Staff Spotlight — Library and Information Services
Instilling a love of learning is at the heart of everything that the Shore Library and Information Services team do.
Eva White, who has successfully led the team for over six years says, “We have a big role to play in instilling a love of learning in the boys. We do this by providing a welcoming environment where the boys want to come and study.”
“With an increased focus on technology, which we support, it is important that Shore maintains its strong reading culture. Regular reading of fiction is linked to positive educational outcomes across all subjects and to future success in life. We work hard to develop the boys’ love of reading, and we help them also navigate today’s complex information landscape and grow into competent researchers.”
Eva is Swedish but has lived in Australia for over 30 years. She has obtained a Master of Education from Uppsala University and an Master’s Degree of Information from University of Technology Sydney. Prior to joining Shore, Eva worked as a Teacher Librarian at Barker for 13 years.
The Library’s longest serving member is Vanessa Thurgood, who has been a Teacher Librarian at Shore for 14 years. In the last couple of years, she has joined Shore’s Cadet Unit where she is a Company Commander. Fiona Fortier, the friendly face at the circulation desk for the last 4 years, is a Library Technician with long experience from a range of public and corporate libraries. Emily Stace joined the Shore Library from Newington at the start of 2019. This year has brought two new staff members to the team. Andrea Turner started as the Evening Library Technician in March. She has worked in many school libraries, most recently Loreto Normanhurst. The Library’s most recent addition is Lisa Gemell who joined us as a Teacher Librarian from Frensham in June.
Library staff get to know the boys and help them find the most suitable books from a vast collection of 26,000 publications. The Teacher Librarians also teach Wide Reading lessons to all boys in Years 7 to 10 as part of the English programme, as well as referencing and research skills in collaboration with subject teachers. This includes learning to evaluate sources and question their authenticity and reliability. Library staff are always available to help the boys with their assignments, including finding suitable resources, accessing the databases that the School subscribes to and referencing correctly.
Top Image Credit: L to R: Lisa Gemell, Eva White, Fiona Fortier, Emily Stace and Vanessa Thurgood. Not featured: Andrea Turner.
