Category: SCIS News

Connections 83

You can now read the latest issue of Connections at the SCIS website.

Highlights of Connections 83

Ebooks and beyond in the school library

Debbie Price-Ewen discusses changes to publishing models presented by e-books, including the possibilities for literacy development and empowerment of writers through self-publishing. She advocates for creation of an Australasian e-content consortium where school libraries collaborate to support creators and users.

The philosophy of creating displays: Part 1

Anita Vanderberge shares her enthusiasm for library displays, considers the philosophy behind them and gives advice on how to create eye-catching and effective library displays.

The philosophy of creating displays

RDA: new cataloguing rules

Resource Description and Access (RDA) is set to replace AACR2 and Renata Beilharz provides an introduction to why the change and how it will impact catalogue searching results.

OZTL_NET: Building a vibrant future for school library conversations

The Australian Teacher Librarian Network assists teacher librarians  to stay up to date with emerging devices, tools, media and virtual environments. Judy O’Connell reveals changes to the OZTL_NET discussion list and a new social media portal for communication between school library staff.

The National Year of Reading heads for its grand finale

The National Year of Reading (NYR) has conducted successful events throughout the year including The Reading Hour. A legacy event in November is to be held in Canberra to celebrate achievements and influence policymakers about reading in Australia.

Work with SCIS

Library Services Coordinator

Education Services Australia (ESA) is a national, not-for-profit company owned by all Australian education ministers. The company was established to support the delivery of national priorities in the schools, training and higher education sectors, in particular to advance key education initiatives and to create, publish and market ICT-based solutions, products and services to support learning, teaching and professional development.

Due to an internal promotion, an exciting opportunity exists to join the Publications and Library Services division. As Library Services Coordinator, you will enjoy a varied role and be responsible for providing support and advice to Schools Catalogue Information Service (SCIS) subscribers in Australia, New Zealand and internationally.

The key responsibilities include:

  • Providing high level subscriber email and phone support including basic cataloguing assistance and complex system support
  • Managing subscriber support/troubleshooting queries escalated from the Customer Service team, and provision of associated documentation and training
  • Developing subscriber information sheets and FAQ and Help resources for print and web delivery
  • Producing current and engaging content for SCIS online communication channels including the SCIS website
  • Developing and monitoring audience engagement with SCIS communication channels including social media
  • Developing plans and managing requests for subscriber training
  • Preparing, delivering and reviewing professional learning sessions for school library staff
  • Contributing articles to the SCIS journal Connections and other professional publications of interest to school library staff
  • Liaising with Sales and Marketing team to ensure optimum delivery of information to subscribers and conducting subscriber satisfaction surveys
  • Producing and monitoring SCIS reports

It is expected that the successful candidate will possess a “can do” attitude with a minimum of two years experience as a teacher librarian in a school library setting. You will also possess practical knowledge and experience in a range of school library management tasks, including integrated library systems, basic cataloguing/indexing and technology support roles. Good knowledge of the SCIS user/SCIS Web system as used in school contexts, and proven ability to learn new systems and processes, is required.

In return, you can expect an excellent working environment with friendly colleagues and great conditions, interesting work, and opportunities for continual growth.

Applications by email to recruitment@esa.edu.au

Applications close Monday 17 September 2012

Position Description

Connections 82

You can now read the latest issue of Connections at the SCIS website.

Highlights of Connections 82

Creative Commons and why it should be more commonly understood

Doug Johnson, Director of Media and Technology in the Mankato Schools provides an overview of the Creative Commons licence system, how to use it for one’s own work and its implications for K-12 education. Originally published in Library Media Connection, vol 27 no 6 pp 56–57 May–Jun 2009.

Digitise the Dawn website

The Dawn of a new resource

Donna Benjamin, Executive Director of Creative Contingencies, tells the story of the project which led to the digitisation of the historical magazine The Dawn, and its addition to the National Library of Australia’s Trove online collection of Australian digitised newspapers.

Practical curriculum opportunities and the library catalogue

Barbara Combes, Lecturer School of Information Studies Charles Sturt University makes an argument for using the library catalogue as a teaching and learning tool, specifically as an example of real-world relational database for secondary computing courses.

Teaching global citizenship

Catherine McNicol introduces a new global education website launched in early 2012 which provides educators with a range of resources to develop understanding and integrate a global perspective in the curriculum.

Ready to improve

The Improve online formative assessment tool was developed by Education Services Australia to meet a need in schools for an interactive system that can be used by teachers and students to support improved learning. This article includes information about the content of Improve and how schools can access it.

