International school librarians unite in Singapore

Softlink is proud to have sponsored the latest Librarians Knowledge Sharing Workshop, which was held in Singapore on 17th and 18th February. This conference, hosted by United World College of South East Asia, was attended by over 80 delegates from international schools throughout Asia. Pre-conference library tours and sessions were also held over two days prior to the event.

The LKSW conference was an opportunity for librarians to share insights, innovations and best practice. Presenters from Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Australia spoke on a range of topics, including genrefication, fake news, advocacy and inquiry-based learning.

Congratulations to Nadine Bailey from the Canadian International School in Singapore, winner of the Softlink-sponsored Lego Mindstorms Ev3 prize.

We asked Barbara Reid, one of the conference organisers, to share her key takeaways from the conference. Barb told us that in addition to the many interesting discussions on current issues, the sessions on picture books were an opportunity to get “back to basics” and were enjoyed by everyone. The networking opportunities were another conference highlight. “We heard about the challenges facing our colleagues in 16 countries and celebrated their successes,” Barb said.

The library tours were another popular feature of the conference, and Barb said readers of the Softlink blog would always receive a warm welcome from their colleagues in Asia. “Librarians in international schools usually love showing visitors their libraries,” she said, “so if you are travelling through one of our countries you should seek us out so that we can share ideas and have a coffee (or something similar).”

If the LKSW Conference sounds like something you’d like to be a part of, the next edition will almost certainly be held in Manila in November 2017. Keep an eye on OZTL_Net or your local networks for updates.