ACCESS - Current Edition - Editorial

Welcome to the November issue of ACCESS and my last as your editor. I have been working three days a week in a communications role for the School Curriculum and Standards Authority in Western Australia and this position will become full-time in 2021, meaning I can no longer look after ACCESS.

I have been the editor of ACCESS since 2009 and helped it evolved from a two-colour format to an exciting four-colour print journal in 2012. We then shifted the journal online in 2014, where it has taken on a life of its own, taking advantage of the digital format and including lots of web resources and hyperlinks for our readers. I have really enjoyed this professional journey. Over the years, I have loved working with the ASLA board, ASLA members and all our amazing authors, contributors and reviewers, who have made this job so enjoyable. I am constantly in awe of the skills, professionalism, collegiality and all-round congeniality of the school library community. Thank you for having me!

In this issue, Dr Belle Alderman, Director of the National Centre for Australian Children’s
Literature Inc., brings you a detailed overview of the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Peoples Resource, which was launched on 22 July 2020. It is an amazing and exciting resource that I am sure many of you will find invaluable. Belle outlines practical ways to use the search filters for language and place, explore the teaching resources, look at curriculum links and ways to integrate the wide range of stories into your teaching, and options to share resources with colleagues. I recommend you check it out.

Sue McKerracher, CEO of the Australian Library and Information Association, then introduces us to the Australian Media Literacy Alliance (AMLA) and the Media Literacy Framework. I am sure that ACCESS readers will be interested in their project ‘Advancing the Media Literacy of Young Australians’, which offers insights into students’ consumption of news.

Then Hajnalka Molloy explains the process behind the hugely beneficial research commissioned by the School Library Association of South Australia and conducted by the Australian Council for Education Research (ACER) in 2019. The results are not great news, but the research is vital for school libraries to continue in their advocacy
with schools, principals and parents.

Finally, Madison Dearnaley brings us a wrap-up of CBCA Book Week and the Curious and
Wild blog. We also have a review of the ASLA Tasmania Conference, and some great book
reviews. Enjoy!

Enjoy!

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