The FSI Blog
ShelfLife
News, guides, and thinking on the future of school libraries and education - for teacher-librarians, principals, and educators across Australia and New Zealand.
Featured Article
The Work Nobody Sees: What a Library Manager Actually Does
Collection curation, curriculum alignment, digital literacy, source checks and safeguarding are only part of the work school library managers do every day.
The library is where they go. Who checks in on you?
The library is where students go when the rest of the day is not working. On R U OK?Day, who checks in on the person holding that door open?
Does Your Library System Know What ACARA Is?
A subject heading tells you what a resource is about. An ACARA curriculum code connects it to the knowledge and skills a teacher is planning to teach.
Book Week shouldn't be a burden. Here's what we did about it.
FSI and ePlatform partnered to help stretched school libraries make sure more students had something to read for Book Week 2026.
The Most Underused Asset in the School Library Isn't a Book. It's a Poster.
Posters, bookmarks, loyalty cards and shelf reviews are the most underused assets in the modern school library. Print Studio is FSI's answer — professionally designed, ready-to-print, included in every SmartSuite subscription at no extra cost.
NSW Government Schools Can Now Get TV4Education via EdBuy
TV4Education is now listed on the NSW Government EdBuy catalogue — meaning NSW public schools can access 180,000+ educational videos without a separate tender or procurement process.
Introducing the FSI Library Self-Assessment Toolkit 2026
The 2026 FSI Library Self-Assessment Toolkit is our most comprehensive yet — a free download covering health check, trend report, and a curated reading list for the year ahead.
Books Never Have a Dead Link
YouTube videos get taken down. Websites disappear. Links rot. But the copy of Charlotte's Web that's been on your shelf since 2003? Still there. Still readable. Still brilliant.
SmartSuite Discovery: Your Library's Netflix Moment
The SmartSuite Discovery Page transforms your library catalogue into something students actually want to browse — a beautiful, Netflix-style interface for books, videos, and more.
How to Justify Your Library Budget to the Principal in 2026
Getting library funding approved requires more than good intentions. Here's a practical, data-driven approach to making the case for your library budget — and getting a yes.
TV4Education vs YouTube: The Definitive Comparison for Schools
YouTube has great content. It also has ads, rabbit holes, and content no student should see. Here's an honest comparison of TV4Education and YouTube for school use.
Michael Rosen Wins 2026 Hans Christian Andersen Award: A School Library Guide
Michael Rosen has won the 2026 Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing — the highest international honour in children's literature. Here's everything school libraries need to know.
The Community Library Box: A School Project That Builds Readers and Neighbours
A community library box project connects your school to the wider neighbourhood, gets books circulating, and teaches students that reading is a community value — not just a school requirement.