SLANZA Collected issue #22 by School Library Association of New Zealand Aotearoa

ISSN 1179â&#x20AC;&#x201C;8548

The Collaboration Issue! Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

Featured 5

Turning A Good Idea into Classroom Practice

issue 22/2018

Developing Collaborative Practice Models From Year 7 - 10

EDITORIAL

Librarian-Teacher Collaboration: Creating a culture of Learning 12

My Collaborative Experience: The benefits are already emerging 13

Collaborative practice between the Auckland Grammar School Librarians and the Social Studies Department 14

Welcome to the first issue of Collected for 2018. It seems only days ago that school started and now we are already in the middle of Term Two.

Collaboration - A break through 15

Where to begin

The theme of the latest issue is collaboration. Collaborating with others is an important part of a school librarian’s life. Collaboration means more than just working together well with staff and students.

Other 16

SLANZA Otago Conference 18

Lingogo

Business Members Contributions 20/20 Communications 20 22

Contains graphic content

Softlink

Regular 26

Book reviews 29

Region news

Accessit

Collaboration is the act of working together towards a common goal. It should be an equal partnership, respecting the strengths and weaknesses of all. The social aspect of collaboration is not the whole story, we must be working together towards an identifiable goal for our clientele in a professional manner. True collaboration must have impact for students. I am lucky enough to work in a small school, and this means I have closer relationships with staff. This may seem to make collaboration easier, but that is not always the case. As noted a true collaboration has identifiable goals for students, a clear plan and method, a true division of input and professional respect and the ability to review and retool the collaboration if that is needed. Our writers this issue have shared their experiences and opinions on collaboration, and hopefully we can share their insight and seek to develop our own collaborative skills.

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This issue also has information on the SLANZA Otago Regional Conference to be held in late September 2018. While I am not exactly unbiased (full disclosure – I’m on the Otago Committee) I know that a lot of work is being done to make this a superb event for all our members, with a great selection of speakers, some great workshop sessions and social events. Personally, I am really excited about the plans being made. The committee has made real efforts to make the event reasonably priced and there are great accommodation options available for those travelling. Dunedin is a great place to visit, with both beautiful scenery and fun tourist opportunities. Another great opportunity that conference provides, apart from making new friends and catching up with old ones, is the chance to see the expertise and skills of our members. It never ceases to surprise me how much our members know and how willing they are to share with their fellow librarians. Learning from fellow librarian’s skills has really added to my practice over the years. Conference is also a great place to meet the National Executive of SLANZA. Your representatives on the NE are hardworking people who get out there on your behalf and represent your interests in a variety of spheres. Conference is a great opportunity to hear what your representatives have been involved in. There will also be a chance to attend SLANZA’s AGM which will be held during the conference.

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Everyone in Dunedin is looking forward to seeing our fellow members and enjoying their company at the Otago Regional Conference. Putting on my editorial hat again, I hope you enjoy this issue’s articles and reviews. Thanks once again to our reliable proof readers, Jackie Philips, Liz Jones and Rosalba Finnerty, and thanks also to Miriam Tuohy whose help is invaluable in the final stages, and to our designer Kate Johnson. All their efforts make this magazine possible. Happy reading Greig Daniels Editor, Collected Magazine

Co-Presidents’' Column COLLECTED 22

It is an exciting time for SLANZA with the government’s Tomorrow’s Schools review and the NZEI pay equity claims coming together at the same time. There is a huge opportunity for SLANZA to significantly improve both our standing in schools and the pay we receive but we can’t sit on the sidelines and hope someone notices us! There is a lot of work required to ensure the decision makers are completely cognisant of our roles and the impact we have on the teaching and learning in our communities. Our Position Statement has been received by Hon Chris Hipkins, the Minister for Education. We were delighted that he acknowledged SLANZA’s contribution to improving outcomes for learners. He has invited SLANZA to be a part of the conversation on Tomorrow’s Schools and we feel optimistic and encouraged to contribute our voice as part of the education discussion. Do take every opportunity to have your say, for example, the Ministry of Education survey Kōrero Mātauranga - Let’s Talk About Education, the more school librarians who add their voice the stronger our position. In November 2017, NZEI began building a pay equity case for school administration staff, under which school librarians are going to be included. Pay equity refers to fairness, to the principle of the same pay being given for the same work. We feel this is a really important issue affecting our members, and in preparation, we invited members to participate in our Google+ discussion ‘A Pay Equity Tool-kit for School Librarians’. Held earlier this term, the aim of the discussion was to collaborate together as school librarians in Aotearoa New Zealand to compile a database of skills, roles and responsibilities that we can use as an advocacy tool-kit as well as to inform NZEI of our unique skillset. We will continue to collaborate with NZEI to work towards a more equitable pay scale for school librarians.

Thank you to all those who responded to the National Survey on school libraries. National Library, in conjunction with SLANZA and LIANZA created this survey with its whole focus on school libraries. We really, really needed you all to add your voice so SLANZA could build up a comprehensive picture of what is happening in our school libraries around Aotearoa New Zealand. So thank you for participating, the information gathered will be extremely valuable for us all. 2018 has seen two fantastic online Google+ discussions. As well as the pay equity discussion, a conversation based on Steph Ellis’s conference presentation “Things I No Longer Do and Stuff I Do Instead” was a thought provoking discussion of the tasks we do by habit that may no longer be necessary or an efficient use of our time. Registrations will soon be open for the SLANZA Otago Regional Conference in Dunedin on September 28-30. The list of keynote speakers and workshops is exceptional and we hope to see you at the biggest and best school librarian professional development event of the year! We have sent out letters to New Zealand publishing houses to request permission for SLANZA members to use book cover images for promotion on their school library digital platforms. Many years ago, Bridget Schaumann obtained permissions for such usage but we felt it was time to touch base and update our relationship with all New Zealand publishers. Once completed, the updated list will be available on the SLANZA website under Resources at slanza.org.nz/ resources

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SLANZA would like to acknowledge the work of Trish Webster as she steps down from her position as the Auckland National Executive Representative. Trish, your wonderful insights, calm demeanor and hard work have been invaluable to the SLANZA NE. Thank you for all you have done. We welcome Lynn Vare from Otago Boys High School to NE. We appreciate Lynn’s willingness to step up to the role especially at such a busy time with her region, Otago, hosting the Regional Conference this year. It is time to decide on the SLANZA President Elect. We would like to encourage you to consider putting your name forward for this vital role. The nomination form can be downloaded here. Lastly, we have been working on our Vision and Mission Statements. These are important to us, we want to get them right to focus our work and guide us forward. We are seeking your input at the regional AGMs, and after deliberation, will present our preferred options for ratification at our National AGM. We take heart from the amazing work you do in your school libraries to make a positive impact on students learning in Aotearoa New Zealand. Keep up the incredible work. Kirsty Adam and Julia Smith SLANZA Co-Presidents

Turning a good idea into classroom practice KEN KILPIN – MASSEY UNIVERSITY

WHAT DOES TEACHER-LIBRARIAN COLLABORATION ACTUALLY MEAN, AND HOW CAN IT WORK IN BUSY NCEA CLASSES? The changes to NCEA achievement standards that emerged from the 2011-13 Standards Realignment review signalled that students could no longer reproduce teacher processed information in internal assessment tasks, or in external examination answers. Research skills, critical thinking, and strong reading and writing skills assumed greater prominence and were promoted as integral to learning subject content. Moreover, there emerged a sense of student agency about contexts in which content learning could take place. Teachers started talking of explicitly teaching information literacy skills (ILS), and invoking Bloom’s Higher Order Thinking skills to sharpen students’ critical analysis skills (and achievement levels) so students could take on their own research project. At the same time, school librarians reiterated their argument for inclusion in the teaching of these standards, and indeed leading information literacy (IL) programmes in Years 7 – 10. Their argument is profound, yet simple and sensible. In New Zealand secondary schools, there are librarians who embody the expertise to support teachers and students to be confidently information literate1, understand how to find, manage, use and communicate information from across the curriculum, and are very willing to partner with teachers both inside and outside the library to support that learning. Further, the physical library and its contents represent a major capital investment as an information resource no departmental library, book room or collection could trump (small ‘t’). What’s more, the contemporary school library now exemplifies what the IL landscape looks like, that is “information in all formats (print, electronic, and artefact), as well as the tools, systems and expertise that make these resources available to students and that aid them in seeking information and using it” (Education Review Office, 2005). So, why don’t we collaborate? Team up so that students get the best of the collective expertise available?

Senior secondary school students have traditionally studied diverse subjects within and across disciplines (for example history, classics and geography within the social sciences, and physics, chemistry and biology in the natural sciences). Within the revised NCEA alignment framework, we would argue there is now a need to explicitly teach how to recognise and apply key differences in ways disciplines shape, create, confirm and communicate information. Put conceptually, teachers need to gradually introduce their students to an epistemological understanding of IL2. So, rather than just organising a tokenistic two period visit to the library with the librarian, let’s take collaboration and ILS instruction into the subjects. Let’s imagine it as an instructional process sited in classrooms, laboratories, and the library in ways that recognise, value and use what the teacher and librarian know and can do, for the benefit of effective IL learning? What a good idea! WHAT MIGHT A TEACHER-LIBRARIAN COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIP LOOK LIKE? Nonetheless, being a good idea is no guarantee of it happening. So even with the best will in the world, why is active collaboration still the exception and not the rule in our secondary schools? Perhaps part of the answer lies in the need to be more explicit about what a collaborative partnership is, how it can be achieved, and what might be its ‘ways of working’. Our project has adapted the work of Patricia Monteil-Overall (2005) who categorises a teacher-librarian working relationship into four types (see Fig. 1 below). Her model usefully illustrates what the current level of collaborative practice is, that is ‘what we are now’, and what that collaborative practice could develop into, ‘what we could be’. In other words, it sets out current teacher-librarian interactions, and importantly what interactions help develop a productive and mutually satisfying professional collaboration, where subject content learning and ILS converge, to improve student achievement.

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MODELS OF TEACHER–LIBRARIAN WORKING RELATIONSHIP Coordination

Collaborative

Siloed, isolated and distant

Co-operative, but ‘as needed’

Shared topic instruction

Shared curriculum instruction

Booking and monitoring activities (meetings, small assemblies, clubs), responding to requests, book/resource borrowing. Time out place for kids. Little instructional emphasis. Library is peripheral/ irrelevant to teacher’s practice. Teacher dominated.

