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August 2024
PLS eNews
Welcome to the monthly newsletter from the Public Library Services team at the State Library of NSW — bringing you the latest news about upcoming events, promotions and professional development opportunities.
Banner image: Batemans Bay Library, Eurobodalla Libraries
2023–24 Public Library Infrastructure Grants
The 2023–24 Public Library Infrastructure Grants have been announced, with 28 local councils awarded grants totalling $6 million. The grants will improve library infrastructure such as buildings, mobile services and technology systems. You can see the full list of recipients on the grants page on the PLS website.
State Librarian Dr Caroline Butler-Bowdon is delighted that the funds will enable councils to develop or improve their services. ‘Library building and space upgrades make it easier for more people to access the high-quality collections, connectivity and committed staff who work in NSW public libraries.’
The Public Library Infrastructure Grants program is administered by the State Library of NSW on behalf of the Library Council of NSW. The 2024–25 Public Library Infrastructure Grants will open later in the year. Please contact the PLS team if you have any questions about the grants program.
A new Drug Info online training course
A new Drug Info training course has been added to the PL Portal, an online training platform freely available to all NSW public library staff.
This course provides an overview of the Drug Info service and the role it plays in delivering important community information about alcohol and other drugs. It also provides ideas and inspiration for incorporating Drug Info into your library programming, featuring real-world examples from public libraries across the state. Special thanks to our on-screen talent at Queanbeyan and Blacktown libraries who collaborated with the Drug Info team on video content for this training course.
This online course replaces the previous Drug Info online training platform which has now been retired. To learn more about creating an account and accessing a range of useful online training, go to the PL Portal page of the PLS website.
Webinar: Representing your community in local studies collections
The stories included in local studies collections can help to show the values of a community. If a local studies collection does not represent the whole community the public library serves, it is collecting and preserving a biased account of those who live there.
Ellen Forsyth recently completed research into contemporary collecting. Ellen considered the value of using a social justice approach to local studies to provide a representative record of each community. This approach would ensure greater engagement from and ownership by underrepresented groups as their stories become part of the permanent record of their local community.
Join us to explore how a social justice approach to local studies has the potential to provide a representative record of the community.
Tuesday 20 August, 2–3 pm.
Register here.
Professional development report 2023–24
The Public Library Services team supports NSW public library staff by providing a range of professional development opportunities.
The year 2023–24 was a busy one for professional development. Our in-person Find Legal Answers and Drug Info workshop was delivered to 150 public library staff in nine locations. The Uncover SL workshop was attended by 75 staff in six locations.
The online PL Portal now has four short courses and two mini modules: Find Legal Answers, Drug Info, Discover SL, indyreads, Connect with the public library network, and the NSW.net consortia opt-in offers scheme. The most popular course was the new indyreads short course, with 158 people completing the course between its introduction in October 2023 and June 2024.
Forty public library staff are taking part in the Reference Excellence training supported by PLS staff. Seven discussion groups took place during 2023–24, covering topics including reference interview skills, search strategies and ethics.
The Readers’ Advisory seminar was held in March 2024, with 165 attendees — 95 attending in person at the State Library and 70 online. Other readers’ advisory professional development included readers advisory training in July to August 2023 (74 attendees), the Actively anti-racist service for readers course during May to June 2024 (46 attendees) and a webinar by Dr Nicole A Cooke on cultural humility in March 2024 (70 attendees).
Staff working in local studies were able to attend a number of courses organised by PLS. Thirty-six staff attended the workshop Preventative conservation for paper items in local studies collections held at the State Library in November 2023. Disaster planning workshops were held in May 2024 with 22 staff attending online and 28 onsite. Over 100 staff from across Australia attended the online Wider local studies seminar in June 2024.
Find out more about professional development opportunities on the PLS website. Please feel free to contact PLS to discuss the training needs of your staff.
