2027 Dates Coming Soon!
Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre
School libraries continue to evolve as vital learning environments, where future-focused programs, inclusive practices, and responsive spaces work together to support student success. From embedding emerging technologies and building digital capability to promoting equitable access and representation, libraries play a central role in fostering informed, engaged learners. As centres for reading, inquiry and collaboration, they provide opportunities for creativity, critical thinking and personal growth. Strong leadership is essential in shaping programs, collections and spaces that respond to the changing needs of school communities.
School libraries play a vital role in equipping students with the skills and mindsets needed for an increasingly complex and digital future. This strand focuses on how library professionals are integrating emerging technologies such as generative AI, augmented and virtual reality, and assistive tools to enhance learning, accessibility, and engagement. Topics include digital and data literacy, ethical and responsible technology use, privacy and cybersecurity, and forward-looking approaches to service design that respond to evolving educational needs and the expectations of contemporary learners.
Libraries serve as inclusive spaces where all students should see themselves represented, feel welcome, and access the support they need to thrive. This strand highlights practices that promote cultural safety, belonging, and equitable participation through thoughtful collection development, inclusive program design, and responsive service delivery. Areas of focus include supporting neurodivergent students, embedding Indigenous perspectives, addressing barriers related to language, disability or socioeconomic status, and creating environments that foster respectful and meaningful engagement with diversity across the school community.
Strong library programs, well-curated collections, and purposeful spaces form the foundation of effective school libraries. This strand focuses on approaches that enhance day-to-day practice, including collaborative teaching partnerships, reading promotion initiatives, and resource design that aligns with student interests and curriculum priorities. Topics may include revitalising physical and digital collections, creating adaptable learning environments, and implementing hands-on programs that build inquiry, creativity, and engagement. Emphasis is placed on strategies that can be adapted to diverse school contexts and implemented with immediate impact.
Choose from one day or two day tickets. Tickets include Arrival tea/coffee, Morning tea & Buffet lunch, Certificate of Attendance (mapped to APST) & Access to Summit Social.
*Program subject to change
9:00am
Welcome by our MC – Dr Kay Oddone
9:10 – 9:40am
Constellations of Practice: Recentering the School Library with Purpose and Possibility
School libraries are constellations of practice: linking people, ideas and possibilities across the shifting landscape of education. In a time of uncertainty, where school leadership support is uneven, the pressure to do more is unrelenting, and recognition is often absent, the school library and its staff continue to bring coherence, connection and care for both students, teachers and the school community.
This presentation invites participants to recentre their professional vision—not through reinvention, but by recognising the power of what already exists. Using the Know–Do–Be model as a reflective lens, we will explore how school library professionals already hold the knowledge, lead the practices and embody the values that sustain inclusive, future-focused and community-connected learning.
Rather than calling for more effort, this session surfaces practical, achievable shifts—through thoughtful learning design, ethical technology use, and responsive programming—that build capacity without burnout. Anchored in research and real-world examples, the presentation reminds us that school library staff are stars – present, persistent, and guiding the way forward even when they go unnoticed. Attendees will leave with fresh clarity, restored energy and renewed confidence in their role—not as outliers, but as essential connectors in the learning constellation of their school.
It Takes a Village: Building Student Capability Through Cross-Sector Library Partnerships
In an era where information literacy and community engagement are more vital than ever, collaboration between school, public, and state libraries offers a powerful catalyst for building student capability and confidence. This presentation explores a dynamic partnership between Kepnock State High School, Bundaberg Regional Council Library, and the State Library of Queensland, showcasing how cross-sector collaboration can transform teaching and learning.
This session will share case studies, student feedback, and curriculum examples that demonstrate the impact of integrated library partnerships. Attendees will gain practical strategies for initiating and sustaining similar partnerships in their own regions, with a focus on aligning library programs with curriculum goals and building enduring community connections.
Ultimately, It Takes a Village celebrates the collective power of school, public, and state libraries working together to empower the next generation of learners.
10:10 – 10:30am
Q&A Panel with Dr Kay Oddone & Darlene Hill to answer questions
10:30 – 11:00am
Morning Tea
Growth Talk: Brief Conversations – Big Impact!
Got a minute? As educators and leaders, our days are full of impromptu conversations. You know the ones: a knock on the door (or not); a brief corridor conversation; a parent at the gate; a passing conversation at break time or on the side of an event. But how often do those soliciting our time and attention wait for an answer to the “got a minute” question? Not often! Instead, they start talking and thinking aloud. Yet many of these brief, unscheduled interactions present the opportunity to help our conversation partners think more clearly and make progress in relation to the topic they present.