Mutual acknowledgement of specific areas expertise and what library offers, but role is confined to supplementing teacher’s role with short term, but planned, instruction. Opportunistic, immediate or ‘as needed’ use. Teacher directed.

Content learning and relevant research/IL skills are woven together into instructional plans. Teacher and librarian acknowledge each other’s expertise and use these to enhance students’ content learning and achievement. They negotiate topic objectives and share teaching and assessment roles. Shared responsibility with teacher steering.

Teacher-librarian collaboration reconceived as long-term curriculum relationship. Transcends topic levels of interaction. Libraries are common sense places of instruction, librarians participate in long term curriculum and programme planning, and feature naturally in wider school academic roles. Shared responsibility according to instructional need and participant expertise.

STUDENT ILS LOW

HIGH Intensity of Teacher-Librarian Collaborative Relationship

Some participating teachers will not yet be in that collaborative space described in Fig.1 (below), while others may already be well established in collaborative relationships. Where you position yourself, colleagues or school generally, is also dependent on such things as:

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Deciding and timetabling who will be teaching what – that is, what instructional roles will each person take?

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Explaining to students what the collaboration is about and why the librarian and teacher are equal partners in teaching this subject’s achievement standard.

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previous instances of librarian-teacher contact

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traditional cultural features of academic study in your school

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staff interests, personalities and experiences (and perhaps age too?)

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Collaboratively assessing the students’ submitted assessments be they final submissions for internal achievement standards or practice runs for those that are externally examined.

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the subjects being studied, and what is possible within the constraints of your programme

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library, timetable and academic context.

This year our collaborative partnership research project applies this model to work teachers and students will undertake in one or two self-selected Level 2 and 3 standards which explicitly require ILS instruction, or implicitly assume their presence within the required content learning. The collaborative process we have designed involves the teacher and librarian: •

acknowledging the skills and knowledge each brings to the collaboration

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meeting at regular intervals to plan and coordinate an instructional programme,

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Identifying, from the Achievement Standards material, the explicit and implicit ILS skills students need to learn and practice.

There are important assumptions underpinning this model and its application in our project’s participating schools. Firstly, the partnerships are about change in practice. The work is not “business as usual’ slightly adjusted. It involves more than just a few lessons on ‘using the library’, or ‘doing research’. The collaboration implies trying new things, and doing some things differently, throughout the teaching of the chosen standard. The collaboration challenges deeply embedded notions of subject content dominating what is taught and how it is done. It is important therefore for teachers and librarians to discuss how the IL aspect of an assessment is to be instructionally addressed, and how it serves to assist content learning. Consider the support students need to strengthen their IL capabilities (e.g. adapting Achievement Standard resources, different activities, or alternative instructional approaches) to meet the Achievement Standard’s content learning requirements.

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Letting the librarian into the teaching space and the teacher into the ILS space also challenges traditional academic hierarchies. Teachers should extend to their librarians a confidence that they can recognise what students have to learn, and librarians should extend to their teaching colleagues, their own expertise to search, manage and evaluate information. Teacher-librarian collaboration can be its own valuable professional learning, as it fills in gaps that emerge, and engages both parties in active conversation which seeks a combined understanding. And this last point is important. I am one of those baby-boomers now in the latter stages of a modest career in teaching and literacy education. I’m given to wondering why I didn’t ‘have a go’ at collaborative work with the very able librarians I have worked with in schools. What’s more, the TLRI project itself is a collaborative process that has amplified my understanding of IL and librarianship. This in turn has added a further dimension to my adolescent/disciplinary literacy educator work. It seems clear that similar benefits can emerge for teachers and librarians who challenge themselves to work collaboratively in systematic, co-ordinated ways, with the ultimate prize being – of course – positive effects on our students’ engagement, progress and achievement.

REFERENCES Montiel-Overall, P. (2005) Toward a Theory of Collaboration for Teachers and Librarians School Library Media Research, v8, pp 1-31) 1 In our TLRI project discussed elsewhere in this edition, we have developed a holistic definition of information literacy as the centre of learning: information literacy involves the processes, strategies, skills, competencies, expertise and ways of thinking which enable individuals to engage with information to learn across a range of platforms (both digital and traditional), to transform the known, and discover the unknown. 2 By this we mean teachers need to focus on two aspects of knowledge building: knowledge of what and knowledge of how. What knowledge refers to disciplinary content knowledge and the information skills required to learn it. How knowledge refers to knowing how relevant information skills work, as processes of learning, to create and communicate disciplinary knowledge. A second important aspect of this perspective is that disciplines create, use, structure and communicate content knowledge in different ways. Science is epistomologically different from arts/humanities or social science disciplines. Understanding how (and why) information literacy skills work in disciplinary contexts to develop valid or verifiable knowledge is to develop an epistomological understanding of information literacy in disciplinary contexts.

Ken Kilpin, Professional Learning Facilitator and Senior Tutor, Massey University

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Developing Collaborative Practice Models from Year 7-10 SENGA WHITE – SOUTHLAND BOYS HIGH SCHOOL

There are many ways to collaborate, and research attests that librarians are most often the initiators of collaboration. While there are a myriad of reasons for this, it could best be explained as the librarian view of education being likened to surveying the school learning landscape with a floodlight from an eyrie rather than with a spotlight from the ground.

Consistent barriers to meaningful collaboration with teaching colleagues within the realm of information literacy (IL) and research are;

The ILSF makes the progression of each through year levels. It can also prompt conversations about how planning and teaching these skills together can enhance students’ learning and make their learning of IL skills more explicit.

Year 8 ICT

Year 9 English and Year 10 Maori

When planning with teaching colleagues, I approach it similarly to a reference interview with a student. I have them describe to me what the current teaching focus is, what the learning intentions are, and how the students will demonstrate that learning. I have been guilty in the past of attempting to shove as much learning as possible into a lesson, being unsure when another opportunity may present itself. However, the result has usually been less effective than concentrating on introducing one new skill or process, demonstrating it in the context of the current learning, followed by the students immediately practicing that new skill or process.

I have been building a series of lessons for the timetabled Year 8 ICT sessions, using the Digital Literacy section of the ILSF. These lessons include:

Both of these subject areas opted to put together research booklets for their classes, using a range of existing templates and IL activities. This meant they were able to customise the learning experience for their students and their need for information while reinforcing research strategies that are familiar to them from other subjects. I have master copies of all templates to direct teachers to what options are available. I can then customise or adapt them for the teacher’s specific needs.

Initiating the planning process can seem unclear and difficult to navigate. In an attempt at clarity, I use both a collaborative planning template and a lesson plan template to keep me on track, and to share with the teacher I’m working with. These templates become a record to refer back to upon conclusion of the collaboration, as well as a reminder of purpose and processes for the next time we teach that lesson or skill. CURRICULUM EXAMPLES:

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time constraints

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the perception that IL skills are an ‘extra’ to the curriculum

During the past twelve months, I have been working extensively across Year 7 to 10 curriculum areas. The ensuing collaborations have been wide-ranging and diverse, and include:

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misunderstanding both of what constitutes IL skills, and the expertise of school librarians in this field

Year 7 Science

• assumptions of innate student comprehension regarding how to engage with information, particularly in a digital environment. A successful approach to collaboration is to make IL skills, and the process for teaching them, more visible. The implementation of The Information Literacy Skills Framework (ILSF) can go some way towards initiating teacher/librarian learning conversations, while also making those precious conversations more targeted and focussed.

The biology and chemistry teachers both approached me, independently, to work with them on planning for the research component of the junior school science modules. One of the benefits of being included in planning with two teachers at the same year level, is that I was able to ensure the complementary skills required in each context were highlighted and reinforced by both teachers and myself, further cementing the understanding for the students of how and when to use these skills.

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Using the library catalogue to find information for research topics

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Using suitable databases, particularly Encyclopaedia Britannica, for finding information

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Search techniques using Google

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Evaluating websites

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Using Any Questions for research support outside of school hours

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Taking notes from an online source

• Finding and using images found on the internet, ethically and responsibly •

How to cite online information in bibliographies

This approach prompts teachers to invite me to take these classes alongside them in the first instance, with a view to them using this structure with their next year’s class. It creates a method of delivering skills teaching without creating a time-monster that is too difficult to sustain. Year 9 & 10 Social Studies The head of social sciences faculty at Southland Boys’ has been systematically overhauling the Year 9 & 10 social studies programme. As part of this work, we have collaborated on one new unit at each year level, which has explicit IL skills teaching embedded into them. Social studies teachers at each year level teach these units during Term 1. If a teacher hasn’t previously taught this unit, they have the option of including me in their planning to teach the IL skills throughout the unit. This approach serves to reinforce student understanding of the skills they need, while building on the skills taught during the previous year.

Some of these templates are included in the Library Skills, Learning for Life booklet, originally created as a resource to support learning during library visits, but has extended to also incorporate a wider range of opportunities in the classroom. Evidence-Based Practice Finally, but by no means least, don’t underestimate the power of collecting and sharing data from the work you do. This will strengthen your profile with teaching staff, while providing them with a tangible reason to consider you seriously as a para-professional working in their school. To enable you to capture the voice of both teacher and librarian, and to be clear on what you want to measure and how, use a template such as this to reflect on the outcomes from the collaboration. You both then have the time to consider further opportunities, to learn and grow from the experience, and to share what works with others. The more we do this, the more we promote the benefits to teachers of working alongside librarians as part of their daily professional practice. Senga White, Southland Boys High School

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Librarian—-Teacher collaboration: Creating a culture of learning KERRI SULLIVAN – KAIAPOI HIGH SCHOOL

