Category: SCIS Data case study

CASE STUDY: Belinda Doyle, Northmead CAPA High School NSW

By Belinda Doyle, Teacher Librarian at Northmead CAPA High School, NSW

About Belinda’s School

Northmead Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) High School focuses on and has a proven record of success not only in the creative and performing arts but also in academic, vocational and sporting endeavours. Our school students are drawn from both our local community and the wider community. Many of our students come from non-English speaking background and some are refugees. The school prides itself as a place where all students are welcomed, where strengths are recognised and nurtured and where differences are celebrated.

The school has a committed, dynamic teaching, administrative and executive staff with a range of experiences. The school has developed its Principles of Effective Teaching, which underpins all teaching practices. Teachers are passionate about their work and embody the school’s values. Our teachers strive to improve both their professional knowledge and their practice through their personal attributes, skills, and knowledge, to advance a sense of community and tolerance in all members of the school community to achieve excellence in learning.

The needs of our learners are met through a broad academic curriculum, strong vocational programs, and high-quality creative and performing arts programs in Visual Arts, Dance, Drama and Music School programs are complemented by a wide range of extra-curricular programs. There is a strong focus on collaboration, critical thinking, creativity and innovation, both in teaching and learning. Leadership is actively developed for the students, teaching staff and the community through targeted training and professional learning and specific pathways. Student leadership is developed in sport, creative and performing arts, multiculturalism, school service and the community.

Support for the school is strong in the local community. Many students undertake authentic learning in the community through vocational and education programs (VET) or through access to specific careers education opportunities.” Our school population consists of 1094 students and a staff of 139 teachers.

How Belinda Uses SCIS

As the Teacher Librarian in this vibrant setting which consists of a diverse school community, I focus on supporting many subjects across a range of classes which includes extension classes, GAT classes, mixed ability classes, and learning and support classes.  I aim to resource a differentiated curriculum, and this is where SCIS continues to play a role that offers peer -reviewed resources and resources that are suitable to support the NSW education curriculum. Due to our unusual circumstances relating to COVID-19 lockdowns, there has been the need to rely more on online resources to provide for our online school population.

In the past, I have relied on professional databases and professional library journals to search and review suitable websites for our school library. I have moved toward increased online professional development to further support online resources for a diverse curriculum. It is in this context that SCIS is proving to be invaluable in providing online resources which embrace ebooks and websites to support subjects that may need more resources.

As part of this process, I refer to the NESA syllabus subject documents to locate search terms or topics where there need to be more resources to be added to our collection. It is useful to have previewed and purchased an online recording from SCIS about how to enhance our collection. This recording has provided me with a broadened capability to search for resources not only in the “basic” search function but also in the “Advanced” search function. Another feature of SCIS is that it allows our online collection to be dynamic and it catalogues resources that align with syllabus changes and the diverse community of users in a comprehensive high school setting.

SCIS NOTE: Belinda viewed our 15-minute Video tutorial 4 free digital collections to import to your catalogue, which is currently available for on-demand download and viewing on our website.

SCIS Data case study: Kathryn Harris, Pymble Public School, NSW, Australia

 

‘My job is to help the teachers with their teaching and the children with their learning. I do that in whatever way I can.’

School: Pymble Public School
Type: Primary K-6
Enrolment: 600+
Cataloguing subscription: SCIS Data + Authority Files
Library management system: Oliver Library Software
Size of collection: 18,000

The teacher librarian’s role

Kathryn is the only trained teacher librarian in the school. She has help in the library from another teacher who teaches classes and assists with circulation but does not assist with management tasks. There is also clerical support one day per week.

Kathryn runs the library herself. She buys and manages resources and assists teachers where she can, such as by recording programs to meet curriculum needs. One of her roles is to provide support for classroom teachers to provide specialist information services and teaching programs.

‘I see my job is to help the teachers with their teaching and the children with their learning. I do that in whatever way I can.’

Library collection

Pymble Public School library

As a New South Wales government school, Kathryn’s library uses the Oliver library management system. She says that 15,000 items are standard library resources – books, posters, charts, big books, teacher reference materials. A further 3000 items, such as the computer software, the DVDs and the textbooks are in the school resources section – students can’t see these on the catalogue. Technology items, such as laptops, are not loaned through the library.

Kathryn and the English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) teacher worked together to create a collection of books in languages other than English. ‘We’ve got a Community language section which has the non-English books. These are books in some of the languages represented within our school community’.

Everything in the library is catalogued. Kathryn lends nothing that isn’t on the system, although she admits that she sometimes lends her stapler but says, ‘It’s out and back for the day!’

