Your library, your career:

Manage, advocate and create change for a dynamic school library and fulfilling career a forum for school libraries
A School Library Association of Victoria conference Friday May 16, 2014 8.30am - 3.15pm Venue: State Library of Victoria 328 Swanston St, Melbourne

Strength through Community collegiality, diversity, vision

Introduction
The title Your library, your career manage, advocate and create change for a dynamic school library and fulfilling career says it all. The purpose of this forum is to take time to explore what this means to you as an individual working in a school library and the importance of your approach to the position. Each person will take away something different from this day depending on their own needs and the profile of their particular library. A recent Pew Report indicated that parents and teachers want libraries to adjust to todays information ecosystem it is up to us to make our libraries places of value. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Before we can change, we need to define what is a school library in 2014. SLAV Council members recently used the following words to describe a school library:

social. Not only a physical space, literacy centre, digital centre, books, Ipads, laptops.
How do we apply these concepts to our situation? What do we need to do to create a dynamic school library and how do we advocate for the retention and growth of this valuable school resource? Today we will work together and take you beyond the concepts to give you the skills to select the tools to apply to your particular environment. The day is a mixture of both theory and practice starting with case studies and finishing with you building your own tool shed. The forum will get you to think beyond what you are doing now and encourage you to future-proof your library and your career by managing, advocating and creating change for yourself rather than waiting for it to be imposed on you. We start the day with our colleagues in other library sectors sharing their experience and knowledge on how they manage, advocate and create change in their libraries. Justine Hyde from the State Library sets the scene for the day by looking at the State Library of Victorias strategy and initiatives for engaging with the Victorian community through our

programs, services and partnerships. We follow that up with a local perspective when Christine McAllister from Brimbank Library shows us what they do to build their community. We then bring this into the realm of the school library when Camilla Elliott looks at how you can leverage your own Personal Learning Network for growth and innovation of your career and library and Suzette Boyd provides us with a case study of her own experience in school libraries. In addition to our local presenters, we are especially privileged to have leading library educator Carol Gordon, Associate Professor of Library and Information Science and Co-Director of the Center for International Scholarship in School Libraries contributing to the program through her afternoon keynote New models of collaboration/the school library as a model for reform and her participation in the workshops. Through this conference, SLAV continues its commitment to equip library staff with vitality and excitement in this age of transition. Challenge yourself and identify the skills appropriate to your situation. Share with others, learn from peers and identify what you can do to place yourself and your library at the centre of your school community.

Busy, interactive, school help centre, global (learning centre), facilitator, understaffed, connector, not just school hours actually 24/7, gathering place, misunderstood (like a teenager), noisy productive noise, constructive noise, refuge, safe place, safe resources, and space (digital and physical), happy place, friendly place, welcoming, lounge room of the school, an endangered space, a learning space, learning commons, curator, initiator, thinking and reflection,

Program Overview
8.00am 8.30am Registration Keynotes: Advocacy, vision, community and personal responsibility in the management of the emerging model of school libraries The Library as the centre of the community Justine Hyde, Director Library Services & Experience Directorate Brimbank Libraries: Building a Learning Community Christine McAllister, Community Engagement & Development Coordinator Acting Manager Libraries & Learning, Brimbank City Council Library Teams 2.0: leveraging your Personal Learning Network for growth and innovation Camilla Elliott Head of Library/eLearning Coordinator Mazenod College Morning Tea Your Library, Your Career: Case Study Suzette Boyd Your vision, your library Workshop facilitated by Suzette Boyd Task: Outline your vision for you and your library. Share and compare challenges, barriers, themes, and aspirations. Lunch SLAV Website Launch Joy Whiteside, Head of Library, Overnewton Anglican Community College and SLAV Website Manager Keynote: New models of collaboration/the school library as a model for reform Dr Carol Gordon Build your own tool shed Hands-on peer-to-peer workshops (unconference model). Workshop facilitated by Suzette Boyd Topics to include How to be a mentor How to find a mentor How to be a champion Advocacy Personalised learning Building a team Launch of the SLAV Mentoring Program Dr Susan La Marca, Head of Library and Information Services, Genazzano FCJ College and SLAV Synergy Editor Close

