Library Bingo

Get your stamps at the ready, Library Bingo has arrived at Arthur Holt Library! This is a great way for students to extend their borrowing across our huge range of genres and take up the challenge of reading beyond their comfort zone.

While we won’t stop anyone from choosing books from their favourite genres, why stop there? What about listening to an Audiobook through the Bolinda app, reading a book with a female protagonist, or even tackling a whopping 300+ page read? Not only will your brain thank you for broadening its horizons, but you’ll increase your vocabulary and improve your writing skills. And as if that wasn’t incentive enough, recording five books on your Bingo card entitles you to a Library Departmental Award.

So how do you get involved? It couldn’t be easier:

• Grab a bingo card from a librarian and check out the book categories,
• Borrow, read and finish a total of 5 books, each from a different category,
•  Get a Departmental Award! 

Library Bingo will run until the end of the semester, so there is plenty of time to rack up those points and collect awards. Not sure where to start? Check out the posters on the windows in the Lounge for some suggestions. Reading has just become even more satisfying - is that even possible?

Ms Yates and Mrs Paterson

And now, The Library Review.

So apparently, the Library used to have its very own magazine! These periodicals contained book reviews, reports on activities within the Library, poetry contributions, and advice on the Dewey Decimal System - a new "thing" for the Library in 1965! Sounds very much like what we now post on Instagram, Twitter and this very blog!


Hopefully you follow us on Instagram because over the next few weeks articles from this November 1965 edition, as well as others, will be hitting your screens. Times have certainly changed in the past fifty years - but as you'll see, some things have stayed the same!

Library Cards Rule!

On his SearchReSearch blog, Google’s research scientist Daniel Russell has this to say about doing great research. “One of the more powerful research tools you can have is a library card… this is worth repeating: A library card is instant access to a world of resources. Both offline AND online.”  What a wonderful endorsement for libraries everywhere!

One of our many goals here in the Library is to help students perform great research. Librarians are available to personally assist students. Our collection is tailored to the curriculum. Students have access to a selection of subscription databases. The Library pages are accessible through all Canvas courses. But sometimes it may be necessary for students to go further afield for their research needs. This is especially the case for students undertaking their HSC and IB Diploma. That’s why we encourage students and members of staff to visit and join other libraries - to gain “instant access to a world of resources”. A good one to start with is our own state library. Membership of the State Library of NSW is free and you can sign up for a card online. Once you receive your card by post, you have free web access to the library’s eresources - local & international newspapers, ebooks, full-text journals, magazines, and online databases.

Let’s not forget the “offline” component of Daniel Russell’s quote. Studies have shown that the availability of online resources and networks has not diminished demand for “offline” channels of advice and information. Meeting with teachers and librarians in the shared space of the library, asking questions and exchanging ideas continues to be valued by the 21^st century learner.