First International School Library Day

18 October 1999

ISLD99 LogoA Day in the Life... Stories and Anecdotes from School Library Personnel Around the World

Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 | Page 6 | Page 7 |

Sunny greetings from Anneli Silvennoinen, the Head of the Resource Centre at St Mary's Senior School for Girls in Waverley, Johannesburg, South Africa. You may find us on the Web at http://www.stmary.co.za

We are a top academic school in South Africa. The school encourages independent, resource based teaching and learning and instils critical thinking and evaluative information skills in its pupils. Assignments are planned by the subject teacher and myself together to ensure that a variety of media is incorporated and that the relevant media is available. We are an Independent School affiliated to the Independent Schools' Council and, as such, have always been multiracial even in the apartheid era. Books and media in South Africa are expensive due to our weak currency. We often rely on overseas suppliers and the Zulu teacher and I recently could not help smiling at the fact that we had had to order a video about Zulu culture from the UK because it was not available in our own country. However this is the exception rather than the rule. St Mary's is very lucky to have a beautiful, modern and well-equipped Resource Centre which is an integral part of the classroom. Multiculturalism is an important aspect of our society and we are very aware of this diversity when collection building and in our teaching and learning. The various cultures of our "Rainbow Nation" are enriched by each other. Information about South Africa is often best gained from our own search engines.

The attached photographic montage clockwise from top left shows an exhibition by the Photography Club in the Resource Centre (the man is a teacher's husband) ; Girls working on the Library computer network which consists of the library OPAC, the Internet and CD-ROMS ; Daphne Selele, our Zulu teacher, in traditional clothing ; A display in the Resource Centre of blankets which the girls knit for underprivileged people every winter ; Girls at the Issue Counter of the Resource Centre.

St Marys

Top

Marilyn Richardson (Canada), West Vancouver, British Columbia

Like Dianne (see below), I am in my office on a Sunday, wondering what it is that draws me here on such a beautiful fall day. I guess it is because, for me, a typical school day is so busy that coming in on the weekend gives me a chance to catch up on the things I need to do. Because I am new to this school, and this district, and I have so much to learn.

Like many teacher-librarians I have other roles in the school, mainly in the area of technology. Today I have updated the school's webpage, worked on my Personal Growth Plan, prepared a unit for the art teacher to tie in with Canadian Children's Book Week, caught up on voice mail and e-mail, registered for a provincial librarian's conference, and even carded some books (while anxiously awaiting the time when the automated system is up and running).

Later today I will go for a run on the seawall and think of all the things I am thankful for on this holiday weekend. And yes, high up on my list will be this great job.
Sunday, October 10, 1999

Top

Dianne Oberg (Canada)

A Day in the Life...of the Editor of School Libraries Worldwide. Today, I am in my office at the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada, looking at a small pile of submissions for the next issue of the journal, School Libraries Worldwide. I will read them quickly, thinking about who might be the most appropriate reviewers from the Editorial Board for each article, and then I will send the articles off in the mail to them. There are other articles out for review, and I wonder when I will hear back from the reviewers about those articles so I can let the authors know the status of their papers. The reviewers' thoughtful evaluations and suggestions are an essential part of the selection and editing of the papers that finally appear in School Libraries Worldwide. The reviewers are all busy and heavily committed professionals but they do this work as volunteers (as do I and the Associate Editors).

Today is a gorgeous autumn day in Edmonton. The leaves on the trees are yellow and orange and red, and the air is crisp and cool. Tomorrow will be Thanksgiving Day in Canada, a time for families to get together. There will be roast turkey and pumpkin pie at my family's celebration. After dinner we will all go for a walk, kicking our feet through the piles of fallen leaves along the sidewalk, and wondering how many days we will have before the snow falls to stay. (We had a snowstorm on October 1, but the snow soon melted away.) I am wondering what I am doing here-working at the office on a Sunday again, and on a holiday weekend at that. The answer must be that I love my work in librarianship and in education. Let's all celebrate the work we love on International School Library Day!
Sunday, October 10, 1999

Top

Marg Somers (Australia)

MY HOLIDAY AS A T/L!
I went to my small school library on Thursday to allow the "experts" to revamp my Library System. It would take only an hour, I was assured of this!
I am moving from Molli single user to Athena multi user. The school has recently been networked and all classes linked. we have been having a great time with it and the Library was the last link.
Oh woe: My new computer wouldn't talk to the network.
Oh woe: The borrower file did not transfer.
Oh woe: It was now 2 hours later.
Oh woe: I had to go to lunch. Experts, I said, YOU fix it.
So I have heard nothing from them! When I go into work on Monday (still holidays) I hope it is working! I really would like to have a little experiance on my new system before everyone else starts "playing " with it.
The most amazing thing was that the Experts and others present really expected me to get CROSS. Do we have a reputation for losing our cool T/L's? I think not, it must be that we have an aura of super confidence and that other feel they mustn't fail when around us!

Top

Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 | Page 6 | Page 7 |

Last Updated 19 April 2003 (LAC)