ELR 2012 a great success

Thanks to all who participated in ELR 2012

Educational Lending Right (ELR) school library survey is an Australian cultural program run by the Australian Government. SCIS manages the ELR survey on behalf of the Australian Government. The ELR survey collects data to calculate the number of copies of specific titles held in Australian school libraries. These book counts are the basis for payments to Australian book creators. The payments are to assist book creators to continue producing Australian books.

600 schools across Australia are selected each year to participate in ELR. This includes schools with enrolments over 100 from all sectors and that use library systems compatible with ELR software.

SCIS started approaching the schools from September, requesting data files be created and provided to us. We were delighted that by the end of term 3 we had already received 54 results! And by the first week of November we have reached all our result targets.

We would also like to acknowledge the ongoing support and assistance from the library system vendors, Sydney, Canberra/Goulburn and Brisbane Catholic Education Offices IT Support, and NSW and ACT Education Dept IT Support who support ELR.

Feedback from participants

The overwhelming feedback is that participation in ELR is straightforward. 96% of participants rated the ELR process as ‘not time-consuming’ (from a few minutes to half an hour to overnight – depending on the library system) and 94% of participants completed the survey independently with no assistance required from ESA or their library system provider.

Comments included…

  • ‘I did the copying (CAL) survey last year. When I saw this survey, I thought: Oh, here we go again. But this one was very quick and easy. Thanks’
  • ‘We are pleased our information provided will assist our Australian book creators and publishers.’

ELR 2012 goes green

In the interests of reducing the paperwork delivered to schools, we provided more information about ELR online and 97% of respondents noted that these online instructions and information were quite adequate for them to do the survey.

Thanks from our authors

We are very grateful to all the schools who took the time to engage with our request to participate in ELR. Australian book creators are also very appreciative of your support.

Mini Goss says;

 

 

‘Despite having over thirty books to my name the ELR payment is still a major part of my income and without which it would be even harder to survive in this difficult industry.’

 

Read more about ELR and the value Australian book creators have for ELR in each issue of Connections or on the ELR web pages.

What about e-books?

At SCIS workshops a popular topic of discussion is e-books in school libraries. This blog post provides an update on what SCIS is doing about e-books.

What e-books will I find in SCIS?

SCIS catalogues e-books from a number of publishers and vendors. In most cases schools are unable to send e-books to their SCIS cataloguing agency (due to digital rights and access restrictions) so we are reliant on publishers and e-book system providers for the access that allows us to catalogue e-books.

Note that as titles may be available from more than one e-book supplier SCIS is in the process of changing its cataloguing standards to favour provision of provider-neutral e-book records that do not link to a specific supplier.

SCIS regularly catalogues e-books from the following  e-book providers and vendors

Screen shot from SCIS catalogue
Subject search for e-books in the SCIS catalogue

What about free e-books?

SCIS catalogues Project Gutenberg and public domain e-book material on request from schools if they are seen to be relevant to curriculum or literature programs across a range of schools.
Search the SCIS Catalogue for Project Gutenberg e-books [login required].

What if I can’t find an e-book record in SCIS?

We are keen to ensure that the e-book resources schools are acquiring are catalogued promptly.
Contact your SCIS cataloguing agency with details of the resource you have purchased and we will investigate how to access this in order to catalogue it.

Australian Teacher Librarian of the Year 2012

International School Library Day, coordinated by the International Association of School Libraries, is celebrated each October.

Many school libraries in Australia choose the third Monday in October as the day to celebrate what school libraries are about, and to raise awareness of school library services with teaching colleagues and the community.

Alinda Sheerman
The 2012 Australian Teacher Librarian of the Year
Alinda Sheerman

The Australian School Library Association (ASLA) and Pledger Consulting (LinksPlus/Weblinks) announced the winner of the Australian Teacher Librarian of the Year Award this year won by Alinda Sheerman of Broughton Anglican College, Menangle Park, New South Wales. The judges commended her on

“working closely with the College staff in developing curriculum units based on the Guided Inquiry approach, supporting students at all levels in their learning and at all stages of the teaching /learning process. She ensures that the school library is a positive learning environment for all. She provides leadership not only in curriculum but also the promotion of a love of literature and the use of ICTs, and excels at providing collegial support, willingly passing on her skills and knowledge to others.”

SCIS congratulates Alinda Sheerman and all the state and territory nominees who show what a teacher librarian can do to promote learning and teaching.

  • Susan Busch, Bundaberg North State School, Queensland
  • Karen Mutton, Saint David’s Parish School, South Australia
  • Kathy Norton, MacKillop Catholic College. Tasmania

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.