Library News
The Seymour College Library Team would like to share some news and updates about our flourishing F-12 library.
An open door - students take advantage of breaktime access
After a huge start to the year, break times have settled into a pleasant rhythm. We welcome around 20-40 students each break, who enjoy reading, borrowing, quiet time, chatting, board games, and drawing alongside our weekly clubs. The library has become a real showcase of Seymour College as a F-12 learning community.
Books in hands - loans have tripled!
Thanks to a newly combined, growing collection and weekly visits scheduled by our dedicated teachers, we just can’t keep books on the shelf! Borrowing has tripled when compared with this time last year (from 1317 to 3084 loans). Years 3-6 are leading the charge, with Year 3s borrowing nine times more books in 2025 so far!
Books for everyone!
We are building our collection throughout 2025, with a focus on student requests, graphic novels, accessible reads, non-fiction, and staff reads.
Collection Spotlight: new dyslexia friendly and hi-lo reads
We’re increasing our investment in dyslexia friendly and hi-lo (high interest-low literacy demand) books across fiction and non-fiction.
Hi-lo books feature high interest stories and topics, while keeping the door open to lower-literacy readers. Dyslexia friendly books do the same while further catering to dyslexic students using dyslexia friendly fonts, colours, spacing and images.
Dyslexia friendly and hi-lo books are labelled with a pink sticker on the spine.
Term 2 Reading Raffle
This term, we are holding a weekly Reading Raffle to encourage students to read even more! Each book borrowed counts as one entry in the raffle. On Monday mornings, a name is drawn from the raffle box and that student will become Reader of the Week and win a prize.
On Monday, May 12th, our very first winner was drawn from the box by Mrs Oliver.
Congratulations Zebastian Byers from 3/4B on becoming our very first Reader of the Week!
What’s Next?
Author visit from Judith Rossell
On Monday, May 19th, CBCA shortlisted author and illustrator, Judith Rossell, will visit Seymour College Library. Judith will run her Creating Villains for Spooky Stories workshop with all Year 5/6 students and some keen Year 3/4s. Students will explore the Victorian Era and use old photographs and artifacts to inspire their own dastardly villain.
Friends of Seymour College Library
Our library is blessed with a growing group of students and staff who show that extra bit of love and support for the magic that happens here, helping out however they can.
Soon, we’ll make this community official with our Friends of the Library program. In exchange for helping with library promotion, activities, and events, Friends of the Library will be offered input into decision making, fun opportunities like book unboxings, and tokens galore. Watch this space!
Updated Collection & Borrowing Policy
Our Collection & Borrowing Policy has been updated to align with library industry guidelines and reflect our priority of books in hands. It will be available on the Seymour College website shortly.
As part of this update, we are moving from Senior Fiction to Mature Read spine labels. Families will now be informed via text when students borrow a book labelled Mature Read, encouraging at home discussion about student reading. Our Mature Read policy provides clearer guidelines about which themes and issues merit a sticker, allowing library staff to confidently sticker more books in the collection.
Our teachers remain first port of call when guiding students toward which books might fit them best, but ultimate decisions about student borrowing will be made by students’ informed guardians.
Happy reading!