Charles Sturt University (CSU) is opening its libraries in campuses across Wagga Wagga, Albury-Wodonga, Orange, Bathurst, Dubbo and Port Macquarie, as well as online, to allow HSC students free access to study spaces and educational materials.
Lecturer in Education at the Charles Sturt School of Education, Paul Grover, says the access complements the Charles Sturt Guide for HSC Students, a free online resource hosted and curated by the university’s library team.
“Having campuses in so many regional cities and regional students having less access, of course, to what is available in Sydney, particularly in Newcastle, Wollongong, we wanted to really get the message out there that you are not only allowed, you are encouraged, you’re welcomed, and we have resources available for you that have been curated and designed for HSC students,” Grover tells EducationHQ.
The Guide is unique in New South Wales and is designed to allow regional students access to the type of information that their metropolitan peers can more easily access through in-person workshops and seminars.
Several years ago, CSU researchers surveyed teachers to determine what students needed, and then curated, with the university’s librarians, a selection of key resources for each of the major HSC subjects, from Mathematics, English and Science, through to Aboriginal Studies, Modern History and the Study of Religion.
With regular updates and refreshes, the guide remains up-to-date and relevant.
“A range of discrete subject sites are there, but then we also include links to other valuable HSC sites, like the State Library of New South Wales, along with past papers for practice and other tips and hints for study strategies and resources,” Grover, who was previously a secondary school teacher and head teacher for 35 years, says.
“There are also tips and hints related to thinking about university, just to encourage them to be looking ahead in a positive way.”
School libraries have, for a range of reasons, fallen down the priority list for many principals across the nation.
Yet their importance, and that of their qualified library staff, in ensuring students know how to evaluate informations across different mediums, can build a positive digital footprint, use technology well, and bring these skills together for practical applications, has never been more obvious.
For study purposes, they also provide a quiet space free of distractions.
“What we always say is, when a child goes through the HSC journey, the whole family goes through the HSC journey, and so it’s a matter of looking at ways of supporting them in their studies.
“One important way is to have a place that is a designated study place, where they can psychologically say, ‘I’m going to do my study now’, but also it allows them to move away from other distractions, such as younger brothers and sisters making noise, or other distractions in the bedroom or around the house," Grover says.
As well as being a place where they can access experts to assist them with their studies, the university library offers a sustained study location that’s open all day, where HSC students know they’re always welcome.
“And of course, there will be other university students working in the library, so it’s a very good atmosphere for them to see study as and doing that academic work as being very much a normalised pattern of what you do when you’ve got a particular goal in mind,” Grover says.
Ultimately, Grover says it’s an excellent opportunity for parents and teachers to encourage students to be seeing the university library as a place that is open nine to five, Monday to Friday.
“And also the CSU guide for HSC that it’s there, whether they’re at home or in the library or wherever they can access free a very valuable, targeted, curated HSC resource which will really support them in their studies and their preparation for their examinations.
“For Year 11 students starting their HSC course next term, it’s a great resource for them, because they’ll be able to travel with that resource right through their studies.
“…we’re ensuring every student, no matter their background or current situation, has equal access to prepare and get the best start possible for their future university pathways.”
The campus libraries are open between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.
