Library Success Stories
I went to Library Success Stories at the State Library of NSW.We had talks by the following speakers:
Pilar Martinez, Deputy Chief Executive Officer Edmonton Public Library, Canada which received Library Journal Library of the Year 2014.
Pilar spoke passionately about staff initiatives,new ways of doing meetings and especially their community efforts. Please see the excellent article below
Edmunton Public Library - LOTY-2014
Pilar spoke passionately about staff initiatives,new ways of doing meetings and especially their community efforts. Please see the excellent article below
Edmunton Public Library - LOTY-2014
Library Stars 2014 – Content Winners “Our Words, Our Stories”Debbie Horgan, Greater Taree City Libraries.
A fantastic country library who really believed in this project between the library,TAFE and the local indigenous community.
A fantastic country library who really believed in this project between the library,TAFE and the local indigenous community.
Library Stars 2014 – Content Runners Up “Lunch-Time Poets”
Kristin Twomey, Tumut Library (via video)
A poetry contest with a twist!! The poems were printed on a paper food bags at the Falling Leaf Festival
A poetry contest with a twist!! The poems were printed on a paper food bags at the Falling Leaf Festival
Library Stars 2014 – Collaboration Winners “The Coffee Revolution” Margie Kirkness, Greater Taree City Libraries
This library wanted a coffee shop and joined together with a local service provider to have a very successful venture,
This library wanted a coffee shop and joined together with a local service provider to have a very successful venture,
Library Stars 2014 – Collaboration Runners Up “Community Connections” Kieran O’Donoghue, Newcastle Regional Library
Newcastle Library
Newcastle Library
Library Stars 2014 – Capacity Runners Up “Shop-Bound Library Service” Christiane Birkett, Gunnedah Shire Library
Gunnadah library
This small country library saw a need for shopowners to have this service as they worked the same hours as the library and were often a solo owner.
This small country library saw a need for shopowners to have this service as they worked the same hours as the library and were often a solo owner.
ALIA Bess Thomas Award 2014 – “ReADtember” Tracie Mauro, Parkes Shire Library
Parkes Library had a writer in residence "Matt Finch"and a whole range of activities including Zombies in Readtember.
Parkes Library had a writer in residence "Matt Finch"and a whole range of activities including Zombies in Readtember.
Hope you all find inspiration in these stories,I did!!
Thanks Meagan
Lit Up! Literacy forum at State Library
I attended this forum on Wednesday 11th March. It was hosted by the State Library but conceived and organised by the NSW Public Libraries Literacy Working Group. I have been attending their meetings for the last year or so.
I suspect the transcript of the papers will be put up on the web at some point, however I thought I'd share what I got out of the day.
I found some good practical inspiration from the day.
Jan Hagston spoke first. She is a member of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) Literacy Expert Group in Australia. This group is overseen by OECD and the assessment is conducted in 24 countries. Here are some quick and dirty impressions she gave us.
Measurement is conducted in 3 areas :
Problem solving in a technical environment - we (Australians) are quite good at that, above average, our elderly (tech savvy seniors) helped drag us up the scale.
Numeracy - below average - most are at level 2 and below (scale up to 5). 3.6 million between 15 - 75 years, could not answer a visual question asking how full the petrol tank is from a drawing of the gauge. There was a wide range of correct answers.
There was an increase between 2006 and 2012. Of those at this level 49% are males and 59% are women.
Literacy (Reading only..not writing) - not great - Level 2 questions like, on being shown a medicine packet and being asked to indicate the maximum number of days one can take the medicine, 620,000 between 15 - 75 years could not answer, where there was no other mention of the word 'days' on the packet and the number was a numeral, not written. Level 4 questions required highlighting a sentence which answered the question, only 2 million of 15 - 75 year olds could answer this.
It was found that the the hardest task to complete correctly, a Level 5 question, was to locate the book in a library catalogue which would best answer the stated need. It required looking at the summaries as the titles did not reflect the subject matter.
Comparatively we are 5th on the list, 2 steps above the average with Japan being at the top. Our percentage on level 2 and below decreased from 45% to 44.3% between 2006 and 2012, but the numbers increased!!
Those in this level tend to be not working or in manual or base administrative positions, over 45, did not complete Year 12, suffer poor health, are NESB and live in Tasmania.
