Bite of the Mango

The bite of the mango by Mariatu Kamara and Susan McClelland is an appalling story of the atrocities in Sierra Leone and is definitely for older readers. This semi autobiography tells of one young girl, Mariatu, who when trying to hide from the terrorists, is found and her hands are cut off to prevent her voting at the election. The story of survival after that treatment will bring tears to the eyes of the most hardened senior reader. Reviewed by Fran Knight

See more about this book on LibraryThing

Blogging 101

At Eynesbury today 25 library staff spent their Saturday learning about blogging. With the help of Kate Sinclair and Helen Kwaka we each created a blog, spent a long time making it look great and some people even made a post.
The topics of our blogs are diverse, and we learned lots.

SLASA @ ASLA XX

Hearts on fire: SLASA booth at ASLA XX Adelaide Convention Centre, 2 - 5 October 2007.

ASLAXX Registration online

The secure online registration form is available NOW. It is really easy to use: https://secure.conferenceaction.com.au/ei/getdemo.ei?id=428&s=_1K40QQPYO

The hard thing is choosing which sessions to attend. Check out the conference program which links to the full descriptions of each session.
http://www.asla.org.au/pd/conference/program.htm

Just look at the sessions on offer on Wednesday morning (3 October) as a starter!
http://www.asla.org.au/pd/conference/program-wednesday.htm#one

Session 1: 11.15 am
W1.1 -- Catherine Beavis, Associate Professor School of Social and Cultural Studies In Education, Deakin University, VIC. and Meg Mappin, Screenwriter & Project Manager: Delivering Australia’s moving image heritage to the classroom
W1.2 -- Di Laycock, Teacher Librarian, Barker College, NSW: Graphic novels: Trash or treasure?
W1.3 -- Jill Abell, Director of Information Services (IT, Libraries & Archives), The Hutchins School, TAS: Leading professional learning and mapping organizational change
W1.4 -- Jeanette Davies, Administrative Officer with the ICLT Team, Catholic Education Office, Wollongong, NSW: Inclusive Technology and Podcasting
W1.5 --Val Baird, Perth Modern School, Perth, WA: Just Google it!
W1.6 -- Suzette Boyd, Head of Library and Information Services, Scotch College, VIC: Transforming research tasks to avoid plagiarism

Session 2: 12.15 pm
W2.1 -- Anne Camfield, Manager, SCIS, Curriculum Corporation: Cataloguing for 21st century curriculum search
W2.2 -- Pauline Crawford, Coordinator Resources and Information Literacy, and Kevin Nelson, Australian Science and Mathematics School, SA: Picture books and senior students
W2.3 -- Anne Girolami, Convenor, ALIA/ASLA Policy Advisory Group: Effective Partnerships
W2.4 -- John Chisholm, Children's and Youth Services Librarian, Alice Springs Public Library, NT: Their ghosts stalk the shelves: the information seeking behaviours of the millennial generation
W2.5 -- Richard Dearden, Morris Miller Librarian, University of Tasmania, TAS: Sharing the passion for information literacy and lifelong learning
W2.6 -- Patricia Carmichael, Independent Learning Centre Manager/Teacher Librarian, Concordia Lutheran College, QLD: An Independent Learning Project that can change the culture of learning in your school

Or spend a session trawling the trade exhibition, or even head off down North Terrace to tour the State Library's treasures. See you there.

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Accommodation in Adelaide

The ASLA XX Conference programme is finalised and registration opens next week. It all looks really exciting, and we thought interstate and overseas delegates might appreciate some ideas about booking accommodation. The conference is after a long weekend, and the first week of the school holidays, so we encourage you to book as early as possible so you get somewhere close to the Convention Centre.

Please note that there are some exciting preconference events planned for Tuesday 2 October including a full day seminar with guest Howard Rheingold, and a gourmet literary tour to the Barossa Valley region with author Rosanne Hawke. The welcome cocktail party commences at 5.00pm. So make sure you choose a flight to give you maximum time to enjoy all that is on offer.

Keynote speakers and invited guests will be staying at the Stamford Plaza Hotel on North Terrace, Adelaide: http://www.stamford.com.au/spa/
For discounted rates on accommodation, please mention that you are a delegate of the ASLA XX Conference. Ask for a riverview room for a fantastic view over the Festival Centre, the River Torrens, Adelaide Oval, St Peter's Cathedral and out to the hills.

The Mercure Grosvenor http://www.mercuregrosvenorhotel.com.au/ is less luxurious but right across the road from the Convention Centre. With this packed programme you won't be spending much time in your hotel room!

Coming with a group? Try Miller Apartments in Hindley Street for 1, 2 and 3 bedroom options.
http://www.holidaycity.com/miller-apartments-adelaide/

Some budget options are listed in this document from UniSA and HERDSA. Note these will usually mean a 5-10 minute walk to the Convention Centre, but there is also a free city bus service around Adelaide.

BUDGET ACCOMMODATION IN THE CITY
http://www.unisa.edu.au/educationalintegrity/conference/docs/budget%20accommodation.pdf

Please feel free to ask us for local assistance!

Call for Abstracts: Learning strand

ASLA is calling for innovative, practical and researched papers in all topics of interest to school library staff, particularly those exploring the conference strands: learning, literature and literacies.

Strand 1. Learning: sharing the passion for teaching and learning
* Engaging learners through collaborative teaching
* Building dynamic learning environments
* Contributing to student learning through evidence-based practice
* Learning and leading as information specialists

So who do you want to meet or hear from at ASLA XX? Send in your abstracts, or ideas for sessions and presenters so we can get the call for abstracts to the right people.

The deadline for submissions is 11 December 2006.

ASLA XX: Hearts on fire

Well - it's happening! ASLA XX in Adelaide from Wed 3 - Fri 5 October 2007.

South Australians are looking forward to welcoming teacher librarians, library staff and academics from every state and hopefully other countries.
Adelaide is beautiful - at its best in October - relaxed, affordable and an ideal meeting place for thinking, talking and tasting.

Our marketing says it all: 'South Australia: a brilliant blend' - be that wine, food, culture, art, architecture, literature or lifestyle.

The call for papers is out, so it's time to pluck up the courage - write a proposal and send it in. If there is someone you would like us to approach send ideas in so we can make this a programme that meets your needs.

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Thanks to the friends who lit the ASLA XX flame, and to all who have kept it alive thus far. We look forward to the opportunity to share the passion of 'Hearts on fire' and celebrate learning, literature and literacies!

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