Chris will demonstrate how we can all be more effective conversation leaders. This requires us to first recognise the in-the-moment opportunity for a learning conversation and then to intentionally show-up and manage these interactions in ways that best serve the thinking and progress of our conversation partners.
When the Internet Eats Itself: Teaching Truth in the Age of AI Slop
As AI reshapes how information is created, shared, and trusted, the need for critical information literacy has never been greater. This session examines the pivotal role of teacher librarians in helping schools navigate a world of AI slop, misinformation, and disinformation.
Participants will explore practical strategies for teaching lateral reading, source verification, and critical AI literacy—skills that empower students to question, evaluate, and create information responsibly. Together we’ll consider how the foundations of truth, credibility, and authorship are under pressure—and what it means to prepare students for informed participation in an AI-mediated world.
12:00 – 12:30pm
AI Agents and the Lone Librarian
Working solo in a school library can be isolating, but it doesn’t have to be. This session explores how AI agents can become powerful collaborators for library staff, who often work independently.
Discover practical ways AI can support planning, resource curation, communication, and innovation, helping you do more with less and transform your library into a dynamic, responsive hub for your school community.
12:30 – 1:30pm
Lunch
1:30 – 2:00pm
Q&A Panel with Chris Munro, Fiona Philip & Jessica Finden to answer questions
2:00 – 2:30pm
Reigniting Passion, Renewing Purpose: The Power of Personal Inspiration in Building Stronger School Libraries.
Building capacity in school libraries begins with the people who bring them to life. For many long-serving librarians, sustaining passion and purpose over decades can be both a privilege and a challenge.
This presentation explores how non-teaching librarians contribute to the heart of school life through academic support, reading advocacy, and community engagement, and how rediscovering joy in the role can revitalise both individual practice and the library’s wider impact. Drawing on real examples from my experience – including organising guest author visits with Markus Zusak, Tristan Bancks, Morris Gleitzman; hosting Breakfast with Books, Great Book Swap, and Write a Book in a Day events; supporting student wellbeing and life skills programs; and curating inclusive collections – I will illustrate how non-teaching librarians quietly build the learning capacity of entire school communities.
Participants will leave with practical strategies and reflective prompts to:
Recognise their own role in capacity building within the school library ecosystem.
Identify sources of inspiration and renewal to sustain long-term professional wellbeing.
Reignite their enthusiasm for library work after many years in the same environment.
The Vocal Leader: Podcasting as a Tool for Professional Advocacy and Connection
True library leadership requires a shift from isolated management to visible, vocal advocacy. This session will examine how audio platforms can foster professional resonance, allowing leaders to share insights that spark progress across the educational landscape. Lily introduces her V.O.I.C.E.S. framework (Value, Orate, Impact, Change, Engage, Strategise) as a roadmap for this transformation. Attendees will leave with confidence in curating high level professional content and practical steps for contributing their own voices to the conversation, ensuring the school library remains the heartbeat of teaching and learning.
Drawing on over 20 years of experience in teaching and library leadership, Lily shares how to leverage audio storytelling to move beyond the school walls. Participants will explore practical strategies to transition from passive listeners to active influencers, using podcasting as a tool to engage stakeholders, strategise for change, and build a high-impact professional community that resonates across the sector.
3:20 – 3:40pm
Q&A Panel with Ela Sircelj & Lily Young to answer questions
3:40 – 4.00pm
Ask the Audience: Delegates share the one idea that they will work on next week
4.00 – 5.30pm
Summit Social – a networking event for exhibitors, speakers and delegates.
*Program subject to change
9:00am
Welcome by our MC
Inclusion and participation through reading as a social practice
This session is aimed at information specialists who are seeking to develop an environment that supports reading as a social practice.
This session will focus on how information specialists can create environments (services, programs, and spaces) that enhance accessibility and engagement for all readers. Building on the evidence that a shared enjoyment of reading leads to increased engagement with leisure reading, this session will offer practical insights into an embedded teacher librarian approach to whole-school reading culture. Noni and Penny will share suggestions for designing a wider reading program with social reading and collaboration at the forefront, in order to cater to a range of diverse learners with accessibility, inclusion, and participation in mind.
9:40 – 10:10am
The Magic of Reading: Making Reading Fun
Working in a school where low literacy levels and numerous barriers make it challenging to inspire a love of reading, promoting reading is a central part of my daily work. I’ve learned that it’s not enough to simply promote individual books; we need to celebrate the joy and habit of reading itself across the whole school community.
This has led me to implement a variety of initiatives—ranging from quick and easy activities to more complex and time-intensive projects—all aimed at one goal: encouraging just one more student to pick up one more book and read one more page.