Statewide databases 2024–25NSW.net provides all NSW public libraries with free access to a range of online databases from Gale. This year’s suite includes the 15 databases previously offered as well as two new resources recommended by the NSW.net Content Working Group: Gale in Context: Literature provides context for literary classics and diverse new texts by using a robust multimedia collection of videos, images, infographics, ebooks and more. The Smithsonian Online Collection features the Smithsonian Museum Magazine which covers a range of general interest subjects from history, science, nature, culture and travel. Learn more about statewide databases on the NSW.net section of the PLS website. |
Gale webinar: Using historical newspapers for family history researchGale is celebrating Family History Month with the latest webinar in the Tech Talks with Lynette series. ‘Using historical newspapers for family history research’ explores how family history research can be aided by the use of historical newspapers and how they can be accessed online. Wednesday 7 August, 1–2 pm. Register here. Gale’s NSW public libraries newsletter provides details of other upcoming webinars, professional development opportunities and information about Gale databases and other resources. Contact Gale at anz.gale@cengage.com to sign up. |
WinterReads 2024This August we are running a WinterReads promotion once again on indyreads. From 1 to 31 August, a selection of titles will be available on a dedicated WinterReads carousel on indyreads. With a range of genres including crime, romance, classics, science fiction and fantasy, there’s something for everyone. All the titles will be available under an unlimited simultaneous license: no holds or waitlists. Promote these titles to your library members — someone looking for something new to try, your library book clubs, those looking for their next winter read, or anyone completing Winter Reading Challenges at your library. You can find a poster and a social media campaign to promote WinterReads to your community here. |
New Slovak booksThis week the bulk loan service has received almost 500 brand new Slovak language books to refresh a collection that is more than 10 years old. The new collection includes new titles for adults and children, with fiction and non-fiction titles now available to request. We have been seeing a renewed interest for Slovak language books, with demand increasing at a gradual pace for 3 years running. In 2023–24, requests for Slovak language books came from Lane Cove Library, Central Coast Library, Waverley Library, Bathurst Library, Lithgow City Council Libraries and Wollongong City Libraries. You can request a bulk loan from this collection or learn more about the bulk loan service here. |
Webinar recording: The digital future of multicultural collections and services
On 25 July PLS hosted a webinar from Macquarie University’s Multicultural Research Centre on the digital future of multicultural collections and services, a research project from Macquarie University in partnership with the State Library of NSW. Watch the recording here.
Scams Awareness Week 2024
Scams Awareness Week is being held from Monday 26 to Friday 30 August 2024. This year’s campaign theme is Share a story, stop a scam.
The National Anti-Scam Centre is encouraging all Australians to speak up, share and report scams. Sharing stories helps others to spot, avoid and report scams, and recover from the harms caused by scammers. They are asking people to share scam stories using the hashtag #ShareAScamStory to help make Australia a harder target for scammers.
Find more information, key messages and guidelines on the National Anti-Scam Centre Scams Awareness Week 2024 page. We will also be posting on the Find Legal Answers Facebook page — follow us and share our posts to get the message out.
New coercive control laws in NSWCoercive control is when someone repeatedly hurts, scares or isolates another person to control them. From 1 July 2024, coercive control is a criminal offence in NSW when a person uses abusive behaviours towards a current or former intimate partner with the intention to coerce or control them. Find links to more information about coercive control, domestic violence, AVOs, financial abuse and where to get help on the Find Legal Answers Domestic and family violence page. |
New Australian vaping lawsThe Therapeutic Goods and Other Legislation Amendment (Vaping Reforms) Act 2024 is now in force in Australia. Nicotine vapes in Australia are now regulated as therapeutic goods. This means they are only available at pharmacies to help people quit smoking or manage nicotine dependence. The Drug Info website has more information about changes to vaping laws and links to the Australian Government’s Therapeutic Goods Administration vaping hub. For more information about vaping, see Drug Info’s A to Z of Drugs vaping page. |
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