Greta Centre
MS LIBBY HOBSON, CO-ORDINATOR GRETA SENIOR LIBRARY 2020 the year that nearly was… well it was a year when the library faced the very real possibility, like everyone else in education, of going completely online after Easter. The abrupt end of Term 1 saw a rush on physical borrowing when we faced the possibility of not returning to the classroom for some time. The reality of online and distance learning saw the digital services of the library coming to the fore and assisting in keeping the College learning services relevant and diverse. When students returned to the campus in Term 2, it was to a library environment of quarantining books and strict cleaning regimes. Many of the single study carrels in the Library were off limits for Terms 2 and 3; they were then reintroduced in Term 4. So, while the eBook borrowing saw an unprecedented increase in loans for 2020, the Library as a place to study, browse and meet in, was back in force. The introduction of Book Club in Term 4 revealed the passion and excitement the girls experienced while connecting, reflecting upon and discussing their reading. Book Club was such a social success that the girls complained it did not meet often enough, and they are enjoying their meetings in 2021. The Greta Senior Library could be viewed as the personification of the educational lessons learned in 2020 – while the Digital Age provides us with endless possibilities in experiences and information, the reality of quality education is about meaningful relationships and connecting with others, which the Greta Senior Library provides. POPULAR READS Our most popular books this year in Fiction was Fault in Our Stars by John Green, which was the second most read book in 2019. This year the second most borrowed book was Wonder by
RJ Palacio, followed by The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The most popular author from the Senior Fiction shelves was Sarah J Maas, with four of her novels making the top ten and occupying the top two positions. In 2019 the most popular Biography was Unmasked by Turia Pitt and in 2020 it was the second most popular, being toppled from the top spot by Bethany Hamilton’s Soul Surfer.
time frame. At Year-Level meetings, girls who completed the challenge were awarded a certificate signed by the Premier.
USE OF OUR SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES: RESEARCH DATABASES Our students are able to access academic research directly via database subscriptions such as EBSCO and Jstor; or they may indirectly search through There was a 160% increase in borrowings these databases using the Onesearch for eBooks from Wheelers in 2020, function within our Library Catalogue compared to 2019, and a 110% increase AccessIT. There were more than 1000 in eAudiobook borrowing. Whether requests for full-text documents to be COVID-19 and Learning from Holme downloaded in 2020, using Onesearch was the reason for this huge increase, through the Library catalogue. The most or whether it was because we has a searched journals were: New Scientist, cohort of Grade 8s who were voracious Science News and History Today. readers, perhaps only 2021 statistics will tell. Of the Top 10 Borrowers for CLICKVIEW 2020, 6 out of the 10 were from Grade In 2019 almost 3,000 videos were 8, and the Grade 8 cohort was the Year viewed and in 2020 this number level with the most books borrowed. The rose to a staggering 7,342 – again, most borrowed eAudiobook was Five Learning From Holme may have made Feet Apart by Rachel Lippincott and the a difference to the way girls had to most borrowed eBook was Divergent by interact with learning and resources in Virgina Roth. 2020. The most watched videos were What is Judaism (Year 10 Humanities), PASTORAL CARE READING followed by Skill Acquisition for Sports In 2020, Cameron House girls Performance ( Year 10 Health & PE ) borrowed the most books, and Middle and then Life in Ancient Egypt (Year 7 Cameron 5 was the Holme Group who Humanities). borrowed the most books. I must conclude by thanking Ms Joanne PREMIER’S READING Andrews, who left us in Term 2 after her CHALLENGE many years of work in the Senior Greta The Middle School participated in Centre. The smooth running of the the 2020 Queensland Premier’s library in the Greta Senior Library can Reading Challenge, which requires be attributed to the experience of our students to read 15 books in a period continuing staff: Mrs Antoinette Porter, of three months. This year we had and Mrs Ann Peacock who joined us in more than three times the numbers of Term 4. girls complete it compared to 2019, by reading a minimum of 15 books; however, special mention must be made of Year 9 students Gabby Pellow who managed to read over 120 books in this
God | Respect | Enjoyment | Teamwork | Aspiration
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