In this session, I will share the practical strategies and tools I’ve used to make reading a more engaging and accessible activity for all students.
10:10 – 10:30am
Q&A Panel with Noni Harrison, Penny Waring & Barbara McGuigan to answer questions
10:30 – 11:00am
Morning Tea
The Language of Learning: Vocabulary, Literacy, and the Power of the Library
Vocabulary is more than just word knowledge—it’s the foundation for deeper thinking, richer comprehension, and academic success across all learning areas. In this session, Trish explores how explicit vocabulary instruction, embedded in student-centred and inquiry-based learning, can significantly enhance reading comprehension and support disciplinary literacy in subjects such as science, health, and the humanities. Grounded in the work of Vygotsky, this session highlights the social nature of learning, and the importance of scaffolding is for student learning. Drawing on Halliday’s theory of language as a social semiotic, Trisha demonstrates how genre-based pedagogy and purposeful vocabulary instruction help students access, interpret, and produce increasingly complex texts.
As a teacher librarian, Trisha showcases how libraries play a pivotal role in this process—curating rich, diverse resources; fostering collaborative planning; and creating literacy-rich environments that support vocabulary development across the curriculum. Through classroom evidence and resource-based strategies, attendees will gain practical tools and adaptable approaches to position vocabulary as a cornerstone of both literacy and learning.
Reigniting Reading Through Student Choice and Teacher–Librarian Collaboration: Literature Circles and Socratic Seminars in a Global Issues Unit
Engaging adolescents in reading is not just about fostering literacy, it is about igniting curiosity, critical thinking, and a lifelong love of learning. Adolescent reading engagement remains a key priority in contemporary education, and recent research highlights that when students are provided with voice, choice, and authentic opportunities to connect with texts and one another, their motivation and engagement increase. Literature circles and Socratic discussions are identified as effective strategies that promote deeper comprehension, critical thinking, and intrinsic motivation—key factors that underpin engaged reading and lifelong literacy development (Webber et al., 2023).
By implementing these strategies, educators can foster a culture of curiosity and enjoyment while equipping students with the skills to think critically, communicate effectively, and take ownership of their learning.
12:00 – 12:30pm
Trish Trchala, Head of Learning Resources, and Jemma Trchala, Library Assistant, Xavier College
Reading Lounges and Sustained Reading
After developing two reading lounges in the past 12 months, it can be seen how a change within a Library Space can alter the reading behaviour of students. Mr Sloth’s Rainforest Reading Lounge for Year 3-6 and Sunny’s Storyland for K3-Year 2 are examples of a new approach.
Utilising Marketplace and a tight budget students are evolving into a new way of reading for pleasure in these spaces. Hear about new ideas within Junior and Senior School Libraries where sustained reading is the priority.
12:30 – 12:40pm
Student self-reported wellbeing data: Insights, evidence and next steps
Drawing on several years of post-pandemic student wellbeing data, Adam will examine emerging patterns across the Pivot Wellbeing Survey domains of resilience, safety and belonging. This snapshot session will connect these trends with current research in student wellbeing, clarifying what they signal for schools and identifying considered next steps for practice.
12:40 – 1:40pm
Lunch
1:40 – 2:00pm
Q&A Panel with Trish Templeton, Virgina Hand, Trish Trchala & Jemma Trchala to answer questions
Avoiding the Single Story: Including Culturally Diverse Texts in our Libraries and Classrooms
This workshop will focus on the importance of curating a library collection with diverse cultural resources. It will explore a range of culturally diverse texts, the reasons for including these texts, and the value this adds to school libraries and curriculum delivery.
Throughout this workshop, participants will explore the research supporting the inclusion of culturally diverse texts. Practical examples will be given to support teachers and librarians to integrate these texts into the everyday classroom. A range of resources will be on display as examples and as a starting point for collection development.
2:30 – 3:10pm
Lauren Kyte, Head of Library, & Rachel Fernandez, Library Technician, Salesian College Sunbury
Building Connection and Visibility in School Libraries: The Three Cs Approach
How can school libraries build their visibility and strengthen their role within the wider learning community? This session explores one library’s journey to increase its impact through the Three Cs: Cohorts, Community, and Curriculum. Using the Ciantar Learning Common’s (CLC) work as a case study, we will share practical strategies for connecting library programs with student cohorts, building authentic community engagement, and embedding the library within the curriculum. Participants will be invited to reflect on their own contexts, analyse key approaches taken by the CLC, and exchange ideas for transformative collaborations.
3:20 – 3:40pm
Q&A Panel with Sharyn Pratap, Lauren Kyte & Rachel Fernandez to answer questions
3:40 – 4:00pm
Ask the Audience: Delegates share the one idea that they will work on next week