Bruce Caldwell from the ABS spoke next, about what the above statistics actually tell us.
He stated that 9,000 people were 'pushed' into doing the survey, 55% of which were found to be illiterate. 43% of NSW and 49% of Tasmania got below a level 3, but he said this difference was not statistically significant for this sample size. His point was to say that as with all statistics you can become too focused on the number and not what can be learnt from the trends.The findings do tell us that the lower your skill level the lower your wage and the more likely it is that you will be unemployed. The educational skills of the parents directly relate to the literacy levels of the children. But Australians still rate quite well even if both parents are not tertiary educated. Literacy score was linked to where you live, scores lower the further out of the cities one gets.
Keryl Collard, from Maitland Library spoke about their literacy efforts.
Being literate is to be able to make meaning of information and be able to function well in our complex lives.
Collaboration and co-operation are integral to accessing those who need help. U3A, Hunter Writers Group, Maitland Hospital, University of Newcastle, Friends of Maitland Library and the Early Learning Centres work together to identify and support learners.
Maitland library sees it's mission is to promote literacy in all it's forms. They provide adult literacy tutoring, one on one. Staff are TAFE trained and they have volunteers who are also TAFE trained. They get referrals from TAFE in which they find 50% of people need extra help. They adopt a dual approach with individual goals and common goals. It is something concrete to offer those who are struggling. All staff will be trained, but time and commitment to the process is essential. They started on a scale that was manageable for them. one staff member. A library service needs to connect, be an active stakeholder in community literacy and promote literacy in all it's forms.
Chris Jones from Great Lakes, setting up their Better reading - better communities program
Libraries should be involved in literacy, when one looks at the National statistics and the library trend from book based to people based service. Get strategic, get serious, and get the money. NEED Literacy tutors. create links with TAFE and the Friends of the Library. Create a 2 - 3 page strategy document. Locate volunteers, often from the Literacy Unit in TAFE and train them. The course is 4 hours for 6 weeks.People love volunteering. Network again and again, schools would have taken all the tutors, the problem was finding the adults who needed help, the migrant community is happy to learn and feels no shame in seeking help. Networking opened a can of worms - need resources, staff time and a library literacy team, called Community Literacy meetings and invited those who could use the tutors. It takes effort. Meets regularly, offers literacy volunteers, created promotional material, does reading in nursing homes, a form filling service and an active literacy collection. TIPS: Develop promotional material early to get the word out, keep the tutors engaged and not all people should be tutors, indigenous tutors for indigenous students.
Ruth Coulter, Rebecca Cowie, Maggie Leayr, Suzanne Micallef and Leisa Radford:
Taking the lead project - Literacy Services for Public Libraries Blog
They decided their project would be to create, and maintain the above blog. Which came out of looking for the industry's policy documents and resources themselves and seeing there was a need to make these first steps toward creating adult literacy programs a little easier for libraries, by having aids all in one spot.
The need for literacy services is outlined in these current policy documents.
Living learning libraries 2014 - guideline 13 page 53
Beyond a quality service - guideline 14 page 47
To find stakeholders, think broadly
Find out what is already out there and work with that.
Pamela Davies from Auburn Library - English conversation classes.
2,495 attended in the first quarter of 2015
For kids - homework help, reading buddies volunteers, and Auburn Youth Centre activities
Digital Literacy - NBN funding and they have employed TAFE teachers to train volunteer tutors, and they run Tech Savvy Seniors courses funded by State Government and Telstra.
Adult Literacy - 31, two hour conversation classes per week. Volunteers run it, there is no curriculum, no registration no assessment. Mission Australia gives them heaps of support. Modelled around reading/writing and participation in the community. There is a need to support the tutors, have a meeting each term and buy resources.Tutors need staff intensively when they begin. They must have done either the TAFE course or the Mission Australia course.
Go DiGi - National Digital Literacy Project had a stall at the bookfair/lunch in the afternoon
I suspect the transcript of the papers will be put up on the web at some point, however I thought I'd share what I got out of the day.
I found some good practical inspiration from the day.
Jan Hagston spoke first. She is a member of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) Literacy Expert Group in Australia. This group is overseen by OECD and the assessment is conducted in 24 countries. Here are some quick and dirty impressions she gave us.