10.20am 10.45am 11.15am 12.15pm 1.00pm 1.15pm 1.45pm

3.00pm 3.15pm

Papers
The library as the centre of the community
In this presentation, Justine will look at the evolving role of libraries within their communities. She will also explain The State Library of Victorias strategy and initiatives for engaging with the Victorian community through our programs, services and partnerships. About: Justine Hyde is the Director, Library Services and Experience at the State Library of Victoria. In this role, Justine is responsible for the Librarys collections, customer services and visitor experience, and learning programs, with a team of around 180 staff. Justine initially trained as a librarian working in special libraries, and has also worked in a range of senior executive roles across areas such as communications, digital, customer services, training, community programs and strategy. Justine is also a freelance writer. ideas within an environment that develops ownership, a sense of belonging and the confidence to act. Whether you are working as a single individual or part of a larger staff, embracing a team approach with the benefits of shared knowledge has the potential to create an exciting, relevant school library. Who makes up your team? How does it function in the new library landscape? How is your voice heard within your school community? Library Team 2.0 has a wealth of innovative tools at its disposal, but its the processes, habits, attitudes and beliefs that will ultimately determine its success. About: Camilla Elliott is Head of Library and eLearning Coordinator at Mazenod College, Mulgrave, Vic. She is an active networker in the international professional community with a passion for authentic learning and information literate outcomes for students. An advocate and writer on the changing nature of learning, libraries and the classroom, Camilla is a recipient of the John Ward Award from SLAV in recognition of her contribution to the profession. She is a member of the SLAV Committee of Management and the Synergy Editorial Board. Camillas resources are available at www.linkingforlearning.com. Twitter ID is camillaelliott ideas and practice. She is known for pushing boundaries, engaging users, taking risks and embracing change. During her career she has worked in most sectors of secondary education, spending the first 18 years in Government co-ed schools, moving to the Independent sector in 1989 with appointments to PLC and MLC. From 2000-2014 she was Head of Library and Information Services at Scotch College. Suzette is also the author of many published articles and has spoken at conferences and run workshops throughout Australia and overseas. She has also edited two collections of short stories Between You and Me (1989) and Fatal Twists (1993) and in 2006 wrote and published The Connected Library: a handbook for engaging users, (which was recently reprinted for the third time.)

The School Library as a Model for Educational Reform

What are the most important challenges school libraries face in the 21st century? In the view of the speaker, equity of instruction and sustainability are critical criteria for the conceptualisation of viable school libraries that are relevant to the digital age. Dr. Gordon discusses educational reforms of the last two decades that support digital youth in the classroom and converge with best instructional practices in information- and inquirybased learning in the school library. These reforms point to a new direction for teaching and learning that can be articulated in a vision for the new school library. How can teacherlibrarians re-invent invent their facilities, collections, staffs, instruction, and funding to make their libraries an indispensable component of every childs education? About: Dr Carol Gordon is a recently retired library educator, school and academic librarian. At Rutgers University she held positions of Associate Professor of Library and Information Science and Co-Director of the Center for International Scholarship in School Libraries (CISSL). At Boston University she was Associate Professor in the School of Education and Head of the Education Library. Dr Gordon worked as a school librarian in public and private schools in the U.S. and Europe. She holds Bachelor of Arts, Masters of Secondary Education, Masters of Library and Information Science, and Doctor of Education degrees. Her consulting, presentations, research, and publications focus on reflective teaching and assessment, adolescent information behaviour, information- and inquirybased learning, e-learning, literacy and transliteracy, and performance improvement and evaluation. A longtime School Library Association of Victoria (SLAV ) supporter, presenter and Synergy editor and contributor SLAV is delighted to once again host Caros visit to Australia.

Brimbank Libraries: Building a Learning Community

Christine will be discussing Brimbanks Programs Framework, a tool the library service uses to ensure that library programs are strategically targeted to support the communitys learning, leisure and lifestyle needs and enhance social and economic outcomes. The Framework has been embedded into a range of processes and documents including annual business plans and performance reviews. About: Christine McAllister has worked in a range of special, tertiary and public libraries since 1982 including RMIT Central Library, the Vocational Orientation Centre, the Council of Adult Education Library and Melbourne City Libraries. Currently Christine is the Community Engagement and Development Coordinator for Brimbank City Council, a position she has held since 2008.

Your Library, Your Career: Case Study

It has always been Suzettes goal to work in a library where the staff operates as a cohesive team, connecting with the students, the teachers, administration and the wider community, where the programs, services and systems are user-focused and service-centred and one that is full of engaged students and connected staff. We need to be alert to the danger of subscribing to the myth that everybody knows libraries are valuable and to wait for others to notice what a great job we are doing. As we find ourselves with a new paradigm, with everyone having access to information, we will need to use new and creative strategies to draw attention to ourselves and to our library services, and to what added value we can offer our students and our communities. If we aim to be the cultural and educational hub of the school, this may involve reinventing and rebranding the library and its staff and will certainly involve building connections and trust with students and teachers and, most importantly, the principal. To this end we will require passion, a vision, some risktaking strategies and a mighty fine head for marketing. Suzette will challenge you to be positive, confident, imaginative and to aim to turn heads, as you undertake this task. About: Suzette Boyds career as a secondary teacher-librarian has spanned 44 years and has earned her a reputation for innovative

Library Teams 2.0: leveraging your Personal Learning Network for growth and innovation
A survey of P-12 libraries in Victoria quickly reveals a range of staff, from qualified teacher-librarians through to library technicians and assistants, all endeavouring to do the best for their schools. Professional learning available in recent years has made it possible to develop Personal Learning Networks of like-minded individuals who share ideas and practice. Some library staff have built networks; some have learnt about the tools but havent applied them, others are just coming on board. Theoretically, teams can achieve more than individuals but is this always the case? This presentation will investigate Personal Learning Networks and the benefit to be gained through applying the concept of Library Team 2.0. It will explore the value to be gained through leveraging the tools, community and