SCIS for over 30 years

Kathryn has been in school libraries for 30 years and has used SCIS in every one. When she first started, SCIS records were on microfiche. Kathryn found the support from SCIS particularly useful as a new teacher librarian. ‘I knew that my books would be in the right place because the books were being catalogued by proper cataloguers.’ Later to automate her small school library Kathryn used Rapid Retrospective, from SCIS, to import the record. ‘We just sent in the ISBNs and SCIS sent us the records. Straight into the computer.’

At another school, Kathryn had dial-up internet in the library. She used to get to school at 7:00 am, Sydney time, while other parts of Australia were still asleep, to do the SCIS orders. ‘SCIS was so much faster at 7:00 in the morning!’ Kathryn managed the process to add extra SCIS subject headings using the Authority File to suit her students. She really enjoyed this work and didn’t regret the early starts!

SCIS hit rate

The hit rate in SCIS Data is normally around 98 per cent, except for items like a Harry Potter book in Chinese, or another of their community languages, that hasn’t necessarily been catalogued. If a record is not available, Kathryn normally checks the following week, but also sometimes sends items in to SCIS to be catalogued.

Kathryn finds the people at SCIS to be incredibly helpful when there are issues. She especially enjoys the conversations she’s had with SCIS cataloguers who share her fascination with the process.

Kathryn says, ‘Our collection is all beautifully arranged, thanks to SCIS. Even if I don’t always agree with all SCIS standards I can easily adapt them for our collection.’

Using the catalogue

Students use the catalogue to find resources in the library. It can be difficult to teach them how to use the catalogue successfully as they only have half an hour library lessons once a week, and that includes borrowing time and a teaching program.

Students who want to spend time searching the catalogue have access at home and the opportunity to come in at lunchtimes or in the morning every day. Students can access curated lists of educationally focused websites via the library catalogue (curated by the Department, using SCIS Data).

The catalogue is a well-used by Pymble Public School students.

A great collection in a small space

Due to its small size the library is used as a dedicated, traditional library space, rather than as a common area for games, puzzles and computer games or other pursuits. It also houses the school computer server (Kathryn is the computer coordinator) and a teaching space. The teaching area includes a SMART Board and a document camera that Kathryn finds particularly useful.

Kathryn is justly proud of her library. ‘We have an absolutely stunning collection.’ There are sections for community languages and graphic novels with fiction and non-fiction areas. The library includes a senior section for years 5 and 6, and a junior fiction section. Sets of readers for history, geography, science and sets of novels, dictionaries and home readers also have their place in the library.

Kathryn has become an expert at managing the space she has to the best effect. She says, ‘Everything is where it is because that’s the only place it can possibly go.’

‘The service and data provided by SCIS allow me to deliver a well-catalogued collection with minimal expenditure of time and effort. SCIS frees me to do the more important work of a teacher librarian – support my staff and students.’

SCIS Data case studies

Stack of books

Read these SCIS Data customer case studies to learn how school library staff use the Schools Catalogue Information Service (SCIS) to save time and money and enhance their library service.

SCIS Data case study: Kathryn Harris, Pymble Public School, NSW, Australia

‘The service and data provided by SCIS allow me to deliver a well-catalogued collection with minimal expenditure of time and effort. SCIS frees me to do the more important work of a teacher librarian – support my staff and students.’

SCIS Data case study: Josephine Barclay, King’s College Taunton, UK

‘SCIS is like a trusted library assistant that builds my catalogue with accurate records, and allows me to focus on supporting the students.’

SCIS Data case study: Ruth Maloney, Tonbridge Grammar School, UK

‘I wouldn’t have such a high functioning system if I didn’t have SCIS, because it’s like having an assistant librarian whose job is just to catalogue, and who does that job really well. It’s an essential part of the library catalogue for me.’

SCIS Data case study: Chris Archbold, Riccarton Primary School, NZ

‘SCIS makes a consistent catalogue. If all the primary schools around New Zealand are using SCIS, they are all getting the same information. This means that students can move from school to school and know that they are still going to get good, consistent search results.’

SCIS Data case study: Caroline Roche, Eltham College, UK

‘Yesterday, a student asked for a book on Emmanuel Macron. It will be delivered today, and I will be able to catalogue it within five minutes because SCIS is quick. I’ll have it in her hands this afternoon.’

For more information about the Schools Catalogue Information Service (SCIS) please contact help@scisdata.com.

SCIS Data case study: Josephine Barclay, King’s College Taunton, UK

‘SCIS is like a trusted library assistant that builds my catalogue with accurate records, and allows me to focus on supporting the students.’

