• Take a deep breath, and watch for a few weeks/half a term

  • How is your library used?

  • Who are the main users?

  • What areas/activities are most popular?

  • What areas/activities may present supervision problems for you?

Join the various TL social media groups and networks:

• South Western Sydney School Library Network on Facebook - this group offers mentoring!

• NSW School Library Matters on Facebook

• NSWTL Listserv

• Library Matters on Yammer (DoE staff)

• Oliver-SLS forum on Yammer (DoE staff)

• Watch the Oliver how to videos and spend some time looking around the Oliver system to become familiar with it

  • find loans and returns, and how to generate overdue lists - you'll need these first!

• Join your local school library network

• Find a librarian mentor or a colleague that you can chat to regularly or as needed

• There's a cost involved but consider joining professional organisations such as the NSW CBCA, SLANSW, ALIA or ASLA

• Learn their names and how to pronounce them

• Find out what their interests are, and not just in books. A Reader Profile might help :)

• Check out their borrowing history on Oliver - who are your best borrowers? Who needs encouragement?

• Who engages with the PRC?

• Have the conversation with your principal or leadership team about their expectations; at the same time, ensure you may your role and your library focus understood

• Introduce yourself to all the staff - teachers, office staff and your GA

• Set aside time to meet and talk to your Library Assistant (if you have one) - Penelope OS says they are the Yoda of all things library!

• Present your teaching colleagues with a list of what you can provide for them; add chocolate or small token for an unforgettable first impression!

• Ask colleagues what services or resources they would like from the library

• Attend Stage meetings, briefly but regularly

Find out what your budget is and how this will work:

• Do you have a PCard and is there a monthly or term limit or do you order through the office and if you do, exactly what is the process?

• Are you responsible for just library acquisitions or, in consultation with the relevant staff person, do you also purchase readers and other resources? Does your budget reflect this?

• Remember to set aside a portion of your budget for incidentals - contact, barcodes, PRC stickers, etc

• Some schools don't allow professional memberships to be purchased from library budgets - find out if this is the case with yours

• Don't ever be tempted to include reward points or money raised from fundraisers as part of your library budget - this is an inconsistent and unreliable source of income, a bonus for your library, not a given

• How will you spend your budget? Will you complete series, update your nonfiction, introduce or enhance your e-reading collection?

• Can the office provide you with a list of current suppliers?

  • Contact local bookstores and introduce yourself

  • Look for other suppliers that offer school discounts and free delivery!

  • Your Kid's Next Read on Facebook (lots of posts, lots ...) provides lots of excellent book recommendations

  • The Children's Bookshop on Facebook does the same

  • Follow library blogs for ideas and inspiration

TL positions are not guaranteed - after all that effort and expense, it's disgraceful (we know!). YOU are the best advocate for the need for student access to quality literature and resources, you are the one who makes the link between qualified TLS, well-resourced libraries and better student outcomes tangible.

Remember, to your school community, YOU are your library.

• Promote the library and what you are doing regularly in your school newsletter

• Make sure you have a library page or section on your school's website

• If your school has a Facebook page, use it!

• Set up a Twitter or Instagram account (with your principal's permission) and promote, promote, promote!

• Participate in TL PD days offered by your local network, the Department or recommended providers

• Join the Students Need School Libraries campaign and check out their website for useful resources to share with your parent community

• If you are a NSW Teachers Federation member, consider joining the Special Interest Group (SIG) for teacher librarians to keep up to date with issues that currently face TLs

• for ES1/S1, 10-15 minutes to browse and borrow, then I read and we either complement it with a literature appreciation lesson a more instructional lesson, depending on my program; for Stages 2-3, 15 minutes to borrow, browse and read, then book spruik followed by the instructional lesson. I still don't have the hang of wrapping up my lessons in a timely manner!

• read a story to settle students then start the activity; borrowing occurs at the end of the lesson

• Punch holes in shelf markers and link to school reward system, every 5 times borrowed = rewards, every 15 = extra book to borrow + a reward

• I use a +1 sticker on books such as Where's Wally or I Spy so if students borrow these, they also need to choose a story book

• Work out who the student is they most want to be with - find two copies of the same title they find appealing and challenge them each to read it

• PRC Wall of Fame

• Get a free 'Just Kidding' magazine, comes occasionally with a free toy ☺

• Lots of incompletes so going to implement a morning tea for those who complete

• Last year I gave those who completed a free book sourced from book fairs or doubles purchased in packs (there wasn't many!)