Measurement is conducted in 3 areas :
Problem solving in a technical environment - we (Australians) are quite good at that, above average, our elderly (tech savvy seniors) helped drag us up the scale.
Numeracy - below average - most are at level 2 and below (scale up to 5). 3.6 million between 15 - 75 years, could not answer a visual question asking how full the petrol tank is from a drawing of the gauge. There was a wide range of correct answers.There was an increase between 2006 and 2012. Of those at this level 49% are males and 59% are women.
Literacy (Reading only..not writing) - not great - Level 2 questions like, on being shown a medicine packet and being asked to indicate the maximum number of days one can take the medicine, 620,000 between 15 - 75 years could not answer, where there was no other mention of the word 'days' on the packet and the number was a numeral, not written. Level 4 questions required highlighting a sentence which answered the question, only 2 million of 15 - 75 year olds could answer this.
It was found that the the hardest task to complete correctly, a Level 5 question, was to locate the book in a library catalogue which would best answer the stated need. It required looking at the summaries as the titles did not reflect the subject matter.
Comparatively we are 5th on the list, 2 steps above the average with Japan being at the top. Our percentage on level 2 and below decreased from 45% to 44.3% between 2006 and 2012, but the numbers increased!!
Those in this level tend to be not working or in manual or base administrative positions, over 45, did not complete Year 12, suffer poor health, are NESB and live in Tasmania.
Bruce Caldwell from the ABS spoke next, about what the above statistics actually tell us.
He stated that 9,000 people were 'pushed' into doing the survey, 55% of which were found to be illiterate. 43% of NSW and 49% of Tasmania got below a level 3, but he said this difference was not statistically significant for this sample size. His point was to say that as with all statistics you can become too focused on the number and not what can be learnt from the trends.The findings do tell us that the lower your skill level the lower your wage and the more likely it is that you will be unemployed. The educational skills of the parents directly relate to the literacy levels of the children. But Australians still rate quite well even if both parents are not tertiary educated. Literacy score was linked to where you live, scores lower the further out of the cities one gets.
Keryl Collard, from Maitland Library spoke about their literacy efforts.
Being literate is to be able to make meaning of information and be able to function well in our complex lives.
Collaboration and co-operation are integral to accessing those who need help. U3A, Hunter Writers Group, Maitland Hospital, University of Newcastle, Friends of Maitland Library and the Early Learning Centres work together to identify and support learners.
Maitland library sees it's mission is to promote literacy in all it's forms. They provide adult literacy tutoring, one on one. Staff are TAFE trained and they have volunteers who are also TAFE trained. They get referrals from TAFE in which they find 50% of people need extra help. They adopt a dual approach with individual goals and common goals. It is something concrete to offer those who are struggling. All staff will be trained, but time and commitment to the process is essential. They started on a scale that was manageable for them. one staff member. A library service needs to connect, be an active stakeholder in community literacy and promote literacy in all it's forms.
Chris Jones from Great Lakes, setting up their Better reading - better communities program
Libraries should be involved in literacy, when one looks at the National statistics and the library trend from book based to people based service. Get strategic, get serious, and get the money. NEED Literacy tutors. create links with TAFE and the Friends of the Library. Create a 2 - 3 page strategy document. Locate volunteers, often from the Literacy Unit in TAFE and train them. The course is 4 hours for 6 weeks.People love volunteering. Network again and again, schools would have taken all the tutors, the problem was finding the adults who needed help, the migrant community is happy to learn and feels no shame in seeking help. Networking opened a can of worms - need resources, staff time and a library literacy team, called Community Literacy meetings and invited those who could use the tutors. It takes effort. Meets regularly, offers literacy volunteers, created promotional material, does reading in nursing homes, a form filling service and an active literacy collection. TIPS: Develop promotional material early to get the word out, keep the tutors engaged and not all people should be tutors, indigenous tutors for indigenous students.
Ruth Coulter, Rebecca Cowie, Maggie Leayr, Suzanne Micallef and Leisa Radford:
Taking the lead project - Literacy Services for Public Libraries Blog
They decided their project would be to create, and maintain the above blog. Which came out of looking for the industry's policy documents and resources themselves and seeing there was a need to make these first steps toward creating adult literacy programs a little easier for libraries, by having aids all in one spot.