School: King's College Taunton
Type: Independent co-educational secondary day and boarding school (aged 13-18)
Enrolment: 470+
Cataloguing subscription: SCIS Data + Authority Files
Library management system: Infiniti
Size of collection: 10,000+

King’s College is part of King’s Schools, Taunton along with its prep school King’s Hall. The schools provide continuous day and boarding education for girls and boys aged 2 to 18 years. King’s College pursues academic excellence with a commitment to good teaching and effective learning. Librarian Josephine Barclay credits SCIS Data and Infiniti with reducing the time it takes to catalogue resources, leaving her free to assist students in other valuable ways.

Broadening the librarian’s role

Josephine said that since implementing SCIS Data, she’s been able to extend her role. She’s now more than the school librarian who just catalogues all the books – as cataloguing no longer takes much time.

‘I work a lot with the sixth forms. I assist with Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), History and English coursework and generally help students learn how to research, create bibliographies and use citation tools. I locate quite complex books to help students see what research has been done already. Then they can use the references from the books to look further on websites.’ Josephine also helps students plan and edit their work, ‘I am playing to my strengths now’.

Simple and intuitive to use

Josephine finds their library catalogue to be simple and intuitive and says it is easy for her students to use. She explains: ‘Our students know how to use the Infiniti catalogue and can show others how to do it.’

Infiniti is on the school portal now, so students can log on and search the catalogue from wherever they are, using their phones. Josephine provides students with the foundational skills to find what they’re looking for. She says that students can be really excited about locating a new book.  Then they come and see Josephine and she will assist them to locate the book on the shelves. Josephine notes ‘That’s the way they like to do things!’ Josephine likes them to come and talk to her about what they are looking for so she can help them personally.

Says Josephine, ‘Students are very good at finding websites but not so good at searching in books, and I maintain they’ve got to use properly researched books. I help them locate and read through books they need for their coursework.’ Students are also encouraged to make book recommendations for purchase.

Students help with cataloguing

Josephine has also taught some students to catalogue books using the library management system because it is so well-integrated and simple to use. She explained the process: ‘Using Infiniti, students first scan the barcode, then we go to SCIS and the record usually comes up. If it doesn’t, I deal with that book later.’

Josephine previously sourced records through the British Library. It didn’t always provide the correct details, so she had to do a lot on her own. ‘All I use now is SCIS,’ she says, ‘and sometimes the Scottish Library, which is quite useful for books that have gone out of print.’

‘I can find most items in SCIS’, she adds. ‘I would say the hit rate is above 80 per cent.’

Josephine’s students usually catalogue literature and young adult fiction, but can do any books that are on the SCIS site. ‘I might give them a big pile of books and get them to put the stickers and the security labels in’ says Josephine. ‘Then they take turns to learn how to catalogue – and they learn that really, really quickly.’

Josephine thinks it’s great that students can do cataloguing. And, of course, she makes sure it’s done properly. ‘At the beginning of the year, when I’ve got loads of books to process, I know that they can do 50 books each. And they enjoy it – there’s a sense of satisfaction.’

Supporting librarians to do their job

SCIS has definitely saved Josephine a lot of time. ‘It’s a bit like having an assistant librarian,’ she says. ‘And I can trust it to let the children use it and I know the records are accurate.’

‘I find the book summaries very useful. I’m planning to put some on the outside of the books, using my own handwriting. Then students can see why I think it’s a good book and what they’ll find in it. And I know I can trust what you’ve written about it, which really important for people who work on their own.’

For librarians who work on their own, it is not always easy to find someone to talk to about library matters. ‘I want to keep abreast of things,’ says Josephine, ‘but I work on my own and that makes it difficult.’ She finds that the Connections journal helps her stay in touch, and inspires her with ideas from librarians around the world.

Josephine happily recommends cataloguing through SCIS and Infiniti to other librarians. ‘I tell them if the children can do it, they can do it! I genuinely find it takes a lot off my workload.’

‘I talk to them about how SCIS helps me get cataloguing done really quickly so that so I have time do other things. The fact that your system helps me do that is great.’

The time saved by using SCIS allows Josephine to devote more time to the parts of her role that she finds most rewarding. She states, ‘I actually see it as allowing librarians to do their job.’

A cataloguing subscription means that library staff like Josephine have more time to support their school community and offer enriching programs and services.

Josephine’s verdict

Josephine says that she would recommend SCIS to others — ‘A SCIS subscription allows me to carry on with the parts of my role that I find most rewarding.’

To see which other library systems SCIS works with, please visit our Library management systems page.