• K-2 provided in lessons but with a different focus, eg. Yr 2 looks at nonfiction ✓

• Sections/displays dedicated to showing selections of Yrs 3-4 and 5-6 ✓

• I celebrate 3-6 students who complete the PRC with a star handed to them at assembly and their first name on the library door

• A box of 'quick reads' is accessible; I also provide record strips to jot down any books read at lunchtime or browsing

• I log all K-2 and show 3-6 how to enter their reading records and give them time during lessons and at lunch time. If they don't finish recording but have read enough books, I add the books to their logs - but close to the end and after lots of reminders and encouragement!

• Morris Lessmore (book and app)

• When the Wind Changes (oldie but a goodie!) ✓

• Amelia Ellicott's Garden

• Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book - Lauren Child

• Rosie's Walk

• Bertie and the Bear

• The Children Who Loved Books

• Wilfred Gordon MacDonald Partridge

• Pig the Pug books

• The Greatest Treasure of King Charlemagne (library theme)

• Uno's Garden

• Dimity Dumpty

• Aaron Blabey

• Lisa Shanahan

• Deb Abela

• Tim Harris

• R.A. Spratt

• Tristan Bancks

• Dianne Wolfer - fantastic!

• Yvette Poshoglian

• Mark Greenwood was amazing! ✓Mystery and history; kids still ask for his books

• Suzanne Gervay

• Sarah Davis (illustrator)

• Oliver Phommavanh

• Louise Park

• Matt Cosgrove ✓

• Mr Bambuckle's Remarkables by Tim Harris - S2 enjoyed these as read alouds and they are a great bridge between Jeff Kinney, etc and more challenging chapter books

• The Princess in Black series - excellent forS1 students moving into chapter books and looking for excitement!

• I Love Reading series - great introduction to NF for juniors

• Nick Bland

• Aaron Blabey

• Mem Fox

• Robin Klein

• Pamela Allen

• Tanja McCartney (see Kids Book Review blog)

• Bruce Whatley - different styles

• Colin Thompson - very timely themes for Yr 6 in Term 4

• Separate 3-4 and 5-6 picture books; when picking class loans, kids pick one novel and one picture book

• Read out loud to all ages

• Read aloud the really great ones

• Separate section near senior fiction; I explain that they are too sophisticated for juniors and the content is not appropriate - try to make it sound as if they are being a bit daring by reading these (sometimes works)

• Create an attractive displays in the senior area with an obvious "Senior Eyes Only" or similar

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• Quantum Library Supplies for contact - best I've tried!

• Raeco for covering materials, labels, etc

• Woods for furniture

• Kingfisher Abax for furniture

• Shawn Tan ✓

• Mark Greenwood (historical fiction)

• Dear Mrs LaRue: Lessons from Obedience school

• Zoom by Istvan Banyai

• Flotsam by David Wiesner

• Flight by Nadia Wheatley - the students always found 'more' on each page

• Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne ✓

• Free Book Friday for all students (not parents!) ✓✓

• Offer to staff or recycle

• If appropriate donate to charity or classroom library (remove stickers) ✓

• School Trash and Treasure stall/P&C stalls

• Donate to Books for the Outback

• Booktopia ✓

• Wheelers

• Bloomin' Books ✓; free delivery, knowledgeable, discount - NOTE: is now (>2020) upstairs at Better Read than Dead, Newtown

• Boomerang Books

• Pegi Williams ✓✓✓; free delivery, no order too small, fast

• Scholastic Book Club ✓✓

• Macleans (Newcastle)

• Children's Bookshop, Beecroft ✓✓; reliable, knowledgeable NOTE: no longer at Beecroft. Contact TCB at staff@thechildrensbookshop.com.au or on 02 9571 1897

• Salvos! Great for second hand books in good condition

• Australian Standing Orders ✓

• Lamont's Standing Orders ✓ - visit our school each term

• Books Direct - sends books on consignment

• Harry Hartog - on account

• Educational Concepts - always has great nonfiction, especially for juniors

• Class loans, made out to the classroom teacher

• Keep at School book: students borrow a book to take home and one to be kept in their classroom for DEAR, silent reading, fast finishers, etc

• Create a collection of Class Library books from weeded, unwanted donations or books sourced elsewhere (charity shops are fabulous!). Make sure these are high interest and popular books that are also available in the library collection and rotate each term