“It has been demonstrated that, when librarians and teachers work together, students achieve higher levels of literacy, reading, learning, problem-solving and information and communication technology skills.” IFLA/UNESCO School Library Manifesto 1999 It would have been hard to believe 10 years ago, that the phrase “collaborative practice” was to become the buzzword it is in education today. The school’s then library manager, Senga White introduced me to the concept of collaboration. Particularly passionate about raising literacy, school-wide engagement in reading, and inquiry-based learning, she became one of the people I worked closest with during my time as Teacher in Charge of Junior English. Over the course of about five years, we worked together on projects such as skill-based research units, raising student engagement in reading, and the publishing of student work. When I worked with Senga, she was already a progressive leader who worked tirelessly in order to raise school-wide literacy. This, as many educators will know, is a mammoth undertaking, which requires full school buy-in and support. With Senga’s knowledge and unfailing fortitude, and the support of other teachers, we built upon Sustained Silent Reading (S.S.R.) protocols, encouraged the use of the library for researchbased projects in English and Social Studies, began a Summer Reading programme, and inquired into resource allocation for differentiated texts. The library, over time, became a busy hub frequented by a large proportion of our staff and students. Simultaneously we saw an increase in student awareness and engagement with research and texts, and in turn, an increase in learning progressions across all subjects. To begin with, Senga and I never had the vision of this level of success. It started from an organic conversation based on how we could increase student engagement with skill-based research. What happened was that we had a success, which gained the interest of another curriculum area, which also experienced a success. What we wanted to achieve gained momentum, and over the years, we had

increased staff buy-in. Every taste of success gave us enthusiasm to build on our goals. I think we were blessed, to an extent, because both of us had strengths in planning, time-management, self-reflection, and ensuring role clarity. These things made the accountability aspect of working together easy to manage. Many teaching professionals will read the list of things we were able to achieve through a librarian—teacher collaborative approach and think “that just sounds like a lot of work.” What I found was that I had met someone who was equally invested in her area of expertise, and this redefined “work” from having negative connotations to having positive ones. Through enthusiastic discussion about ways in which we would approach our shared goals, my belief in the importance of what we were doing was constantly revitalised. On the days that I felt exhausted, Senga was a role model who showed me that switching off after a challenging day came down merely to mind-set. With every collaborative teaching experience I have had, my colleagues allowed me to further strengthen areas of my own character. The benefits that come with collaborative practice are not discussed enough. In our goal to create student-centred learning environments, we often miss the fact that our ability to continue to challenge ourselves, and to reflect upon our own learning as teachers and librarians, is an integral part of the process. Without putting ourselves in the shoes of our learners and being open to the idea that we must also be open and capable of changing ourselves, our learning environments stagnate at being focussed on outcome rather than ones that are focussed on progression. I believe that collaborative practice gives solid grounding for the concept of ako, or reciprocal teaching and learning. Collaborating with others is an important part of removing fear, and in-turn, insular practices in schools.

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Over the years, I have found collaboration, when coupled with careful reflective practices (self, pair, and student-based), to be one of my most powerful sources of professional development. I place emphasis on the word ‘development’ because we can only develop our professions by attending things that challenge us, rather than attending things that reinforce what we already do. With every collaborative teaching and learning experience I have been involved in, my reflective practices have been far stronger than when I have worked alone. I have found that educators who collaborate are more willing to reflect in order to trouble-shoot for the benefit of the other educator. They are also more willing to have open discussions about challenges and will more readily share success. The act of sharing these two things, for me, has always boosted morale, and allowed me to see that with the challenging moments, I am never alone. When I worked with Senga, we would touch base quickly before and after teaching and learning sequences, and ensure the informal and formal collection of student voice. We would continue to tweak aspects of our skill-based booklet, and aspects of our delivery to the students, depending on who we had in front of us. This constant reflective practice is something I have continued to use when collaborating in other schools. Whether collaborative practice takes place in shared spaces, such as the school library, or single cell classrooms, it encourages a transparency of educator practice in schools. Watching another educator in action is something I have taken a lot from. There are so many things I have seen that have allowed me to expand on my existing skill-set, in order to become a more effective practitioner.

Collaboration continues to be a very organic aspect to every area of my work as a teacher, and a learner. I say this because collaboration is what has prompted me to perpetually question my position as the “expert” in my class. To me, what can be achieved through collaboration is what education is about. It is the perfect way to create new knowledge and the process of learning the end goal, not just for students, but for ourselves. Working collaboratively within a school is synonymous with forming a culture of learning. I am incredibly grateful for my first taste of collaboration being with a school librarian, not just because it allowed for the growth of literacy skills in our students, but it encouraged other educators in the school to see the true value of the school library and its potential for raising achievement and positive change. If I had never stepped into the library and asked for Senga’s thoughts on how to engage junior students with information literacy, I can imagine my approach to teaching would have become very different. By working together with Senga, and with the other teachers who embraced the use of the library, we promoted working with a sense of community toward the shared goal of engaging students in literacy. So, engage in those conversations, ask those questions, and take a next step in your collaboration journey. With thanks to our colleagues and partners in crime (novels): Christine Calis (Massey Public Library), Cathy Gray (Huapai District School), Georgi de Stigter (Hobsonville Point Secondary School) and Leigh Abraham (Hobsonville Point Secondary School). Kerri Sullivan, Kaiapoi High School

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Collaborative Practice between the Auckland Grammar School Librarians and the Social Studies Department JACKIE MCCORMICK – AUCKLAND GRAMMAR SCHOOL

At Auckland Grammar School a long-standing collaboration exists between the Social Studies Department and the librarians.

My collaborative experience: the benefits are already emerging! VICKI TRAAS – KERIKERI HIGH SCHOOL Information literacy is a crucial skill set that by its very nature demands our attention as teachers. That is why the Information Literacy Spaces” project is a ground-breaking, and a relevant project to be part of. As a classroom English teacher, the project provides the school librarian and I with the opportunity to collaboratively build on and deepen our skills in this area, to ensure our students leave the classroom at the end of the year with the strongest information literacy skill set possible. At Kerikeri High School, I am working in partnership with our librarian, Julia Smith. Julia holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Library Studies, and carries an amazing information literacy skill set that turns me green with envy. I would note that without this project her skills would have remained largely invisible to my colleagues and I. She is also dynamic and approachable. We are collaboratively teaching and assessing AS91479, an Achievement Standard that aims to develop informed understanding of language and literature using critical texts, with my Year 13 English class. Our joint approach to teaching means that for the majority of the lessons with this class, we are in the classroom at the same time. Julia teaches the class in line with her IL expertise, and I teach them in accordance with the literary intentions of the Standard. For example, Julia has taught the students how to access databases, effectively search using operatives, process information efficiently, note take, navigate different types of documents (especially academic articles) and of course, how to effectively evaluate the information once it has been located. Julia has also taught the students how to cite and reference information sources, making it easier for them when they come to analyse, evaluate and synthesise the information for their research reports. She has taught this in a series of twenty minute lessons at the start of each period. At the conclusion of her direct teaching, she stays in class so both of us are available to help students with their individual projects. It allows me as the classroom teacher to teach students to analyse and evaluate their primary texts, help them to develop a relevant hypothesis and inquiry questions, and to gather relevant subject material to use in their research.

Once students have completed and submitted their assessment tasks, Julia and I will also collaboratively assess their submissions – I welcome her input! This approach means that now my students are presented with two forms of expertise that are relevant to their achievement, as they navigate this assessment. At first my students were skeptical. Many were trapped in archaic ideas of what a library and librarian were. The library wasn’t necessarily a helpful place for students undertaking online research, and certainly, the librarian was someone you only spoke to when you couldn’t find a book. In their opinion, the librarian certainly wasn’t somebody who was going to be standing in front of them teaching a lesson about skills she wasn’t credited with having. Knowing this, and knowing also that the students were thinking “but this is worth credits, what is going on?”, I realised it was critically important to present a united front with Julia from the outset, if the collaborative approach was to have any chance of success in the classroom. I constantly backed her up in what she said, acknowledged it when she taught me something new, and deliberately asked questions of her in front of the class. It wasn’t long before the students began to ask her questions and ask for her help one-on-one with their projects. This class are now comfortable with Julia and trust her expertise. I enjoy the collaborative work that has underpinned the teaching of this assessment. It is refreshing and gives my teaching approach a fresh dynamic. Julia and I have an excellent working relationship because neither of us are threatened by the other’s knowledge and expertise. Importantly, we also acknowledge that we are learning from each other constantly and see this project as an opportunity to develop our professional skills. What is emerging is a new and dynamic professional relationship, for which I am very grateful. We are already planning our next collaborative teaching project. https://informationliteracyspaces.wordpress.com/blog/ Vicki Traas, Kerikeri High School

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Twelve years ago, during my second year in my current position of Head Librarian, I decided to speak to the Social Studies Head of Department regarding the creation of a shared unit for which a main learning outcome would be students’ attainment of information skills. My reason for choosing Social Studies was because all our third form students take this subject and it lent itself to a research unit of work. Happily, the HOD agreed that this would be very beneficial for the students and so our collaboration began. It has continued through three subsequent changes in the Department’s leadership. Naturally, it has evolved over the years but its essence has been constant: the three librarians provide instruction regarding the information skills content and the Social Studies teachers introduce the unit and mark the students’ research projects. Currently, the students choose an Auckland or New Zealand issue to research. They gather information and report on both sides of the debate. To conclude, students provide a reasoned account of what they believe is the best way forward regarding the controversy. Copies of sources which are highlighted to indicate the relevant information used are included in the students’ booklets submitted for marking. Each student receives two booklets: 1) AN ASSIGNMENT BOOKLET a) Sections written by the Social Studies Department Assistant Head (to whom responsibility for the assignment has been delegated)

i) introduces the concept of local and national issues,

ii) outline the assignment, and

iii) describe the required tasks.

b) This portion which is written by the Head Librarian

i) describes a research process and how to apply it to the assignment ii) introduces search techniques for effective and efficient searching of the Internet and the Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre & Newztext databases iii) presents and explains the Currency Reliability Authority Purpose/Point of View test for evaluating information and the significance of various domain names (.com, .org etc) iv) outlines a simplified form of referencing and includes examples for the kinds of sources the students will use.

