On 16 September 2013, Education Services Australia received advice from the Director-General of the Western Australian Department of Education that the Department will be closing the in-house cataloguing service as of 27 September 2013.
The cataloguing service has for many years catalogued resources sent in by Western Australian schools, as well as providing support and training in the use of SCIS.
Access to SCIS for WA government schools
The Department WILL continue to provide ongoing support for Western Australian government schools to access SCISWeb and retrieve catalogue records via a bulk service subscription to SCIS for all Western Australian government schools.
Cataloguing of Western Australian school resources
Education Services Australia will provide a replacement cataloguing service for Western Australian schools and is currently investigating options for schools who wish to send resources. It is a priority to ensure Western Australian resources continue to be added to the SCIS database in a timely manner. Schools will be advised of the process via email, this blog and on the SCIS website Cataloguing Services page.
Questions
If you have further questions about SCIS cataloguing services, please email the SCIS cataloguers at catinfo@esa.edu.au.
For any SCIS login problems, training or general requests, email scisinfo@esa.edu.au, or call 1800 337 405.
Farewell and thanks to the WA SCIS cataloguing agency
We would like to acknowledge the outstanding service that the Western Australian Department’s e-schooling staff have provided to SCIS and to Australian schools. According to statistics available since 1996 a total of 240,000 learning resources have been catalogued by the WA agency.
Particular thanks to the most recent team members Bev Blackwell, Barbara Carle, Sabina Cull, Tina Hoyland, Charlene Plunkett and Suan Kui Yoong, plus previous members Leonie Samuelsson and Barbara Shardlow, and all those who have supported this team over many years.
Feel free to record your experiences of the team and its service in the comments area or send us an email.