3D Printing at Seaford Library!

The library has a new 3D printer!

Feel free to come in and see what we have made- and you might even see it in action! It is still in the staff testing and training phase at the moment but the plan is for it to be available to both our public and school customers to use. Keep your ears open for new developments here...

Overhauled Display Cabinet

The school display cabinet in the library has slowly but surely had an overhaul and is now showing up-to-date awards and artwork, and it looks a lot less cluttered. Most recently, we have installed a new TV in there and the school's e-Team have developed a slideshow showcasing the activities and achievements of the Seaford 6-12 School. It has drawn quite a bit of attention from the public already and is a fantastic way of showing off what the school does. If you have any recent awards that the school or students have won, please consider bringing them in to display in the cabinet for the community to see.

 

Before

 

After

VEA Library Planner app

Many of you would have heard of VEA (Video Education Australia), who have produced most of the educational videos you have borrowed to show your class, or have shown on Clickview. VEA have launched an app for both Android and iOS devices, which tries to match videos with relevant strands of the Australian Curriculum from Years 7-10.

It seems quite simple (I have installed in and had a look at it myself). All you need to do is:

1. Install VEA Library Planner app from the iTunes Store or Google Play.
2. Create a subject profile (you can do this for each subject you teach).
3. Drill down through the curriculum and choose the strand/substrand/content you need to address.
4. Read the description and watch the preview of the video.
5. Play the video in Clickview.

Obviously this can save you time in searching through Clickview, as it directs you immediately to the relevant videos for the required outcomes. It would be great to know if this is useful for you in your planning. It can't hurt to give it a try!

Longer Teacher Resource loans

That's right! Teacher Resource items will now be available to you for one whole semester at a time, which means that you wont need to keep renewing your items.

Any new loans you make now, will all be due back on the 28th June. If you want to prepare for Semester 2, it is best to wait until after this date to borrow them, so that the new due date kicks in (this will be early December), otherwise you will need to renew them.

Any items you have on loanthat were borrowed prior to this week, will not have the new due date unless you renew them.

So I think that this is good news! You will only need to renew your items once per year if you need them for the whole year. If you get an email reminder about your books being due soon, please follow the instructions to renew them, unless you are planning on returning them.

Please remember: If the item you have borrowed is not a Teacher Resource, and is in fact a public library item, the standard loan period of 4 weeks will apply (or 2 weeks for DVDs). It is very important that these items in particular are returned on time to allow other public library users fair access to these items.

Only2Clicks

Have you tried the Only2Clicks website yet? I have set this up especially for Seaford staff and students to enable quick and easy access to some of the most useful websites for teaching and learning. I really recommend that you save this one site as a Bookmark in your toolbar, so that you can click it and open the door to many more fantastic resources split into categories and well organised for your needs.

Give it a go at www.only2clicks.com/pages/seafordhslibrary

I am always looking for more great sites to add, so feel free to let me know if you have a resource that others may be able to benefit from too.

Welcome to 2013

Welcome back and good luck for the year ahead. This year in the library you should hopefully be able to find a few useful tools to make your life easier. As mentioned in my session in Week 0, Only2Clicks is one of these tools that I think you will wonder how you coped without it in the past. I certainly think that it is great, anyway.
There are many other links on the Only2Clicks website that you will find useful too, such as SOBS for booking your class sets online, ReadsPlus for choosing appropriate fiction for a particular topic, and Clickview, which can be accessed from home or at school. Don't forget to show the eResources and Online Referencing Generator to your class when asking them to do a research assignment- it will make their lives so much easier!

Once again, there will be some orientation sessions for new students in the next few weeks, and I will keep you all posted about this.

Throughout the year I will also be available to come to your classroom to help your students utilise some of these tools. Please be aware that I do have other commitments in the library and council, and that bookings will need to be made in advance if you are requiring my services.

All of these links can be found on our Only2Clicks website at www.only2clicks.com/pages/seafordhslibrary

2012 Wrap Up

As the end of the school year draws near, there are a few things that need to be done in order to tie up loose ends....Can you please:

- ask your students to return any school class sets or individual loans that they have in their possession,

- check your record and return any items that you no longer need,

- speak to library staff if you would like any items renewed for the holidays (please only keep what you really need so that other staff have the opportunity to utilise the other resources),

- count and return any class sets that you have borrowed in your name to use with multiple classes,

- get your students to do a thorough clean out of their homeroom and lockers and return any items that are found regardless of whose they are,

- do a thorough clean out of your office and return any items that are found regardless of whose they are.

Please do not return any items that have a barcode on the back that has been crossed out with black texta. This means that have been deleted from our system and we no longer need them. You can keep them.

