Ideas, Innovations, and Initiatives for your School Library. (Otherwise known as the best of the best for you to take and adapt)

School libraries and the qualified staff who operate them are often places of innovation, flexibility and bright ideas. They are also places of great generosity and sharing of ideas. This presentation will share with the attendees many of the practices, projects, initiatives that I’ve seen over my time as a teacher librarian, ranging from when I first took a temp position at a selective girls high school through to being Head of Library at a prestigious inner Sydney school.

How do you start building a reading culture?

How do you get the parents into the library and to support the library, how do you add vibrancy to your library space, how do you celebrate Library Lover’s Day, CBCA Children’s Bookweek, Library and Information Week, how do you decorate a space you don’t have ownership over, how do you build a social network following for your library, how do you get the rest of the school involved in your library space.

Answers to these questions and more will be provided. This will suit attendees at all stages of their careers in school libraries and attendees will go away with solid examples and links to resources that can be adapted to their own environment. Also included will be a ‘cheat sheet’ for advocacy in your school with successful strategies and ‘shortcuts’ to get recognition.

Whilst aimed at the school library setting many of the initiatives could be adapted to other library types – public and special.

Author Bio

Kathryn is a strong believer in the power of literature to enhance our society and improve educational outcomes. Kathryn is Head of Library/ IB EE Coordinator at St. Andrews Cathedral School, NSW and has been an educator for over 25 years. Her teaching experience includes positions in Japan, England and Australia and she has taught across the different sectors of education, Government, Catholic and Independent. She has long been a devourer of books and has been a reviewer for the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge year 7-9 booklist, a judge for the CBCA Book of the Year Older Readers Award and a published reviewer of children’s literature. Currently she is CBCA NSW Branch President and ALIA Board Director. She is surrounded by young adults each day and is acutely aware of their reading styles and habits.