendering of their subject’s
stories. The subject often ends up becoming
invisible as a person; they become part of that
collective pan-Aboriginal myth.
“I like that the four stories are each very distinct
from one another.” good conversation in the first part of the text, and the
second part opened to stunning stained glass window
style Dreaming paintings – exquisite in colour and form.
It was clear that this text did help to contextualise part
of the story of one group of Aboriginal Australians for
the students and, judging by the level of creative and
sensitive stories that evolved, there was clear evidence
of cultural and spiritual understandings. The students
had developed varying levels of empathy and
deepening “knowledge of their country”, and
appreciated “the ongoing contribution of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander peoples to Australia” (ACARA,
2010, p. 12). These teachers still needed more insight if
they were to ensure that they had covered the
requirements of the National Curriculum sensitively,
and in an informed manner, paring back to the essence
of the Aboriginal Australian voice in word and image.
Indigenous perspective through word and
image is born
Each part has an introductory overview and brings
together selected poetry (Oodgeroo), excerpts
from plays (Davis’ Kullark, No sugar and The
Dreamers), passages from novels (Scott’s True
Country, Benang, That deadman dance), and
studies from desert stories via visual media
(Dadina’s My country, Mungkalu 1, Where I was
born), before investigating several genres of
creative writing (Creation myth, narrative, editorial,
poetry).
There are passages that have been deconstructed
to guide students in the study of language
techniques and development of skills in contextual
analysis.
References and further reading
Healey-Ingram, A. (2011). Teaching Indigenous
literature: an ethics of voice. In Doecke, B., Davies,
L., & Mead, P. (eds). (2011). Teaching Australian
literature: from classroom conversations to national
imaginings, Kent Town: Wakefield Press, pp.
70-94.
Permission to reprint extracts of this article
from Access (Issue #3, 2013) was granted by Dr
Gibson-Langford.
a labour of passion and determination. Guided by the
National Curriculum initiative to redress the lack of
focused study on Australia’s first people, and their
contribution to our literary history, we undertook to
represent two significant voices from Australia’s past,
and two from Australia’s present: each, in their own
right, noted Australians with either Australian Honours
or Honorary Doctorates, or, as in the case of the visual
storyteller whose artworks hang in the National
Museum of Art, a singular story that is still being
unpacked today.
A work in progress, Babs collected exemplars from
past student writing, and we were both able to work
with current students to add their voices to the book,
thereby facilitating the integration of the Aboriginal
Australian voice, as interpreted through the voice of
young students. This has added a rich layer of
authenticity to the text.
Indigenous perspectives in word and image is timely as
we prepare to launch the first part of the National
It was experiences like these that spurred Babs and I to
Curriculum in 2014. You can view the book and
envisage Indigenous perspectives in word and image purchase from www.helleman.com.au 
18
Our childhood reading
by teacher librarians Jan Poona, Rooty Hill Public School, and Bronwyn Jackson, Glenwood High School
Jan remembers:
When I was in Year 2, I discovered
The complete adventures of
Snugglepot and Cuddlepie by May
Gibbs. My mother had borrowed it
from the public library for me to
read. Our whole family was forever
borrowing from the public library!
May Gibbs’ picture (above) is copyright
Northcott Disability Services & Cerebral
Palsy Alliance, reprinted with kind
permission. Below: Nutcote Museum.
It took me two months to finish it. I
lived the adventures and was totally
immersed in the world of the
Gumnut babies (above left). I loved
the book so much that I wanted to
own it. At that time we were quite
poor and the most I could expect,
as either birthday or Christmas
presents, would be a couple of
cheap books - usually publications
of children’s classics - or, on two
occasions, a doll.
You can imagine my delight when I
received The complete adventures
of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie for
my birthday. Since it was relatively
expensive, I only received the one
gift that year, but I couldn't have
