Greta Centre
MS LIBBY HOBSON, ACTING GRETA CENTRE CO-ORDINATOR
So what is a library in 2019? A library is, and should be, at the heart of any great and connected community. In our increasingly digital world, a crucial life skill is the ability to read. Another important skill is the ability to find useful and reliable information in an age of over-supply and ‘fake news’. A library can provide a space to study and complete assignments or a place to socialise and relax. A library should be all things to all people – a huge ask! In the Fairholme Greta Statham Library we provide hard-copy books that range from manga to picture books, classic novels to new releases, biographies to history textbooks. We also have subscriptions to a wide variety of databases for research and the Wheelers platform for audio and ebooks. We have board games and virtual games – even a driving and flight simulator. Here are some highlights from 2019: • Book Spine Poetry • The creation of a new Area B ‘classroom’ for research • National Reconciliation Day and NAIDOC week displays • Book Week: Reading is my Secret Power • 2019 Back to the 90s Fashion Week. Popular Reads: Our most popular reads this year in Fiction was Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon followed closely by Fault in Our Stars by John Green and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The most popular Biography was Unmasked by Turia Pitt. There was a 20 per cent increase in borrowings for eBooks/eAudiobooks from Wheelers in 2019, compared to 2018. The most borrowed eAudiobook was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling and the most borrowed eBook was The Martian by Andy Weir.
Pastoral Care Reading In 2018, Stephens House girls borrowed the most books, with 567 books borrowed. In 2019, Cameron House managed to eclipse that figure by borrowing 693 books. Middle Stephens 1 was the Pastoral Care Group that borrowed the most, by borrowing 150 books.
‘People who cannot understand each other cannot exchange ideas, cannot communicate. The simplest way to make sure we raise literate children is to teach them to read, and to show them that reading is a pleasurable activity.’
be made of Year 8 student Isabella Lewis who managed to read 45 books in this time-frame. Girls who completed the challenge, were awarded a certificate signed by the Premier at a Middle School Assembly. Use of our subscription services EBSCO Database There were more than 2000 requests for full-text documents which were downloaded in 2019. The most popular search terms in EBSCO were: genetically modified crops; genetically modified food. Clickview Almost 3000 videos were viewed in the last nine months.
I must conclude by thanking Ms Alison Scott for her work in the Senior Greta Centre in 2017 and 2018. Mr Derek Neil Gaiman Curnow must also be acknowledged for his stewardship of the Library in Premier’s Reading Challenge Term 1 of 2019 when Ms Scott moved The Middle School participated in The to Brisbane. The smooth running of 2019 Queensland Premier’s Reading the library in the Greta Centre can be Challenge, which requires students attributed to the experience of our to read 15 books in a period of three continuing staff, Ms Joanne Andrews months. This year we only had a few and Mrs Antoinette Porter. girls who managed to complete the challenge by reading a minimum of 15 books; however, special mention must
God | Respect | Enjoyment | Teamwork | Aspiration
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