News from the Arthur Holt Library

We’ve been talking a lot lately about the benefits of reading and about the kinds of research-based strategies that encourage and support it. This week gave us all a chance to see some of the progress that we’ve made and to celebrate some notable success stories.

The week started with Library Lovers’ Day, an initiative from the national library association, ALIA, designed to spread the word about all that libraries do to build community. The day started with a 17th-Century love poem, brilliantly read by Sam Vickery at Quad assembly.

The library also ordered cakes and biscuits to be served at morning tea for all the staff, where one of our Teaching and Learning Librarians Ms Courtenay read a short story. We even made sure to include staff at the Field Studies Centre.

Staff and students were also encouraged to enjoy a ‘blind date with a book’. This involves taking home a book wrapped in brown paper on the understanding that you will read it no matter how unlike your usual reading tastes it is. It’s a great way to encourage people to broaden their reading habits and to move beyond their comfort zone.

We also issued this year’s Premier’s Reading Challenge Certificates to those boys who have taken full advantage of all the benefits that reading bestows. An impressive 18 boys received a Gold Certificate for their fourth year completing the Challenge, while 12 received a Platinum Certificate for their seventh year completing the Challenge. Huge congratulations to each and every one of them!

“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers.”

Charles W. Eliot

Stefanie Gaspari | Director of Library Services