Thank you, and enjoy your last couple of weeks before your holidays :)

New ReadPlus website subscription

Sometimes it can be difficult finding appropriate texts for students or classes that are based on a particular theme. In the past, we have purchased guide books that list recommended fiction for themes- but these can become outdated.

It has come to my attention that there is a website available which contains the same information, is easily searchable, and updated more regularly than the books. I have purchased a one-year licence for access to this website, so that all teachers can use it at any time to help choose books for class reading, paired-texts or specific curriculum based topics.

This will be most useful for English teachers, who need to find books to fit their TLC's Big Question, and can save a lot of time.

For access to this website, please find the username and password on the Moodle. Please give this a go, and provide me with feedback on it, so I know whether to continue the subscription next year or not.

If anyone has questions about using this website, please see me.

Tiffiny Hall the White Ninja

Well today was a very exciting day here at the Seaford Library, because we were lucky enough to have a very special guest. Tiffiny Hall, ex 'Gladiator' Angel, and trainer of the white team on 'The Biggest Loser' came to speak to 4 Seaford 6-12 School classes about her new book 'White Ninja'.

'White Ninja' is a book about Roxy Ran, a 13 year old girl who gets bullied at school constantly, until one day she realises that she has super ninja powers and can beat the bullies.

Tiffiny spoke to our students about how bullying at school can affect people's self esteem for life. She gave students her undivided attention at the end where they had the opportunity to ask her questions, buy her book, get autographs and have photos with her.

We were very lucky to host Tiffiny and must thank Shakespeare's books for providing us with such a great opportunity!

New cards for new self service system

You may have noticed a new library card in your pigeon hole, with a note explaining that we are moving to self service checkouts in the next few weeks. In order to use the self service, you must have your library card with you. With this in mind, we are providing all teaching staff with a new library card on a lanyard to help you keep your card available for whenever you need it.

If you did not receive a new card for any reason, and would like one, please see a library staff member to arrange this.

If you have any problems using your new card, please don't hesitate to bring it in so we can correct it.

I'd like to also take this opportunity to remind you to try and renew your items online using the details provided on the notice that came with your card.

Do you still need that book?

As we near towards the end of Term 2, it would be very helpful to library staff if you could return all of your items that are no longer needed or are overdue. Please remember that in returning these books, you are also helping other staff members who may need them for next term.

As I mentioned recently, library staff are no longer able to simply renew your 'lost' items in bulk. It is now a really long process for us and it would be much appreciated if you could come and see us before it gets to this stage.

Hopefully now, you will have received reminder emails that we set up for you to help you with this. As soon as you get the email, you can either forward it to me with a message of what you would like to renew, or come in and see us.

Please attend to your overdues before you go on your holidays....

New Library System

It has been a massive month for us here, changing to a completely new computer system in order to become a part of the 'One Card' system, which gives you access to resources from public libraries from all over the state. Onkaparinga Libraries were in the first group to launch this, which means that it has been hectic, but we are already seeing the benefits.

One change that will affect you as school staff is that now, when your items become 'lost' (meaning that they are more than one month overdue), we cannot simply renew them anymore like we used to be able to. This makes it much more important for you to follow up your overdues as soon as possible, so we have utilised a function of the system to send you reminder emails when items are about to become overdue.

Please take notice of these emails and either:

* forward it to me so that I can renew the items in question

* print off your email and highlight items you would like renewed and put it in my pigeonhole

* call me to notify me which items you would like renewed

* come into the library and let us know what you would like renewed

The best way of dealing with this though, is by managing your own account and renewing them online before they become overdue. This can be done at http://sapln.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/onkaparinga and you will need your library card barcode number. Your PIN is your month and year of birth ie September 1987 would be 0987. Give it a go.

Please talk to us if you need help with any of this.

New look library!

Over the holidays we had some work done to refresh the look of the library. This included a new sign on the front of the library, a new returns bin and refreshed walls in the entrance and at the rear, which I might add, look amazing!

As a result of this, we made some changes to the class areas at the back of the library and the Macbook Trolley area is now right next to the Library ICT to enable quicker access to the printer. The other area, which used to be the Library Class area has been replaced by a general study area, giving students who access the library during their 'frees' more room. So far this seems to be working really well.

Below are some images of the new look areas...... I think you'll be impressed :)

New Macbook Area

New student study area

Don't forget to book your Class Sets for Term 2!

Just a reminder, that if you are planning on booking a class set for Term 2, you need to get in early so that you can be guaranteed of getting the books you want. You can either email this through to me over your holidays, or come in (emailing would definitely be easier!!).

Some important information to know (particularly for new staff):
- If your class is the only class using a particular novel, students will be required to borrow their own copy of the book and will be responsible for taking this book with them to and from lesson- these books are not to be stored in a classroom (this is when we lose lots of books..).