Top 100 Australian books

Announcement of the list of Australia’s top 100 books. This list was compiled from a school library survey conducted a result of the Educational Lending Right (ELR) 2011–12.
Download file of titles (307 Kb Word document)

New and revised SCIS Subject Headings List

A summary list of recently added or revised SCIS subject headings.

Print complete issue of Connections 82

Connections 81

You can now read the latest issue of Connections at the SCIS website.

Highlights of Connections 81

QR codes and iPads in the library
Narelle Keen, teacher librarian and chair of the ICT Committee at Pacific Lutheran College, describes their trial incorporating iPads and QR codes into library orientation activities.

Social media and schools as professional learning communities
Kay Cantwell, Education Officer Digital Learning, ResourceLink at Brisbane Catholic Education, presents ideas for using Twitter and other social media in professional learning communities, in collaboration, leadership support and information provision.

Libraries in the cloud
Doug Johnson, Director of Media and Technology in the Mankato Schools, discusses cloud computing and its impact on how schools provide access to resources, computer applications and file storage for staff and students.

Advocating for librarians – as opposed to libraries
This commentary by Stephen Abram outlines how librarians can market their value and skills as an individual professional without being tied to a physical library.

National Year of Reading update
Sue McKerracher reports on the launch of the National Year of Reading 2012.

Print complete issue of Connections 81

Connections 80

You can now read the latest issue of Connections at the SCIS website.

National Year of Reading starts here

Authors Hazel Edwards, William McInnes and Alison Lester at Bialik College
Authors Hazel Edwards, William McInnes and Alison Lester at Bialik College, Hawthorn, Victoria, for the soft launch of the National Year of Reading in September 2011

Sue McKerracher explains why 2012 has been declared the National Year of Reading, and how parents, teachers, students and school libraries can get involved in this initiative to focus attention on reading and showcase the important role that libraries play in the school community.

If you don’t have a PLN
Bev Novak from Mentone Grammar School encourages educators to start developing their Personal Learning Network (PLN) and discover the joy of lifelong learning – learning anything, anytime, anywhere with anybody they choose.

Australian School Library Association Citation Award
An interview with Pru Mitchell following presentation of the Australian School Library Association (ASLA) citation award in October 2011. Pru discusses the citation and the role and impact of professional associations.

Professional development of library technicians
Kerrie Kelly and Kim Wilson outline the 2012 professional development and networking activities planned by the ALIA Victorian Library Technicians Committee.

The 2011 Horizon Report for schools
The Horizon Report profiles key emerging technologies for education providing estimates of timelines for adoption/implementation.

Print complete issue of Connections 80

Connections feedback survey now live

Please take a few minutes to provide SCIS with feedback on the Connections newsletter.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HMNS3GX

Connections 79

You can now read the latest issue of Connections at the SCIS website.

Teacher librarians as cultural change agents

Dianne Oberg discusses the concept of school culture. She believes the very essence of the work of teacher librarians – improving teaching and learning – requires that they work within the culture of the school and that they also work to change the culture of the school.

Online referencing generator

Online referencing generator home page
SLASA online referencing generator

This article by project managers Carol Grantham and Silvana Jenkins, describes the online referencing generator project undertaken by the School Library Association of South Australia (SLASA). It outlines the project’s rationale, the development process, the partnership with the University of South Australia and how schools are using this online Harvard referencing tool.

Digital literacy across the curriculum

This article has been prepared from edited extracts of Digital Literacy across the Curriculum, a handbook developed by Futurelab. The handbook is aimed at educational practitioners and school leaders, in both primary and secondary schools, who are interested in creative and critical uses of technology in the classroom.

Dewey Decimal Classification – Edition 23

Pam Kadow, SCIS Cataloguing Team Leader summarises the main updates and changes to subject categories in the new 23rd edition of the Dewey Decimal Classification, being used by SCIS from September 2011.
More detailed information on number relocations, discontinuations and re-used numbers is available at
www.oclc.org/us/en/dewey/versions/print.

Print the complete issue of Connections 79, term 4 2011

SCIS Catalogue features

Have you checked out the new SCIS Catalogue launched last week?
As well as a fresh look, there are a number of features that will be appreciated by SCIS users.

Search filters

The search limits available in previous versions of SCIS OPAC are still available (year, place, type, format and language), but search limits have been supplemented in this version of the Catalogue by the ability to filter the results following your initial search. These filters are found in the right hand column of the search results page.

