October – a time for digging into the new school year in some parts of the world and facing the final last quarter in others. Whether you are looking for new ideas to inspire you or planning for the year ahead, I hope you find something in this list of professional learning opportunities.
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Webinars
The importance of genre in offering different reading experiences – Book Trust – 1 October 2026, 4pm GMT
Library Spaces That Work for Every Student – Shannon McClintock Miller – 1 October, 2026 2:00pm CT
Beyond Burnout: Rediscovering Joy, Purpose, and Sustainability in Education – Follett – 6 October 2026, 3:30pm CT
AI & Children’s Book Creators: What Can We Learn? – ASLA – 7 October 2026, 7:30pm – 8:30pm AEST
V.O.I.C.E.S Masterclass – Lily @ The Library Leaders Hub – 8 October 2026 8am – 12:30am AEST
About Reading, Books and Literacy – SLAV – 22 October 2026, 4:30pm – 5:30pm AEDT
Building Community through the School Library (Open Online Forum) – SLANSW – 27 October 2026, 7pm – 8pm AEDT
Bringing Literacy to Life: Creative Ways to Inspire Readers Beyond the Screen –Follett with Shannon McClintock Miller – 29 October 2026 2pm CT.
Podcasts
Your Kid’s Next Read – recent episodes include 10 Minutes with Rhiannon Williams, Let’s Talk YA with Will Kostakis, Books about Families 2.0
The Library Exchange – recent episodes include Student Management and Data, Decisions and Impact.
For the Love of Libraries – recent episodes include The Little Things – a conversation with Barbara McGuigan
School Librarians United – recent episodes include Why Are All The Black Librarians Gathering In The School Library?, Combatting Imposter Syndrome, and Teacher Educator Librarian Author: Danny Neville
School Librarian Learning Network podcast – recent episodes include Active Nonfiction Centres.
Plus a few you might have missed from a while ago
Words and Nerds: Takeover Ky Garvey, Megan Daley and Jenny Stubbs.
Inspiration, Influence and Impact – Raffaela Grasso: The Influence of Librarians
Articles and Blog posts
The state of teen reading: How school matters – Chin Ee Loh and Baoqi Sun
Falling Enrollment, Budget Issues, and the Impact on School Libraries – Christina Vercelletto
The Decline in Volitional Reading: Evidence-Informed Ways Forward – Loh et al
Exploring aspects of reading for pleasure in Year 7 – Sarah Critten and Teresa Cremin
ALIA ACSL & Australia Reads Statement on School Libraries and Reading for Pleasure
Fifty years of school library literature: A scoping review with bibliometric analysis – Marika Simon, Krystal Gagen-Spriggs, Kay Oddone, Kasey Garrison
NAPLAN Gap widens as Gemini opens to every student – Brodie McGee
‘Educationally indefensible’: peak body issues urgent open letter to Catholic Schools Maitland Newcastle – Grant Quarry
Why school libraries still matter in the digital age – Bronté Tomkins
Sharing passions is a good thing – Trisha Templeton
Effects of varied multimedia animations in digital storybooks: A randomised controlled trial with preschoolers – Seung-Hee Claire Son and Kirsten R. Butcher
The Librarian Effect on Literacy – Sarah Asch
Why we need support for school libraries – Australia Reads
Conditions of Attention – Dr Susan McLaine
Reading Without Pressure: Bibliotherapy in the School Library – Dr Susan McLaine
Want more professional learning?
Have a look through last month’s professional learning list.