Public libraries and popular education,

cover-title

Circular by the superintendent of common schools of the state of New York: to trustees of school districts, librarians of district libraries, commissioners of common schools and clerks of counties, containing "An act respecting school district libraries," passed April 15, 1839; and regulations for the preservation of the libraries and for their use by the inhabitants of districts.

Mode of access: Internet.

The moral instructor, and guide to virtue and happiness : being a compendium of moral science, in four parts ... : with an appendix containing directions for the institution of free public libraries, and reading societies : designed for the use of families, and the highest classes in common schools and academies /

Mode of access: Internet.

Act respecting public libraries and art schools. Printed by order of the legislative assembly of Ontario.

Mode of access: Internet.

Ceremony and cybrary : Digital libraries and the dialectic of place and space

This article examines social, cultural and technological change in the systems and economies of educational information management. Since the Sumerians first collected, organized and supervised administrative and religious records some six millennia ago, libraries have been key physical depositories and cultural signifiers in the production and mediation of social capital and power through education. To date, the textual, archival and discursive practices perpetuating libraries have remained exempt from inquiry. My aim here is to remedy this hiatus by making the library itself the terrain and object of critical analysis and investigation. The paper argues that in the three dominant communications eras—namely, oral, print and digital cultures—society’s centres of knowledge and learning have resided in the ceremony, the library and the cybrary respectively. In a broad-brush historical grid, each of these key educational institutions—the ceremony in oral culture, the library in print culture and the cybrary in digital culture—are mapped against social, cultural and technological orders pertaining to their era. Following a description of these shifts in society’s collective cultural memory, the paper then examines the question of what the development of global information systems and economies mean for schools and libraries of today, and for teachers and learners as knowledge consumers and producers?

School libraries and teacher-librarians : evidence of their contribution to student literacy and learning

International research provides compelling evidence that school libraries and teacher-librarians make a significant contribution to student literacy and learning outcomes. After summarising previous research, this article presents recent research focused on Gold Coast schools. These new Australian findings present an evidenced based snapshot of school libraries and teacher-librarians, from the principals’ perspective. They indicate that school NAPLAN scores for reading and writing were generally higher when student-to-library staff ratios were lower (i.e. better) and when the school employed a teacher-librarian. In light of the National Plan for School Improvement, the findings are of potential interest to education authorities, policy makers, school leadership teams, teacher-librarians, teachers, parents and researchers. They offer evidence to inform policy development and strategic planning for school libraries and professional staffing.

Submission to Inquiry into School Libraries and Teacher Librarians

We welcome the opportunity to contribute to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) Inquiry into School Libraries and Teacher Librarians. We thank the Federal Government for the recognition that the Building the Education Revolution (BER) is not just about physical infrastructure. We are pleased that the Government has responded to calls from the library and information sector for a review focusing on school libraries and teacher librarians. The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) is the peak body representing the library and information services sector. It represents 6000 members, the library and information profession, Australian library and information services, and the interests of over 12 million library users. ALIA is committed to promoting the free flow of information and ideas in the interest of all Australians and a thriving culture, economy and democracy. We support the development of a 21st century information infrastructure with libraries as the conduit for a sustainable knowledge economy. This submission strongly supports the separate submission from the Australian School Library Association (ASLA) with whom ALIA works in partnership on issues concerning school libraries and teacher librarians. Other contributors to this submission include the ALIA Schools Group, the joint ALIA/ASLA Policy Advisory Group, and current practitioners. ALIA and ASLA are looking forward to working with the Federal Government on implementing the Inquiry recommendations.

INFORMATION, LIBRARIES AND DEVELOPMENT Address at the Inauguration of-Manifests Central American Seminar on IFLA / Unesco Public Libraries, School Libraries and the Internet ‖. 26 to 29 March 2007

It is a matter of pride that Costa Rica and the National University, both with extensive experience in the development of library we are the headquarters for the first time, an event that brings together three different activities on this theme: the Central American Seminar, Workshops and Standing Committee of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, which will strengthen the monitoring and Manifestos on Public Libraries, Schools and Internet IFLA-UNESCO. Thank you very much to all of you for allowing us this honor and a double thanks to the comrades of the UNA university who took the initiative and made this opportunity possible.

Technology in the lives and schools of adolescents

This chapter advocates a pedagogy where relationships form the basis for developing curricular and pedagogical ways of being with students. A relational pedagogy begins through considering the broad questions of: Where are music and technology in the lives the teacher and student? Where do adolescents make meaning through music and technology? How can teachers develop a community with their students through music and technology? We argue that relationships should be placed at the center of pedagogical and curricular decision-making. Through this approach, music educators are better equipped to make space for and honor student agency and learning through harnessing the ways adolescents intuitively engage with music and technology.

Cyberbullying in social networking sites and blogs : legal issues for young people and schools

This article examines the social networking phenomenon that has been so readily embraced by school-age adolescents, in the context of its potential to contribute further to the mechanisms for and incidence of cyberbullying amongst school students. Cyberbullying in these online for a, as a misuse of technology to harass, intimidate, tease, threaten, abuse or otherwise terrorise peers, teachers and/or the school in general, is discussed from both the psychological perspective and in terms of its legal ramifications (both criminal and civil) in Australia. Some recommendations for proactive and preventative measures, education and policy adoptions are provided, together with general advice to parents, schools and adolescents on awareness of the risks involved and how young people might better protect themselves in light of that knowledge.