2) A WORK BOOKLET All work for the assignment is submitted in this booklet which has pages allocated for each task. Copies of sources are attached to the pages provided. A marking schedule is included. The assignment is worth 40% of students’ Terms 3 and 4 coursework mark. DELIVERY Lesson 1 is with the Social Studies teachers, who introduce the assignment and the research process described in the booklets. Lessons 2 and 3 are with a librarian who works through the process as it applies to their assignment and delivers instruction on the content outlined above. The teacher is in the room. Lessons 4 and 5 are research time. During these sessions students are able to research their topics, apply the knowledge they’ve learned and use a variety of sources including the Internet and the two databases noted. The librarian and teacher circulate and provide assistance. As the school has sixteen third form classes these are broken into two groups to enable one of the three librarians to be present throughout the unit duration (usually a week). The research and reports are completed as homework over a further period. Thus our involvement is around two weeks, one week with each group and slightly longer with the pupils mentioned below. For a small number of students for whom this would be too challenging, a different booklet is prepared which includes sources. The librarians take the students through the opposing viewpoints around an issue, incorporating information skills instruction and use of the provided sources along the way. One issue investigated recently was the debate around whether or not the New Zealand Police should be armed. It is one the students enjoy and discuss vigorously. They too, are required to submit a written explanation of the issue, including what they consider to be the preferred outcome and why. This group also has computer time to enhance their search skills. Along with teachers from other disciplines, the Social Studies Assistant Head contributed a section to a Library Annual Report which included the following comment about the collaboration: “The content is presented by specialists, that is, the librarians. Thus the students are in an enviable place and the Social Studies Department is able to rely on specialists to encourage and upskill students to be inquiry learners.” The librarians regularly present to more senior classes before they begin research, about research best practice, relevant resources and how to search specific databases. The third form unit provides an invaluable platform on which to build. Jackie McCormick, Auckland Grammar School

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Collaboration. A Breakthrough!

Where to begin?

STEPHANIE GIBBONS – NEW PLYMOUTH BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL

MICHELE COOMBRIDGE – EPSOM GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL

This is not a success story. Rather, it is an insight into the factors that made it difficult when trying to develop collaboration with teachers at our school. We are a decile 7 single-sex boys’ school with a roll of 1200; provincial and historical, established in 1882. Our school is spread out due to land contours. We have a mainly friendly, dedicated, welcoming staff, often overstretched with extra-curricular sport duties. After seven years, I am starting to see signs that we’re not viewed merely as a student-minding service during interval and lunch. I am a qualified librarian, experienced in both public and secondary sectors. I am valued as a staff member, but not as a contributor to students’ academic success. And that is the key to collaboration — does a school value and make use of the skills of their librarians? Is there a pathway for me or you, to contribute to our schools’ academic success? It is all about the outcomes. Yes, we’re great at the ‘soft skills’, but they are very difficult to quantify. My predecessor had been there for 37 years, retiring at the age of 73. It took Samantha and I four years to get what we called ‘ground zero’ looking a bit like a modern secondary school library. We were battling historical perceptions, a library desperately in need of renovations, and siloed teaching. Add to that departments in competition for budgetary consideration, and it was a perfect setting for malaise. Just before Easter this year, we experienced a breakthrough. Three science teachers brought their year 10 classes to the library for two sessions per class on how to search Google and EPIC databases, and do referencing, I mean WOW! One history teacher, then another, booked their year 9 classes for the same, one was an Assistant Principal who enthusiastically mentioned our work at their Senior Leadership Team meeting. I will now be copied into emails and invited to meetings discussing a new junior curriculum — success!

So how has this wondrous change occurred? Essentially, the planets lined up, it was just timing. Our renovation changed the usability of the library, becoming multi-functional and attractive. Our case for a touchscreen was approved which has become indispensable as an instructive tool, also bestowing street cred on us. Ken Kilpin (Transition to Tertiary Project; Information Literacy Spaces; Massey University) has worked with our teachers during teacher-only days, to increase their understanding of how to build literacy into their classes. He specifically included a session on how to include the librarian in meaningful collaboration. So, baby steps at a frantic pace! My entire Easter was spent desperately preparing for my first information literacy class, first period after Easter (Ken’s session was last period before Easter). This time next year, I hope we’re in a position where collaboration with the library is accepted practice and the discussion with teachers takes place before a class comes to the library. I do not want to be viewed as ‘nice to have’, rather ‘a necessity’, an active collaborator, contributing to the success of our students, otherwise the future looks optional. Stop press! I am now collaborating with a teacher on a Level 3, 4-credit unit — ‘Read Texts to Research Information’. This lovely teacher raved to an Assistant Principal about how good it was that the librarian was an active contributor. Woohoo! Stephanie Gibbons, New Plymouth Boys’ High School

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Collaboration begins with being interested. It can start with simply keeping an ear to the ground and listening to what is going on in your library. When a class is working in your library space, find out what they are studying. When a student is borrowing three books on early modern England, ask them about their assessment, and find out when it starts. Ask lots of questions – show interest – and seek to understand the expected assessment outcomes.

I like this statement from Hilda Weisburg which talks about learning the language of our profession:

It often happens that a class will book the library space and begin studying a new topic that you were unaware was on the learning agenda. This can be annoying… and challenging, if library resources are required. However, communication oversights like this are something we just need to accept and deal with. Get over it – and get to work on it. As Doug Johnson (2018) believes, empowering others should be the source of our power and security. Getting territorial about not being kept in the loop is not going to benefit student learning.

School librarians are an essential part of the education profession. Learning the language of our profession involves getting to know more about teaching and learning practice and investing our time in classroom inquiry and assessment.

When a new learning topic starts up in our library, we make sure we are out there on the library floor. We eavesdrop, we loiter (in a very non-creepy way) and we even grab the odd assessment instructions that get left behind. We begin our own research and learning about the topic requirements. Next time they come in, we’re ready. We are ready to dialogue and to present as many information-rich resources as we can.

REFERENCES

In taking these initial small steps, we have gained the trust of our teaching colleagues. Each new connection has been a step forward in moving our boundaries across the library floor and into the classroom, where the diverse expertise of librarians can be utilised throughout the curriculum.

I joined (library Associations) and went to conferences and programs. There I learned the ‘language’ of our profession, meaning I could speak with authority and conviction about topics relating to school libraries and education. Weisburg, H. (Connections, 2017)

Perhaps it time to start eavesdropping! Michele Coombridge, Epsom Girls Grammar School

Weisburg, H. (2017, Term 2). Retrieved from http://www2. curriculum.edu.au/scis/connections/issue_101/feature_article/ leadership_is_not_optional.html Johnson, D. (2018, May 9). Retrieved from http://doug-johnson. squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2018/5/9/10-traits-of-successfulschool-librarians.html And just because it’s great reading: Hutchinson, E. (2018, May 3). Retrieved from http://www.cilip.org. uk/page/SchoolLibsAprMay18

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Otago Regional Conference SEPTEMBER 28—30, 2018 – DUNEDIN

The SLANZA Otago Committee are delighted to invite you to attend the Otago Regional Conference in September this year. The Conference is being held at Otago Girls’ High School in central Dunedin, a school with a proud tradition of educating girls since 1871. It’s beautiful grounds, historic buildings and views over the city are the perfect setting for what will be a weekend of intellectual stimulation, professional learning, connecting with colleagues and (of course) fun! The Regional Conference format is new for SLANZA and aims to make conferences more accessible for school librarians outside the traditional conference locations of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. SLANZA Otago has held very successful Weekend Schools in Dunedin in 2014 and again in 2016. The Regional Conference will build on these foundations to provide even more speakers and presenters over the course of a weekend. To keep costs to a minimum, the entire conference is being managed by the SLANZA Otago committee and being school librarians ourselves we are confident that we have put together a programme that you will find very valuable.

Registrations will open and a Regional Conference website will be launched in June to keep you up to date with the programme and details about speakers and workshops. In the meantime, announcements will be made via the school libraries email list (‘the listserv’) and your regional SLANZA representatives. So keep an eye on your inbox, put in your request for PD funding to attend, and mark the dates on your calendars.

POINTS THAT WILL CONVINCE YOUR SENIOR MANAGEMENT THAT YOU NEED TO BE AT THIS CONFERENCE:

THE FOLLOWING DETAILS WILL HELP WITH YOUR PLANNING AND BUDGET REQUESTS.

We look forward to welcoming you to Dunedin in September. Bridget Schaumann and Carole Gardiner, Otago Regional Conference Co-conveners

The weekend will begin on Friday 28th September in the early evening with registrations, an excellent Unconference and a high-profile speaker at Otago Girls’ High School accompanied by drinks and nibbles. For those who are able to reach Dunedin on the Friday, this will be an excellent introduction to the venue and a chance to meet old friends and make new ones in a relaxed setting. The conference will be officially opened on the Saturday morning, following any remaining registrations, and the day will feature keynotes, workshop sessions, a chance to talk to our trade exhibitors, the SLANZA 2018 AGM and will conclude with the 2018 SLANZA Awards presentations over drinks and nibbles. For those who are keen, we will be making a dinner reservation at a local eatery so that the fun and socialising can continue. Sunday will feature our final two keynote speakers, more workshops, access to the trade exhibitors, and of course more time to talk libraries with people who ‘get’ libraries.

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Cost of registration for the weekend: $150 for SLANZA members, $200 for non-members.

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This is cutting edge library professional development for a very reasonable price.

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Morning/afternoon teas and lunches will be included as part of your registration. Optional social functions (such as dinner on the Saturday night) are not included in the registration cost and will be at your own expense.

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It provides the chance to meet those at the top of their library game and find out how they make a difference to student achievement in their schools.

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It could help with your software troubles.

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It is a chance to hear and be inspired by national and international speakers.

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It is an opportunity to hear and talk to authors who are writing for young people now.

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It will enable you to find out how to develop and improve your library.

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You will meet other professionals working in school libraries of all kinds.

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It is an excellent opportunity to network, make connections and ask your burning questions in a supportive environment.

• The weekend will begin on the Friday afternoon/ early evening and conclude around 4pm on the Sunday afternoon. •

There is ample accommodation to suit all budgets available in Dunedin close to Otago Girls’ High School. Please make your own accommodation arrangements. We suggest early booking as Dunedin is a busy place.

This weekend will provide the opportunity for your school library team to learn new skills, network with other school librarians, become informed on new library techniques and ways of doing things and to ask questions about library issues.

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

Business Members

Libraries are connecting our kids with Spark Jump LAURENCE ZWIMPFER MNZM – 2020 COMMUNICATIONS TRUST Have you heard about Spark Jump? Spark Jump is the first really affordable pre-pay internet connection for households with children. The cost is only $10 for every 30 GB of data and because it is pre-pay (using Skinny vouchers), families not only avoid fixed monthly internet charges, that typically range from $60 to $160, but also avoid over-use charges. Like pre-pay mobile phones, users simply top-up their accounts with another $10 voucher when their data is used. For the first time, this puts users totally in control of their internet usage. The Spark Foundation provides this highly subsidised service to any household with children up to the age of 18 that doesn’t have an internet connection. The service is widely available in urban as well as rural areas – check out your 4G or 4G700 coverage by entering your address at: https://www.spark.co.nz/shop/internet/wirelessbroadband So what have libraries and librarians got to do with this?