- If your whole TLC is using a particular book and there are not enough copies for each student, the Program Manager can borrow the entire class set, however, it is extremely important that this is managed properly. Tigress is an excellent working example of how this can be a successful way of borrowing the books, and this is (as I understand) how it is done, and how I would recommend it to be done by others:

* Program Manager borrows entire class set under their name.
* Stores all books in a crate in teacher office.
* When needed, teacher goes into teacher office and brings the crate of books to class for students to use.
* Teacher collects all books at the end of lesson and makes sure the same amount come in as went out.
* Teacher puts crate back into teacher office.

The key here though, is that 5 copies of the book are left in the library for students to borrow if they need to catch up overnight, or if they want to read on further. The students borrow these books on their own card and so they are responsible for bringing them back.

Please give this method a go. So far, I think it is the most successful method we have had.

PRC registrations go through the roof!

Not sure if this is because of the anticipated prize of an iPad.....but either way, we are up to 83 students who have entered the challenge so far. This is the best result I have seen since I have been at Seaford 6-12, and I hope this number keeps growing and that these students follow through and complete the challenge.

Delays in cataloguing to occur

Hi All,

With the implementation of our new Library Management System coming up soon, there will be some significant delays in the processing of new materials. This means, that for 3 weeks before the system is installed, all of the data will be getting transferred from the old system to the new system, which means that there can be no cataloguing done during this period. In addition to this, it will be a completely new system and therefore library staff will need to concentrate on being trained in its use. This means that it could be another 3 weeks until cataloguing can start again.

So, effectively, there is likely to be a 6 week window where no cataloguing occurs, between mid April and the end of May.

If you are planning on making any purchases that you would like to go in the library collection, please ensure that you have given it to us before the end of Term 1 if you would like access to it at the start of Term 2. Otherwise, you will need to wait until about Week 7 of Term 2 before it can be catalogued.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Premier's Reading Challenge 2012

It's that time of year again! The Premier's Reading Challenge has officially begun and so it would be great to see as many students participating in it as possible, especially since it is the National Year of Reading this year.

As most of you would know, last year the Seaford Library, in conjunction with the Friends of the Seaford Library, donated an iPad2 as an incentive for students to complete the challenge, and one lucky student who completed the challenge received this amazing prize. Obviously we will probably need to continue this tradition of a prize now, but what exactly this year's prize is, is yet to be decided.

If you can encourage as many students to be involved as possible, it would be great- and even better, if you could do it as a class it would be amazing! Given that 46% of adults in Australia do not even have the basic literacy skills to read a bus timetable or medicine instructions, we need to promote reading as much as possible....

Oh, and for those of you who were wondering, Roxette were AMAZING!! (both times)!!!

Induction of new students and information sessions

Well, my voice is nearly non existent (phew! I hear you all say!) and I am sick of hearing myself talk after 2 days of solid inductions and information sessions to students.

Hopefully now the new students feel more comfortable coming into the library and are familiar with their new surroundings. It was great to see their excitement when realising that we had the '2012' version of the Guinness Book of Records, or that we had an Xbox, Wii, Nintendo 3DS and iPads. "At Primary School we never had this stuff" was a comment I heard on multiple occasions.

Thanks to the teachers that have encouraged and supported these sessions and I hope you have found them useful for your students.

Now I must go and rest my voice so that it is ready for 2 Roxette concerts in the next 5 days! Woohoo!

Helping your students choose the right books

If you are bringing your students over to the library to borrow individual novels, please be aware that we have a Children's Fiction collection as well as the Youth Fiction collection. There is significant crossover between these collections, so please make it clear to your students that there are more choices for them if they cannot find a suitable book.


The Children's collection is in the Children's library and is appropriate for students up to about Year 8, but some of these students may also be more advanced and wish to choose from the Youth Fiction collection, located next to the Macbook Trolley area with the purple wall.

For older students with low literacy, we also have plenty of "high interest low level" books that look at more mature topics and these are located in the Youth Fiction area.

As always, if you or your students need any help finding appropriate reading material, please don't hesitate to ask myself or other library staff.





Subscribing to this blog....

It's been an exciting afternoon here in the library, with the discovery of a tool which will allow you to receive email updates each time I add a new post to my blog. If you are interested in keeping up to date with what is happening in the library or any new resources that might be available to you, it would be great if you subscribed. All you need to do is type in your preferred email address into the little text box where it says 'Get emails with blog updates' (just above the holiday countdown) and you should receive an email each time I add a new post.

You can also make comments on any of my posts by using your Google account details or by posting anonymously if you do not have a Google account. If you post anonymously, it would be great if you could write your name after your comment so I know who to respond to :)

I really hope you find this useful....