SLANSW State Library Conference – Reach Out Through Reading
Summary
Content – Focus on school libraries
Type – Conference
Length – 4.5 hours
Level – Teachers, Teachers Librarians, Librarians, Library staff
Organisers – School Library Association
Presenters – Various
Format – Keynote speaker + breakout sessions
Reflection
The School Library Association conference is something that all school librarians and school library staff look forward to each year. It is a wonderful day where we are able to hear from our fellow school librarians, new ideas are exchanged and it is just a nice day to get out of our library environments and celebrate what we do. I was lucky enough to attend as a guest of the Teacher Librarian of the Year 2019. I have been working alongside Lizzy since I graduated TAFE and started working in my first library job, a job that I have nearly spent 7 years at!
Highlight on Breakout Session 1: Developmental Bibliotherapy
Judith Wakeman
A session that I found the most rewarding was learning about developmental bibliotherapy.
Developmental bibliography is a new term but an old practice. It is about using books in the healing process to better understand what has/or is about to happen. It is a practice that can be used by anyone in the book business from librarians to even booksellers and it can be done in a formal way or through an informal chat. The purpose behind this is to gain perspective into their lives and the world that is happening around us. In today’s age of social distancing and the threat of a pandemic there is no better time for this to be highlighted. This can be done from preschool age all the way to young adults, providing them with novels, poetry, nonfiction, anything that can help them understand their feelings.
The School Library Association conference is always a place where you come away feeling inspired and with so many ideas that you can try and integrate into your library. I found it such a rewarding day listening to people in libraries and how they use reading to connect with their students and how I can change the way I read a story, to thinking about how developmental bibliography can help girls in upper years connect to the world around them. It was a day that I could make connections with other librarians and think about how in my future career I can connect with my students or patrons through reading.
Evidence