The need for literacy services is outlined in these current policy documents.
Living learning libraries 2014 - guideline 13 page 53
Beyond a quality service - guideline 14 page 47
To find stakeholders, think broadly
Find out what is already out there and work with that.
Pamela Davies from Auburn Library - English conversation classes.
2,495 attended in the first quarter of 2015
For kids - homework help, reading buddies volunteers, and Auburn Youth Centre activities
Digital Literacy - NBN funding and they have employed TAFE teachers to train volunteer tutors, and they run Tech Savvy Seniors courses funded by State Government and Telstra.
Adult Literacy - 31, two hour conversation classes per week. Volunteers run it, there is no curriculum, no registration no assessment. Mission Australia gives them heaps of support. Modelled around reading/writing and participation in the community. There is a need to support the tutors, have a meeting each term and buy resources.Tutors need staff intensively when they begin. They must have done either the TAFE course or the Mission Australia course.
Go DiGi - National Digital Literacy Project had a stall at the bookfair/lunch in the afternoon
Ireland - County Tipperary - Genealogy
Ireland - County Tipperary - Genealogy
Resources for
Family Historians -
Society of
Australian Genealogists
I attended a
seminar/workshop at Sag [Society of Australian Genealogists]
on resources
available for researching your ancestors from County Tipperary in Ireland. Many
of the resources were also applicable to general Irish family history research.
Many
irreplaceable archives were lost in the 1922 fire which destroyed the Four
Courts buildings in Dublin. What remains is slowly being digitised and made
available online but there are still a variety of options for tracing your
Irish ancestors
The first part of
the seminar was a discussion on some of the resources held within the Sag
library. Sag has many in house records which are available to members. Members can register on the SAG website with an email address and be notified
of any new resources relevant to their research.
The second part
was an exploration of various websites but unfortunately it was very rushed and
the exploration didn’t really happen but I have a few notes on those that were selected
for mention. A few I have since explored and found very interesting.
There is a wealth
of information online. Some requires payment but other sites are available for
free. Sorting through this information can be time consuming. Unfortunately there isn’t just
one general website for Tipperary.
When tracing
ancestors it is very important ‘to be sure’ so always have 3 forms of
verification if possible.
Tipperary
genealogy
Background:
Tipperary County
is located in the south of Ireland [Eire] and has no coastal borders. Until
recently it was separated into The North Riding and the South Riding. The North
riding’s major town was Thurles and the terrain surrounding generally hilly.
The major town in the South Riding was Clonmel and it mostly consisted of flat
agricultural land.
This is important
if searching for family history in County Tipperary, as often the very early
information is separated into these two groups. The geography of the areas is
also a possible indication of professions or lifestyle. When searching family
history in Tipperary search all areas ie Tipperary, North Tipperary and South
Tipperary. Historical maps are very good for determining which part of the
county your family came from.
Tipperary Maps
Placenames database
of Ireland – historical maps showing civil parishes, electoral districts and
towns.
Lewis’s
Topographical Dictionary of Ireland – Parishes of Ireland, town lands. This is
available in the SAG library but also available online http://www.from-ireland.net/lewis-topographical-dictionary/tipperary/
Educational practice in 18th and 19th
century Ireland
Prior to the
1830s, there were no Catholic schools in Ireland, they were forbidden under the
Penal laws from 1723-1782 so “Hedge schools” developed. They were called this
because they literally gathered near a hedge for classes. They were
occasionally held in a barn or home. Subjects included primarily
basic Irish language grammar, English and maths.
The Penal laws
aimed to force Irish Catholics of the middle classes and gentry to convert
to Anglicanism if they wanted a good education in Ireland. Irish
‘Charter schools’ existed from the 1730-1830.
The Charter Schools admitted only Catholics, under the condition that
they be educated as Protestants.
The Hedge schools existed for the poor not just for
Catholics. These declined with the foundation of the Government National
School system in the 1830s.
Selection
of resources
Griffith’s Primary Valuation of Rateable
property in Ireland 1851 –
Mr Griffith
surveyed and provided valuations of the whole of Ireland. The valuations began
in 1845 and were published in 1852. These valuations provided a description of
the land and what was included in the valuations. The valuation amount given is
the cost for leasing the land for 1 year and not the value of the land. This
has been updated every 3 years since 1852. Griffiths valuations 1847-1864 are
available on Ancestry.
