Volume 37 Nº 3: November 2001

Editorial

Editor: Margaret Steinberger

Welcome to the final edition of Orana for 2001. In the fine old tradition of Christmas issues, we've gathered together a bumper edition, with a feast of articles, news and reviews. We hope you enjoy the variety and depth on offer here.

This time last year we presented Maureen Nimon's article 'The role of fiction in the development of information literacy.' This year she has continued the series with 'True stories and "the death of certainty"', looking at factual writing for children.

Ross Todd's keynote speech at the IASL Conference in Auckland in July 2001 caused much discussion on listserves and elsewhere. For those who missed out, he has provided Orana with an edited and revised version of 'A sustainable future for teacher-librarians: inquiry learning, actions and evidence.' We're particularly delighted to have snared this, as Ross as been appointed associate professor at Rutgers University, USA, from next year.

Shorter articles include another in our 'Speaking personally' series, with Amanda Credaro's take on political parties and their attitude to school libraries. In discussion with writer Zeny Giles, Donna Meehan, author of It Is No Secret: the Story of a Stolen Child, tells of her experiences with books and libraries. Melodie Woodford follows up Pam Lane's article last issue on Shakespeare and the very young, by telling of her role in the process at her school as teacher-librarian, as the program is expanded to further schools in the Hunter region of New South Wales.

Jon Noble's article on the image of librarians in fiction should enlighten and amuse readers. The article started with a snowballing sequence of comments on such images from many contributors to oztl_net, and I invited Jon, one of the frequent contributors, to consider writing on the subject. As the referee commented when I passed it on for her assessment, this may be just the lighthearted article we all need at the end of this year. Our news section draws together items of interest to librarians, while our reviewers provide their usual authoritative assessments of relevant resources.

In a sneak preview, I can reveal that Libby Hathorn will appear in the first issue of Orana for 2002. Meanwhile, as another year draws to a close, I wish all Orana readers a very happy and refreshing holiday season.

Would you like to review for Orana?

Orana regularly receives books for review. These titles, of interest to professionals in children's and school librarianship, provide a means of updating skills and knowledge. The reviews give readers an indication and assessment of what is currently available in the field.

Reviews editor Gary Gorman (gary.gorman@vuw.ac.nz) will be pleased to hear from those interested in reviewing for Orana. Reviews are normally in the 300-400 word range and should be completed in less than two months. A style sheet is available for your guidance.