had a better present.
I still own that book. It’s a little
tattered and worn now, but I also
have all the fond memories to
accompany it. Opening the book
instantly transports me back to a
precious moment in time.
Bronwyn remembers:
When I was growing up, I had a
great aunt who owned a bookshop.
On every birthday, she would send
me a new Secret seven title and,
later, Famous five. I think I devoured
every Enid Blyton book that existed,
and never considered that Noddy
and Big Ears were ever more than
best friends…
Above: Bib and Bub sculptures in
Art Barton Park, Lavender Bay.
As a teenager, mystery stories
became my thing, again in series:
Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes,
Nancy Drew and The Hardy boys.
From there, when I had exhausted
all the mysteries, I graduated to
science fiction, starting with Ivan
Southall’s Simon Black, and on to
Andre Norton - and virtually any
optimistic science fiction writer.
Isaac Asimov, Arthur C Clarke,
Harry Harrison, James White, E E
“Doc” Smith and Robert Heinlein all
became firm friends. I am still not a
fan of Dystopian fiction.
There was, of course, a side serving
of historical romance, probably
inevitable in a teenage girl. Barbara
Cartland and Georgette Heyer were
the authors of choice, which meant
that Heyer’s mystery novels were
also essential reading.
These days, I still have many
science fiction books on my shelves
- and most of those Heyer titles. I
get such a kick out of talking with
the students at my secondary
school about reading, so most of
my recreational reading is still from
the “adolescent fiction” or Young
Adult genre. I enjoy tasting what the
current students are reading. I often
get caught up in a new YA series:
Ranger’s apprentice, Artemis Fowl,
Vampire Academy, Spook’s
apprentice, Alex Rider, Seventh
tower, Keys to the kingdom,
Raven’s gate, The hunger games,
Gregor the overlander, Gallagher
girls, Brotherband, Obernewtyn,
Sisters Grimm, Rondo, and The
golden door and its sequels.
I certainly still have a fantasy/
adventure/escapism theme going
on but, I guess, in the end, you
can’t help what you like.
Readers’ contributions to this feature
are encouraged. Please tell us about
the books of your childhood that
became influential.
References and further reading Gittens, K. (2013). “Of lions, witches
and wardrobes: treasured
memories”, Sydney: SLANSW,
iLeader, vol. 2, no. 1, p. 14.
McLean, I. (2013). “Early one
morning... Boy meets koala”,
Sydney: SLANSW, iLeader, vol. 2,
no. 1, pp. 15-16.
19
From the Past President by Bill Sommerville
Committee news
Association’s Committee
Consider awards for colleagues
The association recognises, through the conferring of
Awards, the professional leadership, vision, innovation,
publications, research and collaboration of its
members and those whose work influences the
development of literacy. In particular:
Committee members elected at the recent Annual
General Meeting are:
President
M. Jensen
Vice President A. Plowman
Secretary
J. Cohen
* The John Hirst Award, commemorating a pioneer in Treasurer
A. Holmes-Walker
Teacher librarianship in NSW, is awarded for excellence Past President W. Sommerville
in practice.
Metropolitan Committee Members
* The John H Lee Memorial Award, in conjunction
S. Betts J. Deegan
with Charles Sturt University, is awarded for practice
Y. Naidoo
M. Nikolapoulos
leading to innovation in learning and teaching through
E. Pike
learning technologies.
Regional Committee Member
* The SLANSW Teacher Librarian of the Year Award K. Brock, Blue Mountains.
is awarded to a teacher librarian, or a team of teacher
librarians, in recognition of excellence in supporting
Contact
student learning.
PO Box 577
* The Maurice Saxby Award is awarded for service to Leichhardt NSW 2040, or
children's and/or young adult literature.
[email protected]
Criteria and nomination procedures are detailed on the
Association's website at
http://slansw.asn.au/advocacy/awards
Follow us...
You can follow or start discussion on matters
of interest to the profession at the social
media link on the Association’s website (use
the QR Code at right). Express your thoughts
and keep up to date with discussions at
http://slansw.asn.au 
School Library Association of New South Wales Inc.
Members’ suggestions for professional learning, advocacy and research are invited and can be forwarded to:
[email protected]
VOLUME 2 • Issue 3 • Spring 2013

Spring - School Library Association of New South Wales

Transcription

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