Kiwi-made, dual-language ebooks hit secondary schools Keen on providing students with fun, practical experience in their target language? Now you can do it without the long-haul flight! Little Mouse Co, a global leader for interactive, dual-language ebooks, has released a hotly anticipated school subscription for their library app, Lingogo. Boasting over 10,000 downloads already, Lingogo was developed to give language learners a fun way to practise and maintain motivation. Teachers from as far abroad as Alaska have already expressed interest in the subscriptions. “The rush students feel when they finish one of our ebooks is incredibly powerful (no matter how much they rely on the English). It captures students, it makes them proud and it inspires them to learn more.” Lizzie Dunn, Creator of Lingogo. The unique ebooks showcase an exciting revolution in digital publishing. Upgrades on traditional dual-language books include audio, professional translations as well as literal single word translations, extra translation notes, and screenie rewards.

Accessibility is also a huge pull factor for teachers. Lingogo school subscriptions give students access to a full (and growing) library of ebooks that can be used by multiple students at the same time on both school devices and students’ personal devices. It’s a flexible set-up great for SSR, class activities, and homework. But Dunn explains that the special ingredient is their stories. “Forget the fairy tales and ancient, outdated texts. Our short stories are modern, fun, and full of quirk to keep learners hooked.” Normally $99 per individual, annual school subscriptions start at just $250 NZD providing an affordable option for high schools to get on board, especially when split between libraries and language departments. Lingogo is currently available in Spanish for English speakers. Māori, German, French, and more languages are on the way. School subscriptions are now available to purchase from www.lingogoapp.com/schools.

Someone needs to help families set up their Spark Jump wireless modems and librarians have risen to this challenge. Over 100 public libraries and community technology centres from Kaitaia to Bluff are now helping people in their communities connect to Spark Jump. Like a library book, the modem is provided for free. When families no longer want to use it, they simply return it to their nearest library, where it can be reset remotely, loaded with 30GB data, and become available for re-issue. Since the programme was launched in September 2016, over 1000 families have benefitted from this amazing service. But according to our research, there are another 39,000 families with school-aged children who could benefit, as well as 15,000 families with pre-school children. And this is where collaboration is important. How do families find out about this service? Families who can benefit the most from Spark Jump have often been let down by offers that seem too good to be true. Wisdom tells us that if something seems too good to be true then it probably isn’t true and people need to be wary of such offers. A highly competitive internet industry means that families are constantly being tempted by what seem like attractive offers – bundled services, first 3-months free, first year deeply discounted, no installation costs, etc. But the unwary quickly find out the devil is in the detail – credit checks, term contracts, high break fees, overuse data charges. So naturally, when someone offers a service for just $10, when commercial services are 6 to 10 times higher, there is a degree of suspicion. Who can they trust? Librarians are amongst the top 5 trusted professional groups In January 2018, the Library and Information Association in the UK commissioned a YouGov poll to explore which professional groups the public believe are most likely to provide trustworthy information. The poll revealed that librarians are in the top five1. Medical staff topped the list, with 74% of British adults saying they thought they would provide trustworthy information, followed by teachers and police officers (both at 49%), librarians (46%) and lawyers (39%). Let’s collaborate to connect all households We believe the opportunity to connect every household with children to the internet is truly achievable (and affordable), but it requires ongoing collaboration between suppliers, organisations such as the 20/20 Trust and local communities but most importantly trusted intermediaries such as librarians. To find out more go to our website: https://2020.org.nz/programmes/spark-jump/ 1

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Nick Poole, Do People Trust Librarians? Libraries Taskforce, Gov.UK January 2018 https://librariestaskforce.blog.gov.uk/2018/02/21/do-people-trust-librarians/

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Business Members

School libraries can lead the way in building a whole-school culture of collaboration

The ability of the school librarian to work across all areas of the curriculum and to nurture students’ enthusiasm for learning beyond the scope of individual subjects is unique among educators and deserves to be highlighted. LearnPath helps position teacher librarians as collaboration leaders within the school, by promoting them as knowledge specialists who are skilled at selecting the most appropriate content to support a variety of educational outcomes.

The topic of collaboration between school library staff and other educators as well as the broader school community comes up so often that in 2017, we decided to dedicate a section of Softlink’s annual Australian and New Zealand School Library Survey to gathering respondents’ opinions and examples of best practice in this area.

With LearnPath, you can produce structured learning guides related to curriculum, assessment tasks, faculty, special events or any other topic using text, images, embedded digital and interactive resources, links to books in your library, and other content.

We received many responses, which together provide a picture of how school libraries are successfully driving school-wide collaboration. The responses also offer some insight into what remains to be done towards building and maintaining collaborative best practices. In this article, we share some of the comments from respondents working in New Zealand schools. LEADING FROM THE LIBRARY – CLARITY AND FOCUS ARE KEY Again and again, respondents expressed the importance of communicating clearly with their teaching colleagues and offering them targeted resources to save time and support teaching and learning objectives. “I believe that a proactive, collaborative approach is the key to a school community seeing value in a well-staffed school library.” – survey respondent from New Zealand “I try to communicate with staff and offer our services. I contact them each term to find out what topics they will be studying so that I can ensure we have resources. I also offer curated content.” – survey respondent from New Zealand “Our teachers come to the library staff for help when preparing research topics and the library staff work with them to develop online scaffolds. Often the library staff will take lesson starters as well.” – survey respondent from New Zealand

FIND OUT MORE Read more about how schools are using LearnPath in these case studies from Brighton Grammar School, Australia and European School RheinMain, Germany. To see more survey responses and examples of collaborative practice for school libraries, please access our whitepaper ‘School libraries share ideas for school-wide collaboration’ from the resources page of the Softlink website. The full 2017 Australian and New Zealand School Library Survey Report is also available. To contact Softlink: w: softlinkint.com/edu e: communications@softlinkint.com p: 0800 47 63 85 (Freecall NZ) Twitter: @SoftlinkEdu

“I work with classroom teachers when they are doing research projects with their class to help students to make the best use of our resources.” – survey respondent from New Zealand “I would like to have more opportunity to collaborate with staff on inquiry topics.” – survey respondent from New Zealand Overwhelmingly, school library staff say they are eager to work more closely with others within the school and proactively seek out ways to share their specialist skills and knowledge with teachers and other staff. A LIBRARY SYSTEM THAT RESPONDS TO YOUR EVOLVING NEEDS As a library and education software provider, Softlink works to develop solutions that meet and exceed the evolving needs and objectives of school libraries. For example, recent changes to the Oliver v5 library system include the introduction of dynamic, interest-based recommendations presented in a simple, visually appealing interface. Feedback from our customers indicates these changes have helped them boost engagement with the library and its resources by providing a more personalised library experience for students. SIMPLE CONTENT CURATION FOR ENHANCED COLLABORATION Softlink’s newest product, LearnPath, facilitates the collaborative role of librarians by simplifying the task of content curation. LearnPath provides direct access to library and online resources grouped together based on a specific interest, topic or learning objective and presented in a clear, organised format that is easy for teachers, students and other users to navigate.

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Business Members

INFORMATION LITERACY. Richer Through Collaboration ANNA NEYLAND – ACCESSIT LIBRARY INFORMATION LITERACY - MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER BEFORE Today we are all faced with a never-ending stream of information demanding our attention. The skills to absorb and reflect on the validity and relevance of this material have become more than just good-to-knows, they are necessities. Unfortunately, with today’s packed curriculum, information literacy has become an assumed skill, rather than something developed and strengthened throughout a student’s schooling. More often than not, it lands on librarians to introduce these skills; however, instead of being able to flesh out these concepts slowly, librarians are often burdened with packing these life-skills into a few “how-to” library sessions.

Business Members Amy has found Accessit to be a great classroom and teaching resource. “We used Accessit to support the level 3 literature resource standard. The standard requires students to find and use reliable and appropriate sources to develop a hypothesis, much like a first-year University paper. My class received 83% Excellence (with the remainder of students attaining Merit). The national average for Excellence in that standard is just 28.4%. When I asked the students how we aced it, they replied with two things – our focus and learning in class and One Search.” In creating lessons where the students practice these research skills, you’ll begin to empathise with the steps it takes for students to effectively complete those parts of an assignment that normally go unseen. Not only that, but your students’ reflections on the information they found, can help to inform just how much instruction they need on future research projects, and on the different resource formats they might encounter in the library – making the overarching learning so much more valuable. If you’re keen to learn more about how Accessit can make this librarian/teacher collaboration easy, book a FREE online demonstration. Email: info@accessitlibrary.com To learn more about Accessit and our story, please visit our website: accessitlibrary.com

If information literary is introduced too late into a child’s education (and then scarcely revisited), the library quickly becomes a place of anxiety – a maze of complicated rules. Not only that, but in this age of immediacy, information that isn’t literally at your fingertips is deemed too far away. No wonder so many students will settle for the top three returns on a Google search, or go on a panicked library spree, gathering a large amount of broadly related resources, instead of a narrow selection of relevant ones. So, how can we introduce these skills earlier so that students don’t have to face these challenges alone? How can we encourage students to see the library as the central hub of relevant, easy-to-find information? And how can we avoid the issue of the “copy-paster”? THE ANSWERS LIE IN COLLABORATION Information literacy needs to become a school-wide and even curriculum-wide project. Teacher/librarian collaboration (in equal partnership) needs to become the norm, where information literacy learning strategies are regularly and intentionally incorporated into lessons from an early age. However, it goes even deeper than that. Many library-anxious children grow up to become teachers who also need instruction on strategies for effective research, to pass on to their students. By encouraging good research habits early, you are stopping the cycle of libraryanxiety at its root, and fostering life-long learning (not to mention the next generation of librarians!). Fortunately, Accessit makes teacher/librarian collaboration easy. With instructional Web App “how to” videos, students and teachers are encouraged to make the most of every research tool available to them. And since the Accessit Web App is accessible from any device, students and teachers can search the extensive catalogue, write reviews, and share resources with each other from anywhere, at any time. Teachers and librarians can collaborate over the creation of class-specific Reading Lists to aid research; and with Web App Circulation, the librarian can even visit classes with a selection of relevant resources, issuing to students on the spot. Not only that, but since Accessit creates citations for you, students can easily avoid the temptation to plagiarise – and instead focus on the ‘whys’ of the referencing, rather than the ‘hows’.

