News from the school
- Lecturer wins award from alma mater
- Transform student learning
- NSW State Library Innovation Project
- New research methods book
- New lecturer joins the School
- New book by Philip Hider
- Grants for environmental sustainability
- Congratulations to Dr Sidney Cheng
- Teacher Librarians respond to digital change
Lecturer wins award from alma mater
Congratulations to new lecturer, Kasey Garrison, who has been selected as the first recipient of Old Dominion University’s Department of Teaching & Learning’s Outstanding PhD Student Award. Dr Garrison completed her PhD with Old Dominion University last year. She was nominated for the award by senior faculty at the University’s Darden College of Education.
Transform student learning
A teacher librarian, within a 21st century learning environment, is an instructional leader, curriculum designer, consultant, mediator for students and staff to achieve best practice in learning. The Australian School Library Association (ASLA) is calling upon Australian educational decision makers to employ teacher librarians as part of the solution to improve national student learning and literacy. The association's report, Future learning and school libraries, highlights the positive role of teacher librarians in supporting future learning within the school. Course Director, Judy O'Connell, represented The School of Information Studies on the five-person development panel drawn from key stakeholder groups related to school libraries and teacher librarianship in Australia. The report, which was backed by a review of the research literature and extensive community consultation with principals and education agencies, emphasises the need for enhanced professional education to ensure that all Australian students benefit from the professional knowledge, practice and commitment of a teacher librarian at their school. The Master of Education (Teacher Librarianship) course continues to be a national leader in the provision of postgraduate training in this field.
NSW State Library Innovation Project
Course Director, Judy O’Connell, was the invited speaker at the NSW State Library staff professional development session held on 18 April 2013. This was part of the The NSW State Library’s Innovation Project which is facilitating use of specific social media tools to deliver library services. The project takes a ‘launch to learn’ approach with working parties and professional development sessions to foster staff engagement. The latest initiative is the 23 Mobile Things which is exploring ways that libraries and library staff can use mobile technologies to deliver library services in order to engage with their communities and for their own professional development. Judy’s presentation explored Learning in Networks of Knowledge for information practice within library services, and to support the needs of tertiary students.
New research methods book
A SIS staff member, Dr Kirsty Williamson, is the lead editor of a new book, Research Methods: Information, Systems and Contexts. The book is a wide-ranging guide to theory and practice, aimed at researchers who need to pursue their own investigations efficiently and in depth. It is ideal for all kinds of information research: for library and information studies, information systems, archives and recordkeeping, and knowledge management.
In her foreword, Professor Lisa Given says: “The book that you are about to read provides a fresh perspective on research in information science. There is something for everyone here – whether you are new to research in the discipline, or whether you are a seasoned scholar looking for new and inspiring ideas.”
The book, which is suitable for PhD students as well as more experienced researchers, is available from Tilde University Press (www.tup.net.au).
New lecturer joins the School
Dr Kasey Garrison has joined the School as a Lecturer in Information Studies. Kasey recently completed her PhD, entitled, ‘This intense desire to know the world: factors influencing the selection of multicultural children's literature’, at Old Dominion University in the US. Her research and teaching interests include diversity and depictions of culture in children's literature and the availability of global literature for children and young adults. Kasey also holds a Masters in Education and a BA in Spanish.
New book by A/Prof Philip Hider
Philip Hider has had his new book, Information Resource Description, published by Facet in the UK and ALA Editions in the US. The book introduces the field of information organisation using a broad conceptual framework, covering a wide range of contexts, and examining metadata as both a product and process of the contemporary digital environment. More details can be found at http://www.facetpublishing.co.uk/title.php?id=6671.
Grants for environmental sustainability
Dr Kirsty Williamson and Dr Mary Anne Kennan were recently awarded grants totalling $19,822 from the Wettenhall Foundation and the Australian Plants Society Victoria (APSV) for their project titled, Building community knowledge for environmental sustainability. Their co-researchers are A/Prof Graeme Johanson from Monash University, and Russel Best and Cathy Powers from APSV. The project is scheduled to run for one year and will begin in April 2013.
Congratulations to Dr Sidney Cheng
At the recent graduation ceremony held in Hong Kong for CSU students, Dr Po Ying Cheng graduated with the Doctor of Information Management. Dr Cheng’s thesis was titled “Perceiving usefulness: The perception of users on school libraries and school librarians in Hong Kong”. Dr Cheng was supervised by Dr Annemaree Lloyd and Dr Bob Pymm.
Pictured: Chancellor of Charles Sturt University Mr Lawrie Willett AO; Dr Po Ying Cheng; Occasional Speaker, Mr Peter Sidorko, the University Librarian at The University of Hong Kong; and Deputy Vice Chancellor Ken Dillon.
Teacher Librarians respond to digital change
Teacher Librarians represent an important sector in library and information education. Alongside it’s degree program for Teacher Librarians, CSU has also been providing the Australian Teacher Librarian Network (OZTL_NET) listserv as a professional service to the school library sector since 1992. Twenty years later the growing importance of utilizing web-based and mobile-enabled tools for communication, interaction and information dissemination through text, images, or sound needed to be brought into the mix. It was time to re-work and expand the potential of OZTL_NET.
OZTL_NET was originally created by the teacher librarianship academic staff at CSU as a discussion list for information professionals working in Australian schools. Since then it has grown to a community of more than 3,000 subscribers. Judy O’Connell, SIS Courses Director with extensive social media experience, undertook a project to evolve the potential of this very stable listserv in a number of ways. The result of this project is a new web portal at http://oztlnet.com/, which still provides access to vital information for the OZTL_NET Listserv, while also providing a new space to connect to a range of social media tools .
The Teacher Librarian academic team have once again positioned themselves as leaders in supporting the school library sector in Australia with this ongoing service to the education community.
School of Information Studies lecturer Barbara Coombes is presenting Reading from the screen on Wednesday 5 June, 2013. More details here...
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