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February 2024
PLS eNews
Welcome to the monthly newsletter from the Public Library Services team at the State Library of NSW. It’s here to let you know about upcoming events, promotions and professional development opportunities.
As this is the first issue of the PLS eNews for 2024, we wish you all a very happy new year! We hope you all had a lovely break, and are feeling refreshed and ready for another busy year.
Help us celebrate 50 years of the Multicultural Service
We’re celebrating 50 years of the State Library of NSW’s Multicultural Bulk Loan Service this year. The State Library is keen to get the message out (in English and non-English newspapers, radio etc) to mark this milestone and we need your help.
Do you have people from your multicultural community who would like to share their stories, and would be comfortable being interviewed and photographed by the media?
We’d love to hear from your communities. We’re looking for human interest stories about how the service has affected people’s lives, for example:
- the impact of being able to borrow books and read in your own language
- the importance of book clubs in community languages
- a new generation of Australians learning to read in their native language.
If you know any community members who would be willing to share their stories, please contact Abby Dawson by Friday 23 February.
New stock of books available for loanWe’ve recently added new titles in Burmese, Hindi, Indonesian, Thai, Ukrainian, Urdu and Vietnamese to our multicultural bulk loan service. This has given us the opportunity to refresh some of our aging collection and meet the increase in demand for some languages. You can use the multilingual library signage tool to download and print professionally translated phrases to help promote these new books. |
Readers’ Advisory Seminar – book nowBook now for the Readers’ Advisory Seminar, being held on Tuesday 19 March online and at the State Library, 9.30 am – 3.30 pm. Join your public library colleagues for a day of enriching discussions, captivating conversations, and networking prospects. This year's seminar features authors Ellen van Neerven and Kate Holden as keynote speakers, as well as presentations from NSW public libraries and the ALIA Graphic Novel group. |
Toast the NSW Seniors Festival with our new mocktail
The Drug Info team is celebrating the NSW Seniors Festival with a new western-themed literary mocktail recipe. ‘Blue Grit’ pays homage to the 1968 Charles Portis novel True Grit, adapted for a film starring John Wayne and then remade by the Coen brothers in 2010. Special thanks to Nicky Stewart at Ku-ring-gai Library for the title suggestion!
Blue Grit combines the classic flavour combination of blueberry and lemon with soda water for fizz, a dash of hot sauce for that western spice and a sprig of rosemary to add the grit to a unique and delicious alternative to alcohol.
You can view the recipe, and other Drug Info concoctions, on our Literary Mocktails page. For ideas on promoting Drug Info to your older library community, use our Seniors promotion page.
Summer Book Club author talkWe hope you and your community are enjoying the indyreads Summer Book Club title, Funny Ethnics by Shirley Le. To conclude the Summer Book Club an author talk has been scheduled for Thursday 15 February from 6.30 – 7.30 pm on Zoom. Register here. Join author Shirley Le in conversation with Sarah Ayoub, freelance journalist, author and board member of the Australian Society of Authors for a lively conversation about the book. Participants will have the opportunity to ask Shirley Le questions via chat at the end of the event. You may wish to hold an online viewing at your library, or promote the online event so people can enjoy it from the comfort of home. Social media collateral to help you promote the event is available here. |
Online storytimeDid you know that the State Library's Learning team offers a monthly online storytime? Each month, a children's author is invited to present a 30-minute interactive storytime session via Zoom. The sessions are for 3–6-year-olds, and are very popular with homeschoolers, early childhood centres and schools. The first session is with Mick Elliot, author-illustrator of the picture book Dads and Dogs, on Wednesday 14 February 10am – 10.30 am. Register here. Mick will share some of the favourite dog characters that inspired his writing and will show how to draw cartoon canines like the ones in the book. Feel free to promote this storytime session to your community, or gather children and families in your library to watch the session together! If you have any questions please email the Learning team. |
Update to the Tool Kit - one book to removeThe Find Legal Answers Tool Kit has been updated. Please remove the book Women and family law, 11th ed from your Tool Kit collections. There is a new online only edition of the book, with a new hard copy due mid-year. There will be significant changes to the Family Law Act 1975 in May 2024. A new hard copy edition will be available when these changes have been finalised. I will send this to you when it is available. The current online only edition is an interim version, designed to update some information while waiting for the more significant changes to come into effect. Check your Tool Kit is up to date and find a flyer to print on our Tool Kit page. |
Free legal help for working womenWomen’s Legal Service NSW has a new legal service to assist women experiencing harassment or discrimination at work. The Working Women’s Legal Service provides advice about:
They can be contacted via their online form or on 02 8745 6954. You can find a poster on their website to print out and display. You may also wish to distribute these to organisations in your community. Find more sources of free legal help on our Getting help page. |
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