RESOURCES Dahlgreen, MaryKay (2017). What Collaboration Means to Me: Playing Well With Others. Collaborative Librarianship, 9(4), 238-341. https:// digitalcommons. du.edu/collaborativelibrarianship/vol9/iss4/2 Garvey, Maureen; Hays, Anne; and Stempler, Amy F. (2017). A Collaborative Intervention: Measuring the Impact of a Flipped Classroom Approach on Library One-shots for the Composition Classroom. Collaborative Librarianship, 9(4), 259-280. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/ collaborativelibrarianship/vol9/iss4/5

ACCESSIT ONE SEARCH - A TEACHER’S BEST FRIEND

Long, Deborah (2007). Increasing Literacy in the High School Library: Collaboration Makes It Happen. Teacher Librarian 35(1), 13-17.

Of course, it is the Accessit One Search tool that really enables students to quickly and reliably access academic articles and information on a topic with just a few simple clicks. Amy Featonby, former Assistant Head of English at Cambridge High School, agrees. “Accessit is a gateway to knowledge that allows me to extend my students. Initially, it seemed like something more for librarians – I was wrong! It has really helped my teaching, and my students’ grades are the proof that it’s making a real difference,” says Amy.

Morrison, Katherine; Watkins, Alexander. (2015). Can only Librarians do Library Instruction? Collaborating with Graduate Students to Teach Discipline- Specific Information Literacy. The Journal of Creative Library Practice. http://creativelibrarypractice.org/2015/02/27/can-onlylibrarians-do-library- instruction/

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THE SHADOW HERO // ISBN-13: 978-1596436978 – BY GENE LUEN YANG AND SONNY LIEW, FIRST SECOND It is May 2018 as I write this and it has been 80 years since the first superhero comic, “Action Comics 1”, starring Superman, was published. An important day for geeks like me! Superman became a best-selling character within the first two years of its introduction, leading to an animated movie series, a weekly radio show, a syndicated comic strip and huge numbers of toy and merchandising deals. Superman comics have been continuously published since 1939.

Contains Graphic Content THE NEW DEAL // ISBN-13: 978-1616557317 – BY JONATHAN CASE, DARK HORSE ORIGINALS I first encountered Jonathon Case’s artwork on a non-fiction graphic novel called “The Green River Killer”. The true story of an American serial killer, Case handled the macabre requirements of the series in an understated and non-sensational way. When I saw that he had both written and drawn a new graphic novel called “The New Deal” I was keen, and the 1930s setting sealed the deal.

strive for the super realistic depiction of life, but he manages to create mood, character and style with a minimal line. He doesn’t use colour but uses a light blue tone to give atmosphere to the story. An attention to period detail and the insertion of 30s elements add to the realism. His depiction of life for the working classes is well done and he’s not afraid to confront the racial attitudes of the time.

Set in and around the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York in the 1930s, it’s a tale of crime, revenge and romance. Frankie is a bellboy at the Waldorf, who is in debt to a world travelling bigshot, who has just returned to the hotel along with his Melanesian treasures. Frankie is keen on a maid at the hotel —Theresa, who is an aspiring actress. Another new guest at the hotel is the charming Mrs Brooks, a well–to-do socialite.

For all its serious trappings there are moments of fun and adventure, and Frankie and Theresa are winning characters. Even when they are forced to test their moral limits, the reader wants them to succeed and even though there are a few moments when it seems that things are a little over the top, the characters make it all seem right.

Suddenly there are jewel thefts in the hotel and suspicion falls on Theresa. She knows about Frankie’s debt and suspects him. After that initial confusion, Frankie and Theresa decide to find out who the real thief is. This leads them into temptation and adventure. Case’s drawing style is light and airy and he makes the 30s setting come alive. He doesn’t

How it all works out in the end is really cleverly done, with a few surprises that make for an excellent conclusion. I’d recommend The New Deal for more senior readers, who may appreciate the depth and a little historical veracity. Reviewed by Greig Daniels, Tokomairiro High School

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Many publishing companies saw the huge amount of money DC Comics was making with Superman and leapt on the super hero bandwagon. Every young man and young woman with the ability to draw had his own superhero and publishing companies bought them and published them with abandon. By 1944 there were literally hundreds of superhero characters and some of them were pretty awful and/or off the wall. Ron Goulart called them “second banana” superheroes and this fits many of the characters. Craig Yoe, comics historian, has recently published a book on these characters called “Super Weird Heroes”, which revels in the adventures of these second rate and quirky superheroes. One of these heroes, now in the public domain, was the Green Turtle, a character that appeared in only five stories over a short period of time. Of interest today, is that he was created by an Asian American cartoonist and featured an Asian setting, Asian characters, and use of Chinese text in a time when racial identity and diversity were not encouraged. Seemingly, a brief blip in the history of comics, but Asian American comics creator Gene Luen Yang has decided to reinvent the Green Turtle for a modern audience in the graphic novel “The Shadow Hero”. In concert with artist Sonny Liew, he creates a believable story of a flawed young man taking on a heroic role. There are some lovely human and humorous moments in the story, with a touch of romance to offset the super heroics. The setting of Chinatown in the 40s with its sharply divided culture and mores makes a great background for our hero’s journey.

The threat of the oncoming racial divisions of World War Two casts a shadow over the narrative that while not darkening the story, adds a degree of realism to it. In the world of young Hank, superheroes have arrived, but their look and background do not reflect his experience of growing up in Chinatown. Hank wants to follow in his storekeeper father’s footsteps, but his mother wants to bond with her son, and so hits on the idea of encouraging him to be a superhero. His initial exploits are funny and somewhat embarrassing and he tries to please his mother, who inspires him to become the “Golden Man of Bravery”. There is a strong bond between father and son, and when the father is killed by local criminals, his world is uprooted. But his father carries a secret. He has been host to a spirit guide and the guide passes to Hank on his death. The spirit guide then gives Hank the power of being bulletproof and he tries to capture his father’s killer. The task of being a superhero is now in deadly earnest and he becomes the Green Turtle. His investigations lead him into contact with the local underworld, and its secret leader. This leader’s daughters are trained as his bodyguards and there is an irresistible attraction between Hank and one of the daughters. His life as a hero is further complicated by his grieving mother who wants him to stop being a hero, now he is the only member of her family left. The story is told with a light touch and a great sense of humour. Hank’s mother is a force of nature as she tries to make him a superhero, leading to some great moments. There is bit of sentiment later but her character is both charming and funny. Also along for the ride is Hank’s Uncle Wun Too, who provides a satirical commentary as the events unfold. Hank uses his powers to defeat the villain and he is victorious in the end. The story is left wide open for further adventures.

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Sonny Liew, a Malaysian artist, has a really nice cartoony style that suits both heroics and humour. His character drawings are well observed and there are some great action moments. He manages to catch Hank and his spirit’s manic energy and does well with the martial arts style fight scenes. His style is perfectly suited to Yang’s narrative. I also enjoyed Liew’s work With Paul Levitz on DC Comics Dr. Fate series, another ethnically diverse superhero, whose alter ego is an Islamic medical student. Darker in tone than the Green Turtle, it is still a series worth reading. The trade paperback version collects the 5 issues of the series, and reprints one Green Turtle adventure from the 1940s. Due to its wartime era publication there are some unfortunate, and offensive, racial caricatures of the Japanese. Yang provides an essay to put these into context. I hope Luen Yang and Liew get together for more adventures of the Green Turtle and his great supporting cast. Reviewed by Greig Daniels, Tokomairiro High School

A SEVEN LETTER WORD – BY KIM SLATER Reviewed by Jackie Cameron, Frankley School At first sight, this seems to be simply a story about a Scrabble playing boy called Finlay whose mum has left the family. Finlay’s story is far more complex than that though.

Book Reviews Overcoming Adversity – two reviews At a time when we are aware that children, even of primary school age, are examining their self-image and not always liking what they see, at our school we have recently been promoting two books about overcoming adversity. In each of these the main character suffers from physical and emotional difficulties and is inevitably the brunt of negative attention. Being written in the first person brings out an extra degree of empathy in the reader. Finlay and Melody are surrounded by people who both gladden and sadden their lives. They crave acceptance and assimilation within their age group but more often than not, feel invisible. The similarities don’t end there though as both Finlay and Melody enter a competition – with different outcomes.

Finlay stutters. Although his words and sentences sound just fine in his head, he has great (and emotionally painful) difficulty uttering a full sentence. This brings with it difficulties in communication at home, and at school his life is made totally miserable by the taunts and bullying he encounters on a daily basis. Add to this Finlay’s confusion about why his mum has left home, and his endeavours to find out why: it seems no wonder that he buries himself in online Scrabble.

The author cleverly draws us into Finlay’s life and emotional self with the diary format she has chosen to use. Finlay’s journal is a disused notebook that belonged to his mother and the whole story is written in first person present tense ‘letters’ to her. An online friendship with Scrabble-playing Alex is at times simply a fun challenge, but Finlay begins to wonder if his new friend might be the key to helping him find his mum. Entering a state Scrabble challenge may also be a way to reach out to her so Finlay partners up with Maryam, who because of her cultural background is herself the brunt of upsetting racist remarks.

The empathy these two characters display should be enough to change bully Oliver’s mind-set, but it seems not… until the Scrabble competition. This book would be enjoyed by any Year 5–10 student, but those facing personal difficulty in their school and family lives will definitely relate to Finlay, and I hope, his ability to overcome the problems life is throwing at them. An AWESOME (12) read. Finlay managed higher 7 letter scores than this, but for this reviewer, AWESOME says it all.

