Friday 1 March 2013

ALIA and Teacher Librarians

ALIA and the ALIA Sydney Group aren't just for librarians in Public, Academic and Special Libraries, we're for Teacher Librarians too! This year ALIA is proud to announce today the launch of Project 13 with the goal to strengthen school library participation in schools' efforts to keep their students safe online. 

Every parent fears their child being bullied, and cyberbullying has added an extra layer to the threat. The 13 Project recognises the special role of school libraries as a place where students often access online resources, and the opportunity library staff have to promote cybersafety information.

The 13 Project complements other school initiatives to deal with cybersafety by positioning school library staff as having an important role in keeping students safe online.

In November last year, School Education Minister Peter Garrett said, ‘A 2009 Edith Cowan University report on covert bullying gave us a staggering statistic: one in six students are bullied weekly. A quarter of students between Year 4 and Year 9 reported being bullied at least once over the few weeks the research was undertaken. One in five students has experienced some form of cyber-bullying. This means every family either has a child, or knows one, who is being bullied at school … No child should have to go through this.’
Through the 13 Project, school library teams will have access to web-based resources and information fact sheets to guide students and parents, and industry partner Softlink will be conducting research into school libraries and cybersafety as part of its annual Australian School Library Survey.

The library associations are partnering with the Department of BroadbandCommunications and the Digital Economy for National Cybersafety Awareness Week, to promote being safe online through displays, events and activities right across the country. The campaign will roll out over 2013, with the main launch event taking place around National Cybersafety Awareness Week, starting on 20 May, 2013.


Check out more Project 13 details here.


No comments:

Post a Comment