International students' experiences of university libraries and librarians

ABSTRACT International students constitute a significant proportion of the Australian university population, and thus of the university library-using population. Drawing on qualitative research findings, this paper discusses the library-related experiences and perceptions of international students at two Australian universities. While the students’ previous library use was limited, at their host university they experienced library using challenges, often associated with unfamiliarity. However, they generally viewed their Australian university library and library staff in a positive light. The findings support recommendations for developing library professionals’ awareness of, and enhancing international students’ library use.

Family law issues and schools : guidance for Australian educators

A substantial number of Australian children are now living in separated families, with many moving between their parents’ homes. This has led to educators being confronted with an increasing number of family law issues. This article discusses the key aspects of family law that involve children. It highlights the need for schools to be aware of all family law orders that relate to children in their care, including family court, domestic violence and child protection orders. It also provides guidance in relation to how schools can adopt child focused approaches in some common scenarios, where parents are in dispute. In particular, we will recommend that educators take a child-focused approach, consistent with the principal provision of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) that ‘the best interests of the child’ be the paramount consideration. We will highlight how this contrasts starkly with what can be described as a ‘parental rights’ interpretation, which has unfortunately been taken by some since the 2006 amendments to the Family Law Act, and is, in our view, directly at odds with the intention of the legislation.

Learning beyond books : strategies for ambient media to improve libraries and collaboration spaces as interfaces for social learning

With the advent of digital media and online information resources, public libraries as physical destinations for information access are being increasingly challenged. As a response, many libraries follow the trend of removing bookshelves in order to provide more floorspace for social interaction and collaboration. Such spaces follow a Commons 2.0 model: they are designed to support collaborative work and social learning. The acquisition of skills and knowledge is facilitated as a result of being surrounded by and interacting with a community of likeminded others. Based on the results of a case study on a Commons 2.0 library space, this paper describes several issues of collaboration and social learning in public library settings. Acknowledging the significance of the architectural characteristics of the physical space, we discuss opportunities for ambient media to better reflect the social attributes of the library as a place; i.e. amplify the sense of other co-present library visitors and provide opportunities for shared encounters and conversations, which would remain invisible otherwise. We present the design of a user check-in system for improving the library as a physical destination for social learning, sharing, and inspiration for and by the community.

How can partnerships between the universities and schools exploit new opportunities for pedagogies at the intersection of the arts/design and the sciences?

Driven by information accessibility-on-demand provided by the internet, education modes are changing from a teacher-led approach focused on content delivery and assessible outcomes, to a learner-based approach encouraging self-directed, peer-tutored, and cooperative learning. New pedagogies are required to extend learning beyond the classroom and traditional subject areas such as contemporary arts, in alignment with the cross disciplinary priorities of the Australian Curriculum and values of the International Baccalaureate Organisation. This research explores how partnerships with universities and cultural organisations are implicated in the generation of these new forms of pedagogy and contribute to the field of educational research within the context of Education Queensland’s Framework For Gifted Education. In particular, this paper explores a new pedagogical framework for highly capable year five to nine Queensland state school students at the intersection of arts, design and the sciences, which has arisen from an explicit secondary/ tertiary partnership between the Queensland University of Technology Creative Industries Faculty and Precincts and the Queensland Academies Young Scholars Program. The Young Scholars Program offers experiences in the International Baccalaureate and Australian Curriculum contexts to enhance outcomes via global understanding, unique industry partnerships and 21st century pedagogical innovation based not on 'content' but tacit/experiential learning concepts including immersive, creative, intellectual and social strategies. These strategies for highly capable students are centred around authentic opportunities, primary resources, transdisciplinary learning and relationships with likeminded peers including tertiary arts, design and STEM educators and students, professionals and researchers. The presentation details case studies which are hands-on real time workshops involving inquiry based challenges in the arts, design and sciences, mathematics, history, creative writing and other disciplines, with content drawn from collections from public institutions, academic research and tertiary pedagogy. Both programs implicate student collaboration and creative production as methodology/data capture for ongoing action research, in alignment with the Framework For Gifted Education’s emphasis on evidence-based practices. They also challenge gifted students “to continue their development through curricular activities that require depth of study, complexity of thinking, fast pace of learning, high-level skills development and/or creative and critical thinking (e.g. through independent investigations, tiered tasks, diverse real-world applications, mentors)”(Education Queensland, 2011:3). This presentation highlights the strengths of the ongoing collaboration between QUT Creative industries Faculty and Queensland Academies, which not only provides successful extra curricular activities for gifted students towards a place in the International Baccalaureate Program, but also provides mentoring opportunities for tertiary students in their field of endeavor to assist with their own learning, and unique research opportunities for the Faculty as it focuses on excellence in arts, design and creative education and research. Education Queensland.(2011). Framework For Gifted Education Revised Edition 2011 (accessed Nov 19 2011)