Although neither book is new (“Out of My Mind” was published in 2010 and “A Seven Letter Word” in 2016), they are perhaps even more pertinent to the lives of our Year 5–10 students now than ever before. - Jackie Cameron

THE HATE U GIVE – PUBLISHER, BALZER + BRAY, 2017

OUT OF MY MIND – BY SHARON DRAPER

Reviewed by Greig Daniels, Tokomairiro High School

Reviewed by Jackie Cameron, Frankley School ‘Words. I’m surrounded by thousands of words. Maybe millions. Cathedral. Mayonnaise. Pomegranate. Mississippi. Neapolitan. Hippopotamus. Silky. Terrifying. Iridescent. Tickle. Sneeze. Wish. Worry. Words have always swirled around me like snowflakes—each one delicate and different, each one melting untouched in my hands.’ Such a wonderful way to be drawn into the first chapter of this book and although Melody has been surrounded by words from her loving parents and the inimitable babysitting Mrs V (from next door) all her life, at almost 11, she herself has never spoken a single word. Melody also loves the music her parents play. It appears in her mind as colours and smells. As we begin to read more about her we find that Melody’s is no ordinary life. She is trapped in her body by cerebral palsy and apart from uncontrollable flappings, squeals and grunts, she has no way of communicating her wealth of sorrow, joy and emotion to those about her. Her feelings of inadequacy are intensified when a ‘perfect’ little baby sister comes into her world.

Melody has always been in the ‘special’ class at school where there is little intellectual stimulus for her. She is resigned to being expected to attempt what she considers to be inane tasks, view constant re-runs of movies she has far outgrown, and out in the playground she feels totally isolated. After school every day, she goes to Mrs V’s until her parents return from work. This wonderful presence in Melody’s life creates a word board which begins to unlock her ability to communicate. Things change exponentially though when she enters fifth grade. Not only does she receive an electric wheel chair, but she is invited to attend ‘inclusion’ classes with a young university student at her side as her support person. The down side of being with ‘normal’ kids is that she meets the very worst of the discrimination she has encountered to date with words like ‘retard’ being whispered behind her back, but this is balanced by her exciting discovery of assistive technology. With her new computer Melody takes on the world AND the school team for the WhizzKids quiz!

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Just when she thinks that her life is finally improving, two mean and unfortunate twists occur which could set her emotional state right back to square one. But Melody is nothing if not resilient. This could be a great class or parent read aloud, but as an affirmational story about overcoming adversity, appreciation for it is evident in the number of times it is being issued in our library.

I chose to read this because of the subject matter of racism, but ended up being moved by the story and identifying with its well drawn characters.

This book has garnered some controversy, but I found it a moving read as the traumatised Starr is forced to re-examine all the things she believes.

It’s a topical American novel, which centres on the “Black Lives Matter” movement and examines racism, and the institutionalised racism of the American legal system.

Her family is portrayed in a realistic manner as is the neighbourhood she lives in. Poverty, crime, gang influence, blended families and police attitudes are all examined and while the book doesn’t pretend to make any attempt to solve the problems, the author does portray things in a relatively realistic way. She tries to help us understand the black reaction to these events and doesn’t spare characters. Starr’s father is a man who has made mistakes, who tends to see violence and anger as a way to solve things but is deeply committed to helping his community move away from gang domination and poverty. Her mother is a moderating influence and Starr has strong loving relationships within her family with her brother, half-brother, uncle and cousins.

Starr is an intelligent 16 year old, who shifts easily between her upper middle class school and her home in a poor black neighbourhood. She attends a local party and leaves with a young man, an old friend, and on the way to her home they are stopped by police. The kerbside incident ends in tragedy with the young man being shot dead by the police. The ensuing events and trauma upends her life everywhere, calling into question her relationships with her school friends, her white boyfriend, her extended family and the community she lives in. The media portrays the young man as a drug dealer and gang member, with the incident turning into a media circus. The police try to protect their own, and Starr questions whether she is brave enough to stand up to the harsh issues involved in speaking out about the crime.

Her white school friends are generally portrayed in a reasonably balanced way though the author does tend to emphasise their ignorance of the realities and history of the black experience. However, she also realises that there are a lot more factors at work here than racism, and that those

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are social, economic and political. Starr’s reaction to her friends’ attitudes is not one of judgement, but of confusion — a more realistic attitude for a young teenager. She seems to be saying “How can they ignore the basic injustice of a young man being killed for no reason apart from fear and assumptions about race and community?”. I think the author gives a realistic portrait of Starr’s life and reactions and of the opening of her eyes to the bigger issues. Starr realises that standing up and speaking out is important. I would recommend “The Hate U Give” to older readers, as there is some strong language, and some confronting situations.

The added glossary at the back of this book enables you to interpret and understand the many Māori words through the story.

Region News

CUZ – BY LIZ VAN DER LAARSE Reviewed by Annette McKitrick, Waimea Intermediate School When cousins River and Huia meet up again in their teens, they realize their lives have taken very different paths. Huia has been deeply immersed in her Māori culture (tikanga Māori). River, a lover of surfing, fishing and hunting, has been brought up by his hippy mother. When a family tragedy takes place they both learn to lean on each other’s life skills to survive.

The author has also added a list of edible native plants and survival information offering not just a great story but Social Studies lessons at the same time. This book is a great addition to any school library.

THUNDERHEAD – BY NEAL SHUSTERMAN Reviewed by Clare Forrest, Raroa Normal Intermediate So, if you haven’t read Scythe yet, best you do. Because this review has spoilers about the first book in Neal Shusterman’s excellent dystopian trilogy. So you’d have to STOP READING NOW, because it is one of those series that captures the imagination of both teens and adults. A book that gets borrowed by staff and then finds its way into their grownup book clubs, until it is tattered and read many times. A book that kids buy their own copies of because it’s taking too long to wait for in the reserve queue, and then carry around under their arm proudly so everyone can see what they’re reading. That sort of book! So, if you’ve read it, read on. I often find the second book in a trilogy, especially one I’ve loved, somewhat disappointing. Too many of my expectations for the author to live up to, but Thunderhead is not one of those let down sequels. If anything, I enjoyed it even more than Scythe — partly because I got to spend more time with characters I had grown fond of and invested in, but mainly because it developed the role of the artificial intelligence being Thunderhead in an intriguing and decidedly creepy way. Not to mention the wonderful twists (of which I will reveal nothing, it really would spoil it for you) that kept happening right to the thrilling finale.

Rowan and Citra carry on their roles as gleaners (see, that sentence alone would have revealed too much if you hadn’t taken my advice) but in very different ways. Rowan has gone rogue and become a vigilante, hiding from the Scythedom and permanently killing off corrupt and cruel scythes. Citra is trying to change the failing system from within, carrying on her gleaning with dignity and humanity. But the star of the show for me is the Thunderhead, the all-knowing artificial intelligence that started it all and set its own rules denying itself the right to interfere with the Scythe’s ways. Even though it knows it’s not working. Even though it knows disaster lies ahead. Even though it knows there might be a way to help. Maybe.

AUCKLAND

Other lessons and reminders to take away from the session were:

Auckland is the largest region (by number of members) in SLANZA and we like to try to offer our members at least two opportunities per term to gather together and spend some time networking and learning. Consequently, we offered two events in the first term this year. First the wonderful Annie White (Takapuna Grammar) presented “Not- Just another display”. Here is Karen Leahy’s (Kelston Boys High) report. “This year, the first PD session from SLANZA Auckland was “Not – Just Another Display” on 21st February. This practical hands-on workshop was taken by the inimitable Annie White from Takapuna Grammar and kindly hosted by Joanna Baynes at King’s School in Remuera.

• “Selling the sizzle, not the sausage” – say what the book can do for the reader in order to sell it •

You can’t beat face-out display

•

Using reader comments with display books can help sell them

•

Be imaginative with what you include in topic displays e.g. mix fiction and non-fiction

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Have more generic display themes. (I particularly liked a display headliner G.R.I.T. Guts-Resilience- Initiative-Tenacity which immediately translated to a booklist from my catalogue.)

My head was spinning with all the things I wanted to do as a result of Annie’s session and that’s the way you know that you’ve been professionally developed! Great work, Annie.”

Annie acknowledged the work and inspiration of Rachel Van Riel and used some of her concepts and examples in the slides that accompanied her talk. The presentation was followed by demonstrations of Annie’s handcraft prowess punctuated by witty and amusing comments that kept the audience highly entertained. We were all “wowed” by the amazing large posters Annie had created using the Rasterbator site (rasterbator.net) to enlarge and print a picture onto multiple A3 sheets which she had then joined with double-sided tape. Paper sculpture also provided materials for displays – some patterns are available on the internet. Large inexpensive wooden letters available now from stockists of cheap imported items can also be effective either on an empty shelf or within a display. Lastly it was our turn to fashion rats out of plasticine, flowers from pipe cleaners and tissue, 3D displays from cardboard etc in order to give us some confidence in trying to be more imaginative. Anne O’Brien of the Auckland Writers Festival

Highly recommended!

Our second event was held at Epsom Girls’ Grammar (thank you Michele Coombridge and Debbie Horrocks), “An evening with Anne O’Brien”. Anne is Festival Director of the Auckland Writers Festival and she entertained us with stories about writers, and how she and her team put together the Writers Festival each year. The work and planning is enormous, and being able to negotiate with publishers, writers, patrons and sponsors is a huge task. Anne was an entertaining speaker and we all enjoyed hearing her speak. This year’s festival took place from Wednesday May 16th to Sunday May 20th.

Annie White

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Trish Webster Auckland Representative to the SLANZA National Executive

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TE TAI TOKERAU Our Term 1 event was called “Changing Practices in our School Libraries” and was a discussion on how we could work smarter and help one another strengthen our practices and enable a better use of our time. With the goal to be a reader-centred school library, we need to frequently assess our services to determine their relevance and impacts. We discussed our library practices and asked whether we still needed to do them. We also looked at procedures we had adapted or eliminated from our work and shared what we are doing and why. This event was held at Kamo Primary School in Whangarei, and although there were only six of us there was a lively and informative discussion. I will be sharing the same professional development session up in Kaitaia during May. Later in the term, on Saturday 23 June, we are holding our AGM, wedged between two great presentations to entice our members along to Whangarei. Starting the event at 10:00am, Wheelers will showcase their library ePlatform, covering both ebooks and audible books. This will be followed by our AGM then morning tea. Next, Megan Davidson from Westlake Girls’ High School, North Shore, will demonstrate the art of book talking. Megan was recently selected to participate in the World Booktalk Championship Competition and we know this will be an engaging and inspiring session relevant to all year levels. Julia Smith Te Tai Tokerau Representative to the SLANZA National Executive

OTAGO The committee has been busy organising the SLANZA Otago Regional Conference which will be held in Dunedin from Friday 28th to Sunday 30th of September. The venue is at the beautiful historic campus of Otago Girls’ High School, which is located centrally in Dunedin and is close to accommodation options as well as city facilities. Confirmed speakers so far include Bill Manhire, and Joan McKenzie (Whitcoulls), with more to be announced soon. Cost of attendance has been set at $150 for SLANZA members and $200 for non-members. Our last session together was in November at Otago Boys’ High School and featured another ‘Best Books of 2017’ session. This is always popular with our members and was a great way for us to end the busy year. A good turnout with lots of great book discussions. Carole Gardiner creates a reading list from this, and other events, which we feature on Pinterest for our members to follow up.

