Information Literacy Special Interest Group

[Robin Hannah <hannahad@ACTRIX.GEN.NZ>]

Dear Rosa-Jane

I was interested to read your posting re the Information Literacy Special
Interest Group and Liz Probert's response.

I have been thinking of motivating the establishment of a school
librarians SIG comprising trained teacher librarians, teachers with
library responsibilities and qualified librarians employed in schools. I
feel that we need to get together and work within a larger body to have
some clout to get the necessary recognition and training/professional
development from the Government and Ministry. At the moment we are
atomised into individual school sites and isolated from one another. I
for one want to be part of a forum of more experienced, full time teacher
librarians as the number of trained TLs in my area have dwindled
considerably.

I am also concerned that there is no umbrella organisation informing tlrs
and tls of the best practises in NZ school libraries and that many of us
are reinventing wheels unnecessarily. This of course extends to what is
happening overseas.

I am keen to be part of a group to discuss possible organisational formats.

There does seem to be some need for coordination of conferences as I know
that there is a planned conference for Young Adult Librarians in July
1997 in Wellington and if there is another conference planned on
Information Literacy it would seem to be attracting many of the same
people. It will possibly mean a smaller attendance at both conferences.
As part of the planning committee for the YA Conference I have
recommended that workshops that target the needs of teachers should be
included and this is being considered seriously. Maybe the two planning
groups should discuss and come to some agreement. Sally Patrick at the
Wellington Public Library is the chairperson of the YA Librarians Conference.

Adaire Hannah
Teacher Librarian
Heretaunga College
Hannahad@actrix.gen.nz

(These views are my own and do not necessarily represent Heretaunga College)