SCIS Catalogue filter options
Search filters

Log in to the SCIS Catalogue and try the filters on a search for World Cup.

If you have requests for other filters you would like to see included as default, please let us know.

Timeout warning

A new timeout countdown feature alerts you if your search session has been idle for some time and is about to be reset.
Extension to the timeout period is also being trialled following a server upgrade.

Accessibility

The Voyager 7.0 WebVoyáge user interface was developed to comply with international industry accessibility standards.

Mobile devices

The new SCIS Catalogue is designed to display well and resize for use on various mobile devices.

Technical infrastructure

The SCIS Catalogue is now on a separate server at address: http://opac.scis.curriculum.edu.au which means it can function independently in the event of downtime on other SCIS services such as SCISWeb. If your network settings or firewall need to be changed as a result, please contact SCIS for the IP address of this server.

New SCIS Catalogue

From 3 October 2011 the SCIS catalogue will undergo a major upgrade.

This involves implementation of

Design concept for SCIS catalogue
  1. a new version of the Voyager library system which underpins the SCIS service
  2. a new, more intuitive interface design for the SCIS Catalogue
  3. a new server platform.

We will endeavour to keep disruptions to a minimum during this time.

You will be able to follow the progress of the upgrade via:

  • news postings on the SCIS website
  • the SCIS twitter account and
  • email messages to subscribers.
    Please ensure you have a valid email address registered with SCIS so that we can keep you informed. Simply log in to SCISWeb,  and go to My Profile to add or update your email address.

Connections 78

You can now read the latest issue of Connections at the SCIS website.

Seven strategies to develop your advocacy toolkit

Strategies
Strategies by Boris Drenec CC-by-nc-sa

Karen Bonanno provides a series of advocacy activities to help school library staff influence policy, advising that to bring about change requires consistent and persistent effort to shift perceptions. She advocates maintaining regular positive activity supported by strategies such as identifying a memorable message, capturing killer statistics, gathering startling facts and statements and leveraging the network.

Personal learning network put to great advantage

Leonie Dyason and Rachel Fidock, teacher librarians from Mooroopna Secondary College (MSC) share their experiences of the Personal Learning Network (PLN) program, run by the State Library of Victoria (SLV) and the School Library Association of Victoria (SLAV). They outline how their practice has changed through application in the library, in team teaching and in troubleshooting. A list of useful Web 2.0 tools is provided.

Ten reasons why Google can’t replace learning!

Bev Novak questions the idea that searching can replace learning. Her ten questions challenge teachers and parents to consider the distinction between information and knowledge, and to refine what they mean by learning and how learning is best achieved. This article is reprinted from her NovaNews blog.

The evolving role of the school library and information centre in education in digital Europe

This article outlines research by Dr Helen Boelens into the role of school libraries in digital Europe, using the Kalsbeek Information Literacy Matrix (KILM).
A poster: ‘Read’ in European language terms is provided for download.

The Hub: campaign for quality school libraries in Australia

This article by Georgia Phillips provides an update on the activities of the Hub campaign for quality school libraries in Australia, following the release of the Australian Government’s report into school libraries and teacher librarians in Australian schools. It includes an overview of the current state of school library staffing in Australian state and territory government schools.

Print the complete issue of Connections 78, term 3 2011

SCIS at SLANZA 2011

SLANZA On the wave
The School Library Association of New Zealand Aotearoa SLANZA 2011 conference kicked off on Sunday afternoon 17 July at St Cuthbert’s College in Auckland and SCIS is pleased to be part of this exciting three day conference.

Tricia Nathan and Pru Mitchell from the SCIS  team are at Stand 3 on Level 1 of the Information Centre Exhibition space. We look forward to catching up with New Zealand school library staff, library system vendors and presenters. There are several SCIS presentations happening throughout the programme.

SCIS at SLANZA
SCIS at SLANZA

Monday 18 July
Collection development life savers (Tricia Nathan) in the Auditorium 11.00-11.45 am

Giving your collection real authority (Tricia Nathan) in I09 2.40-3.25 pm

Tuesday 19 July
Professional learning horizons (Pru Mitchell) in the Media Lab 11.00 am-12.40 pm

Wednesday 20 July
MARC my e-books (Pru Mitchell) in I09 2.30-3.15 pm

SCIS will also be part of the conference social media stream at Twitter @schoolscatinfo and our new Facebook page.
The conference hashtag is #slanza11