Stephen Fry on the new social media

Language, Literacy and Numeracy Program Services

The Australian Government, through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, has released an Overview Paper on Language, Literacy and Numeracy Program (LLNP) service delivery.

The Overview Paper seeks to inform potential tenderers of proposed changes to the LLNP and arrangments for the next contract round.   A survey undertaken in 2006, found that approximately 7 million Australians aged between 15 and 74 years, had low levels of document literacy (the ability to read newspapers or follow bus timetables), and that there were 7.9 million who had the lowest level of  numeracy skills.

Source: ABS, Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey, catalogue no. 4228.0

Whilst this paper is primarily aimed at Providers of adult education, these statistics should be closely considered by the Education sector as a whole.

Hazel Edwards visits the Library

Last Friday at Bundoora, we welcomed renowned Children’s author Hazel Edwards to address the third year Bachelor of Education students at RMIT. Included in the audience were visiting Librarians, Lecturers and a group of Year 7 English students from Greensborough Secondary College, totalling around 170 people in all.

Those of you with young and not so young children may remember, “There’s a hippopotamus on the roof eating cake” book, which is about to celebrate its 30th birthday. Hazel has written for young children and young adults, readers, thrillers, travel diaries and informational books. Recently she spent time as the official writer and reporter for the Australian Antarctic Expedition based at Casey Station, and this experience sparked a whole range of books for both children and adults.

 

 

 

 

Hazel likes to base her writing on experience and always researches thoroughly before embarking on a new concept. Even her Hippopotamus books were inspired by her own son as a three year old, who believed workmen on the roof were the cake eating hippopotamus. She presented us with a pictorial journey and provided great inspiration for anyone with ambitions on one day seeing their grand ideas in print.

Carnegie Medal & Kate Greenaway Medal winners announced

The winners of the 2009 Carnegie Medal (for an outstanding book for children) and the Kate Greenaway Medal (for distinguished illustration in a book for children) have been announced.

The winner of the Carnegie Medal was awarded posthumously to  Siobhan Dowd for her book Bog Child. It is described on the Readings site:

Digging for peat in the mountain with his Uncle Tally, Fergus finds the body of a child, and it looks like she’s been murdered. As Fergus tries to make sense of the mad world around him – his brother on hunger-strike in prison, his growing feelings for Cora, his parents arguing over the Troubles, and him in it up to the neck, blackmailed into acting as courier to God knows what, a little voice comes to him in his dreams, and the mystery of the bog child unfurls. Bog Child is an astonishing novel exploring the sacrifices made in the name of peace, and the unflinching strength of the human spirit.

The winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal is Harris Finds His Feet by Catherine Rayner. Again, described on the Readings site:

Harris was a very small hare with very big feet. “Why do I have such enormous feet, Grand dad?” Harris sighed . . . Grand dad shows Harris how to hop high into the sky, to climb to the tops of the mountains, and to run very fast. Harris not only learns about the world around him, but also the importance of finding his own feet.

Are you finalising course reading lists?

Don’t forget to ask the Library to place items that are likely to be heavily used on Reserve. This will enable as many students as possible to access them. Find out more information about Reserve and how to add material to the Reserve collection.

[Source: Carmen Riordan, RMIT University Library]