Professional Learning Opportunities August 2023

August. A big month in the school library world in Australia. If you are just trying to survive the month (like me) or thriving and looking to embrace any and all opportunities, here’s a list for you. School library professional learning opportunities for August, 2023. From webinars to podcasts, articles and more. Happy learning. 

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Webinars and videos

First Nations Representation and Agency in Libraries – ALIA with Kirsten Thorpe and Lauren Booker – 3 August, 2023, 12:30pm AEST – $15 members, $30 non members – online.

Mythbusting Wikipedia: Misinformation, AI, and Volunteers – ALIA – 1 August, 2023 1pm – free – online. 

AI: Where’s the source? – ALIA  – 1 August, 2023, 1pm – members free, non members $30 – online. 

Making a difference in school libraries – What is my role in the TEAM? – ASLA with Madeleine Jane Viner – 2 August, 2023, 7:30pm AEST – $20 members, $40 non members – online. 

Helping kids become critical media consumers – ALIA – 2 August, 2023, 12:30pm AEST – free – online.

An introduction to measuring research impact – ALIA – 2 August, 2023, 1pm AEST – free for members, $15 non members – online. 

From Algorithms to Recommendations: Using AI for Personalised Readers Advisory – EduWebinar with Catherine Barnes – 9 August, 2023, 7pm AEST – $40 – online.

How does the data tell your story? – ALIA – 12 August, 2023, 10:30am AEST – $44 members, $66 non members – online.

“The Kids don’t borrow books anymore”: How I have increased borrowing by over 60% in my previous two school libraries – EduWebinar with Sam Wasson – 23 August, 2023, 7pm AEST – $40 – online.

Tips and Tricks for Library Nerds – SCIS – 29 August, 2023, 3pm – $26 – online.

Conferences

Do not miss the Boss Librarians and Friends Back-to-School Virtual Professional Development conference. From the 2nd to 5th of August, 2023, this event is free and has so many different presentations and topics from practicing school librarians. 

Courses

Cataloguing for Beginners – ALIA – 22 August – 18 September 2023 – $365 members, $510 non members – online.

Podcasts

Latest episodes from School Librarians United include State Librarian of the Year, Library Orientation, and Teaching Preschoolers

Special Events

Celebrate Australian School Library Day on the 23rd of August, 2023. The theme this year is Libraries are Made by People. Check out the ideas for how to celebrate and resources on the Students Need School Libraries website.  The SNSL team are also running a competition to celebrate school libraries. Enter here. 

Getting ready for the CBCA Book Week? Check out the CBCA resources, merchandise, Shortlist books and more. 

Articles and Blog posts

Inviting and inclusive school libraries – Read for Good

Obama speaks out against ‘profoundly misguided’ book bans in school libraries – Martin Pengelly.

‘Racist propaganda’: The undercover campaign to infiltrate school libraries – Gabrielle McCulloch

School libraries in Victoria suffer from shortage of resources, qualifications – Madeleine Heffernan

Want kids to read in the summer? School Librarians can help – Elizabeth Heubeck

Disability representation and props for the Freedom to Read: Trending on SLJ – SLJ Staff

Designing Future-Ready School Libraries: Empowering stakeholders for evidence-based change – Chin Ee Loh.

Want more professional learning?

Check out my professional learning series or have a look through last month’s professional learning list.