The power of literature goes deeper than its ability to facilitate literacy skills development. Heading down my own research path to explore its transformative power, the work of Hoggan and Cranton (2014) highlighted the capacity of literature to reveal new and diverse perspectives, foster critical reflection and also promote and facilitate change. This was an […]
Author: Diana Brien
4.4 – Karajia and Environment Awards for Children’s Literature
Ongoing since 1994, the Karajia and Environment Awards for Children’s Literature is The Wilderness Society’s yearly recognition of outstanding new children’s books, spanning fiction, non-fiction and picture books. The focus is on literature dedicated to fostering a love and appreciation for nature. The Awards could be utilised in an Australian school setting to promote environmental […]
4.3 – Genrefication of an Organisation System
In the last two and a half years, I have established two brand new primary school libraries. The first was as a beginning TL, where, in being guided by the experience of our library administration assistant, it was established according to traditional organisation principles of A-Z for fiction and Dewey Decimal Classification (DCC) for non […]
3.1 – First Nations Inclusion in the Collection
In establishing our new school library this year, I devoted much thought and consideration as to how I would respectfully include First Nations voices throughout the collection. Instead of creating a separate, isolated section, I integrated First Nations texts within relevant subject areas of our genrefied non fiction collection. I felt this approach ensured that […]
1.1a – Children’s Literature Definition
Children’s literature is a diverse and subjective concept, yet commonalities in various definitions suggest it involves reading material written primarily for, or widely read by, children from early years to adolescence. It has the capacity to engage children in shaping their understanding of personal experiences, emotions and the world around them through language and story. […]
ETL512 Assessment – Professional Reflective Portfolio
PART A – Personal Philosophy The teacher librarian (TL) is a uniquely qualified education professional, whose enhanced knowledge and skills in the areas of literature, information literacy, research and technology, positions them as integral in contributing to the development of life-long learners within the school community. An effective TL is one who supports both […]
ETL512 Assessment – Professional Placement Report
Section 1: About the placement organisation Fairfield City Open Libraries (FCOL) consist of five public library branches, spread across the Fairfield City Local Government Area (LGA). The library branches include Bonnyrigg, Whitlam (Cabramatta), Wetherill Park, Fairfield and Smithfield. Extensive multicultural diversity exists across the Fairfield City LGA, largely due to its popularity as a settlement […]
Digital Literature
Literature, as I understand it, is a form of written expression that conveys creative and imaginative or factual ideas. Based upon this notion, I would articulate that digital literature expands to literature that is produced, accessed and explored across a wide and varied range of digital platforms. I believe the main difference between digital and […]
ETL512 Assessment – Study Visit Report and Reflection
POST ONE – Services and Resources Provided by Information Agencies The primary nature of a library is to service its community of users (Twomey, 2017), which was evident as a prime focus for the various information agencies, experienced as part of the virtual study visits. In her presentation, A. Du Chesne (personal communication, May 3, […]
ETL504 Assessment 2 (Part B) – Online Reflective Journal: Blog Post
The core business of a school is to provide all students with the necessary skills to function as lifelong learners. With the modern school library existing as a dynamic hub of learning, the teacher librarian (TL) at the helm of this dynamic space, has the ability to lead from the middle (Kachel, 2016) of the […]
ETL501 Assessment 2 (Part B) – Critical Reflection: Blog Post
Whilst previously considering the various roles of the teacher librarian (TL) to include information literacy leader and media specialist (Brien, 2021, July 27), I viewed the TL’s expertise as integral in helping to develop students’ information and digital literacy skills and capabilities (Brien, 2021, July 23). This is ever so important as we exist in […]
Module Forum 5 – Classify Website Resource
The search I conducted on Classify was for the picture book, Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy, by Lynley Dodd, to consider the classification of a fiction text. Initially, I had a spelling error and consequently, no results were returned, so I began typing in the subject heading search box and was predictive in its presentation […]
Module Forum 4.1 Activity – Library Mission and Vision Statement
Olsen (2016a; 2016b) outlines practical considerations for how to structure an effective mission and vision statement. These are useful to help evaluate the strength of the Lake Tuggeranong College (LTC) Library statements below. Vision statement: Our library impacts every learner, every day, every year. Olsen (2016b) claims that a vision statement should be future-focused, outlining […]
Discussion Forum 4.3 – Information Services for Staff
One information service the teacher librarian could provide in a primary school setting, is the establishment and delivery of intensive cyber safety and digital citizenship workshops. These workshops would be beneficial in that it would ensure this particular curriculum content is taught in a meaningful, authentic and engaging manner – aligning with the teacher librarian’s […]
Discussion Forum 4.1 – Use of Web 2.0/3.0
I believe network limitations and device availability are the main issues when it comes to inclusion and utilisation of any Web 2.0/3.0 tool. I think this is a significant barrier for successful technological integration as these factors can cause severe frustration for teachers when they potentially have the desire to implement these tools, but the […]
Reflections and Takeaways – Module 3
Change by Nick Youngson, CC BY-SA 3.0 If change happens frequently, it can be a source of “innovation overload” (Clement, 2014), and “change fatigue” may occur (Dilkes, Cunningham & Gray, 2014). Adopting a transformational leadership style would be appropriate for help mitigate stress in the workplace, as it is heavily predicated on building authentic relationships, […]
Discussion Forum 3.2/3.3 – Conflict Scenario
In this learning scenario, the teacher librarian has deemed it necessary that changes be made to the collection; with a complete re-categorisation that moves away from alphabetical organisation, to genrefication of the fiction collection. In relation to this task, I am approaching the scenario with the consideration that there is underlying conflict – with the […]
Discussion Forum 4 Activity – ScOT and SCIS Terms
The inclusion of SCIS and ScOT terms in a catalogue record is a ‘catch-all’ for the various key words that may be searched in using a controlled vocabulary approach to finding a particular resource. Considering the example: How to make a golem and terrify people, by Alette J. Willis, the SCIS headings include: E-books, Courage […]
Discussion Forum 4 Activity – Subject Heading Lists
I conducted a subject search using the term origami in the Library of Congress (LC) catalogue, with the first result was providing 451 results. Scrolling down further through the initial results list provided over 30 heading options with subdivisions, including date range subdivisions and others including Origami – Handbooks, manuals, etc., Origami – Japan – […]
Discussion Forum 3 Activity – Authority Control
For the authority file search within the Library of Congress Authority File database, I jumped between subject, name and title authority headings to seek out information on the late Princess Diana. In subject search, I started with Diana Spencer as the key word, however, none of the records provided were anything close to what I […]