The first event in 2018 was on the 10th April at Otago Girls’ High School and we had Nicky Page from the Dunedin City of Literature speaking to us about ways schools can be involved in this exciting initiative. Planning is going ahead for Term 2’s event and our AGM. Lynn Vare Otago Representative to the SLANZA National Executive

WAIKATO AND BAY OF PLENTY I turned on my air conditioning in the library yesterday and it is May! It is hot up in the north, and it is hot in our library region. Whether you are beaching up in the Coromandel, puffing up The Mount, walking around the Tron, dodging the steam in Rotorua, being mesmerised by the lake in Taupo, following the mighty Waikato River on your bike to Tokorua , dining in cafes in Cambridge or jigging on your trolley at Taumaranui ,you will find us all hard at work in our school libraries.

WELLINGTON

AORAKI

Wellington SLANZA celebrated the end of 2017 with a presentation by Phil Clarke and Ros Booker, librarians from the IHC Library. This library is a wonderful resource for families and schools alike — it’s free to join for anyone over the age of 18 and the only cost involved is getting the books back to the library in Willis Street in Wellington. It has a huge number of resources about people with disabilities of all types, and much specialist knowledge in this area.

Aoraki SLANZA got together for a Paper Plus evening in March. Our beloved Merivale Paper Plus store is no more, but the owners and most of the staff are now out at the Hornby branch so it was a trip out of town for the Christchurch locals. Nowhere is really very far in Christchurch and a good number turned up for the company, great books to nose around in and discuss, publishers’ talks, and snacks. The newer store was lovely and it’s always great to catch up with other librarians from around the area. We all also enjoyed the “goodie bags” and giveaway books – many thanks to Simon and the fabulous staff at Paper Plus Hornby.

We are part of “Chiefs” country and we work hard, play hard and as school librarians do all we can to promote our libraries as the learning and community hubs of our school. SLANZA Waikato/BOP has worked hard this year to ensure that this continues for our members and are making sure that they are equipped to make it happen. In Term one we planned and presented a large event with Steph Ellis and Michelle Simms entitled “What makes our library come alive”. This was exceptionally well received. Term two we ran a session on “Fake News” with Shem Banbury and Term three will see us visiting Thames for our “Café, Collections and Conversations”. Term four will be the first of our “Living Library” tours visiting historical sites in the Waipa District. We have 13 members on our committee who work hard to make it all happen!

Buying evening at PaperPlus, Lower Hutt

Our first event in Term 1 for 2018 was a fun discount book night at Paper Plus Lower Hutt, with lots of freebies provided, and a great time having the run of the book shop, followed by dinner at a local restaurant. It was a relaxed and enjoyable get together. Our AGM for 2018 is scheduled for 6 June 3.45pm at Tawa College, with a guest speaker to be confirmed.

We are in a state of great excitement as we start to plan the regional conference for 2019. It will be called “Words of Knowledge”. You can explore the wonders of our region mentioned above and journey with us as we continue to promote and nurture librarians in Aotearoa.

Sadly, two committee members have recently retired from the committee. Rosalba Finnerty, SLANZA archivist and stalwart of the committee for many years, has stood down and will be sorely missed. Jenny Carroll from Wellington Girls’ College has retired after a long career in school libraries and has great plans for enjoying her welldeserved retirement. We wish them both all the best If any members would like to join the committee, I can highly recommend it. It is a great way to meet fellow friendly school librarians and learn from each other.

Glenys Bichan Waikato /BOP Representative to the SLANZA National Executive

Clare Forrest Chairperson, Wellington Region Committee

We also have written to all school principals in the region offering our support and advice to those librarians who function in isolation, hoping to mentor and support them.

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This term the committee is organising a professional development day to run in June. These annual full-day events are well attended and received, with members often travelling from Timaru, Ashburton and even the West Coast. This year’s theme is “Making the most of Digital resources” and we’re harnessing local talent to provide workshops throughout the day for librarians working with the various age groups as well as a range of speakers. The line-up looks so interesting, most of the people involved with presenting are wishing they could go to the other workshops! As the day is so full and people don’t get many opportunities to catch up, debrief, and share ideas, the day can be extended with everyone invited to the first “Pubrarians” event of the year at a local bar. There should be plenty to discuss! We do worry about our far-flung members. With Aoraki region extending through Marlborough, West Coast and South Canterbury it is difficult to maintain meaningful contact with members around the more distant schools. The regional committee plans to send material and resources from our PD day out to members who haven’t been able to attend. The Committee extends thanks to Book Protection Products for sponsorship which will enable us to have a great keynote speaker at the PD day. Sally Stanley-Boden Aoraki Representative to the SLANZA National Executive

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CENTRAL

SOUTHLAND

Tēnā koutou katoa!

To finish off the 2017 year we had a fun evening at the launch of “The Great Escape” Summer Reading programme. We had a “Breakout” activity and Christmas nibbles, courtesy of Kirsty and Lisa, at James Hargest High School. The event was shared with the local public libraries from the Southland towns and regions.

Our lovely Central region is diverse and widespread, from the “outy” bit in Taranaki, to the “innie” bit of Hawkes Bay, down through the beautiful Whanganui to Manawatu and part of Wairarapa as well. Much like our diverse land, our schools and librarians are also diverse, with many rural schools, that may not have librarians, to schools in our main centres. The spread out nature of our region means that we grapple with that hoary old chestnut, how do we keep in contact and support one another? We have previously had regional PD days on Saturdays once per term, but at our planning day in January, we decided to reduce this to two per year and focus on building local library support hubs. Watch out for an event near you, and if one isn’t happening, why not decide to make one happen? Email any committee member for support and we’ll do our best to help organise it with you. Our current committee is comprised of: • Stephanie Gibbons - Chairperson (New Plymouth) stephanie.gibbons@npbhs.school.nz • Karen Carswell - Secretary (Havelock North) karen.carswell@woodford.school.nz • Judine Knowles - Treasurer (Palmerston North) jknowles@pnins.school.nz • Sasha Eastwood-Bennitt (Fielding) library@manchesterstreet.school.nz •

Ngaio Blackwood (Napier) nblackwood@nbhs.school.nz

•

Bev Harrison (Hastings) harrison.b.a@lindisfarne.school.nz

• Suzette Stephens (Fielding/Marton) stephenssuzette@ngatawa.school.nz If you would like to be part of the team to take SLANZA Central forward, keeping it vibrant and relevant in meeting the needs of our members, we would love to have you join the Committee. It isn’t arduous and we always enjoy spending time together when we do. In May we held our AGM, followed by Gareth (the great Wardini) and Louise Ward — a great double act who thoroughly entertained us. Gareth spoke about the background to his book The Traitor and the Thief, performed a cunning rope trick and was then followed by the effervescent Louise with some passionate booktalking. Ngaio organised a meet and greet in Napier towards the end of Term One and New Plymouth held an impromptu pub greet during the holidays.

On the 19th March this year we held a book buying evening in conjunction with Invercargill Paper Plus. There were publishing representatives there who spoke about the latest titles just out or coming out this year. This evening was very well attended and it was so good to be able have a good buy-up at the beginning of the year when we have budgets to do so. We were also spoilt with drinks and nibbles. It was a great way to partner with a local business and have the whole shop to ourselves. “The Reading Cup” tournament for Year 9 students is to be held at the end of June and we have seven schools entered. Our AGM was held on the 10th May and as part of that we had a presentation by Karen Trebilcock (aka Ella West). Karen discussed her books and the background to them. There were lively discussions and lots of questions covering everything from writing styles, good young adult reads to areas of New Zealand that Karen had lived in which influenced her stories. The current office bearers are continuing in their roles. At the conclusion of the AGM we went out for a lovely meal and further friendly socialising. The proposed upcoming professional development includes a session with the librarians from Invercargill Public Library on AnyQuestions. For some of our new members this will be most beneficial. There is also a road trip to Wakatipu High School Library, in Queenstown to take a look around that school’s new modern learning space. The support of Book Protection Products is once again greatly appreciated to help us with our PD events. Jay Shaw Southland Representative to the SLANZA National Executive

WHY SHOULD YOU JOIN SLANZA The benefits of membership include: SLANZA is committed to providing quality professional development opportunities to its members, and we are very grateful for the ongoing sponsorship of professional development provided by Book Protection Products. This sponsorship is invaluable and greatly appreciated by the National Executive as it significantly broadens options for regional committees. The funding provided by Warick Ashton and his team goes to the regional committees so they can organise professional development sessions that will fulfill your personal learning needs. Please continue to support Book Protection Products as they are SLANZA’s major sponsor, and if you have an idea or topic for professional development in your area, let your committee know!

Connection and networking with other school library staff locally Discounted conference and professional development registrations Support for school libraries at a national level Opportunities to gain skills and professional development from people who do what you do Opportunity to apply for the SLANZA awards Opportunity to apply for study grant assistance with library–related studies Permission to use the cover images of publications of major publishing houses Access to the LIANZA professional registration scheme Access to our collection of Professional Development eBooks Fee-free study opportunities with the Open Polytechnic

BUSINESS MEMBERSHIP Business members support the work of SLANZA. Current members are: Premier Professional Development sponsor – Book Protection Products Top Shelf Members – Hydestor Manufacturing Ltd, Kowhai Media (NZ Geographic and Mana), 2020 Communications Trust, Softlink Pacific, Syba Signs, Accessit, All Books New Zealand Ltd Circulator Members – Library Plus Echelon Productions

NEWS + CONTACT If you’re not sure who does what or who can help you, check out our Contact page on our website. It links to all region representatives. Follow our blog for up to date information Like our Facebook page, and follow us on Twitter

Reserved Member – Cengage Periodical Members – Antac Open Source Solutions E–Learning for Business and Education

I’d like to welcome Christina Bate, Rachel Black, Lisa Floyd and Hannah Cooper to Central SLANZA, all new or newish members this year. Stephanie Gibbons Central Representative to the SLANZA National Executive

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