Friday, November 01, 2013

2013 School Library Survey finds library resourcing linked to literacy

The 2013 Australian School Library Survey has revealed a positive relationship between a school’s literacy results and the library’s resourcing levels.  Release from Softlink Australia

Extract:
The survey found schools with high national average NAPLAN reading literacy scores reported higher levels of library funding and staffing, while schools with lower scores had lower levels.  These results echoed previous surveys.
A summary of other key survey findings included: 
81 percent of all school library budgets either remained unchanged or declined in 2013
A higher percentage of Government school libraries experienced budget decreases than Catholic 
or Independent school libraries
28 percent of schools reported a decrease in library staffing in 2013 with 63 percent of all schools surveyed stating that there had been no change
More than a quarter of respondent schools have purchased eBooks in the past year (28 percent) and 55 percent of respondents indicated they will “definitely” or “most probably” purchase eBooks within the next 12 months
44 percent of teacher librarians said half or more of their student population owned a personal mobile device (iPod, iPad, smart phone or other tablet)  Continue reading

On the same shelf:

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Integrated Library Systems (ILS) - A reading list

Integrated Library Systems: Planning, Selecting, and Implementing              
Desiree Webber and Andrew Peters (2010)
Reviews:
It provides solid instruction in guiding a librarian through this process, including systematic and detailed step-by-step instructions on the practical aspects of choosing an ILS; working with the vendor; budgeting and time-line planning; and implementation and training.  Booklist"… this book tackles the whole process and cites additional resources that can be used. Recommended for librarians seeking to automate for the first time." Library Journal

Friday, October 25, 2013

What are Primary and Secondary Sources -- A Select Sample

Library guides (LibGuides Community Site) provide resources to understand the question of what is primary (original work) and what is secondary (review, criticism, etc.). A sample is given here to help a beginner and anyone who needs a lead:
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES   Source: http://selu.libguides.com
Primary Source
Secondary Sources
Novel, poem
Literary criticism
Diary, autobiography
Biography
Letters, historical documents, oral testimony
Historical Commentary
Newspaper report
Editorial
Raw data from questionnaires
Observation/experiment
Scientific article
Television show/film
Review
Interview
Case study
"A primary source is any work that offers ORIGINAL intellectual content: artistic works, diaries, newpaper reports witnessed by a participant from the time of the event, memoirs, speeches, government reports & statistics, artifacts.

Primary sources generally serve as foundation material for a particular subject area. They are the result of someone doing primary research, which involves collecting raw data. Primary sources allow researchers to analyze the data or object for themselves in order to come up with alternate theories and opinions.
Secondary sources interpret and analyze primary sources. In other words, when a writer looks at a primary document, and produces a work that tries to make sense of what he or she finds, the result is a secondary study or secondary source." Adapted from:
Kirszner, Laurie G. The Holt Handbook. Fort Worth: Harcourt College Publishers, 2002.

Samples from Library Guides:

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Culture and Technology - A select annotated list

PS. This is a continuously updated list, last updated Oct 10, 2013.
On the same shelf:

Monday, September 23, 2013

How to Talk About Your Weaknesses in a Job Interview

Info courtesy: ALA JobLIST shared a link.

How to Talk About Your Weaknesses in a Job Interview, By 

Bottomline: In other words, talk about the weakness and talk about how you're controlling it. Continue reading

Monday, September 09, 2013

Forthcoming Conferences and Professional Development Opportunities