***Ancestry Search Tip
To narrow your search to just Tipperary
resources, highlight the ‘Search’ heading and scroll down to ‘browse card
catalogue’ use limiters on the left hand side to narrow the search to Europe –
Ireland – then name of County ie Tipperary. Lists all suitable resources.
Search individual databases such as Griffth’s Valuations.]
Tithe Applotment books
Compiled between 1823 and 1837 in order to determine the amount, which
occupiers of agricultural holdings over one acre, should pay in tithes to the
Church of Ireland (the main Protestant church and the church established by the
State until its dis-establishment in 1871).
These books have
been digitised and free access is available online.
Wills and Registry of Deeds
National Archives
Calendars of Wills & Administrations 1858-1922
This is a very
worthwhile source of information about deceased persons, gives the address,
often just county or town and the beneficiary and their relationship to the
deceased.
Census search forms for the 1841-1851
censuses of Ireland
Also known as
‘Old Age Pension Claim Forms’- Information includes name of parents, where they
were living and all children.
Available for
searching on FindMyPast.
Tipperary Historical Journal 1988
Held in the SAG
library together with an index by article title and author, not subject, but
still worthwhile checking.
Out of print
issues 1988; 1989; 1990; 1991; 1992; 1995; 1998; 2000 are available online. Examples
of available online articles are ‘1835 Clonmel elections’ and ‘Clergy release
fund 1830s’ ‘Famine in South Tipperary’
Irish ancestor
Indexed – available
at SAG
Irish Newspaper Archives – usually a charge for use but available for free on the National
Library website with a Reader’s card.
British Newspaper Archive – includes Irish newspapers - is available
through the Sutherland Shire library's database page.
Trove – good for finding missing people ‘missing person” once they
have arrived in Australia
Karen Pender
HSC Resources Librarian
Computer Courses for Seniors - Overview 2015
COMPUTER COURSES FOR SENIORS – OVERVIEW 2015
St George & Sutherland Community College
Jannali Centre: 127–129 Sutherland Road, Jannali (Ph. 9528 3344)
Hurstville Centre: Level1, 12 Butler Road, Hurstville (Ph. 9580 7885)
A comprehensive range of classes as listed in the SGSCC Short Courses Brochure and the Workskills: Nationally Recognised Training & Computer Short Courses Guide (available at Sutherland Shire Libraries) or online at sgscc.edu.au
Including Seniors Computer Courses with over 20 classes on offer, from $40.00 per 3 hour session. Contact Jacinda Owens or Amanda McGrath on 85437425
Host organisations offer free computer and Internet training to senior Australians (aged 50 years and over) Helpline 1300 795 897
Available at Caringbah Tradies - Phone 9524 9135 for booking and information
Endeavour Seniors Computer Club (Ph. 95226087)
Training and Computer courses approx. $6.00 per hour.
A wide range of classes available from basic courses for beginners to Internet/email and various other courses depending on your needs and interests. Classes held during the day in training room at Port Hacking Community Centre, 184 Gannons Road South, Caringbah. See website: Endeavour Web for Senior Citizens http://endeavourweb.org.au/ for courses, prices and venue details.
Gymea Community Aid and Information Service (Ph.95249559)
39 Gymea Bay Road, Gymea Cost $60.00
Six-week computer workshops – ‘Experienced tutors will give you the basic internet and Word skills and knowledge that you want. You can use the PC desktop computers or bring your own’. Classes are based on one-to-one instruction.
Phone for starting date of next workshop or visit website www.gymeacommunityaid.org.au
Sydney Institute TAFE – Gymea College
Vocational and Community Engagement (Everyday Computing)
Vocational and Community Engagement (Everyday Computing)
FREE , fee exempt course, designed for people who are absolute beginners.
One term/ 9 week course - 3 hours each week/ part-time day.
The specific course content is negotiated with the student group but will probably include basic instruction in computer fundamentals, word processing, email and internet.
For further information regarding future course dates in 2015 contact the Sydney Institute Information Centre on 1300 360 601 or visit sydneytafe.edu.au
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