Quarterly Newsletter of the

Australian Church Library Association

www.acla.asn.au

CHRISTMAS 2017

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

2 ACLA NEWS 6 BOOK REVIEWS

3 BELL CATHOLIC CHURCH (CONT.) 7 ONE BOOK AT A TIME

4-5 LIBRARIES IN A DIGITAL WORLD 8 SPARKLIT BOOK OF THE YEAR

AMAZING PAINTINGS AND A REMARKABLE GARDEN

IN BELL, QUEENSLAND

A pictorial history of salvation:

The artworks of Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church — Bell, Qld

E arlier this year a bus load of St Bart’s parishioners went on a trip

around some interesting spots in South East Queensland. We

visited a biscuit factory in Kingaroy, where the staff were mostly

people with disabilities. We were allowed to have a bite or two. Yummy.

We stopped at some beautiful parks and enjoyed the countryside. We had

a great lunch at Kingaroy. But the place that impressed us the most was

the Catholic Church at Bell. Just a small wooden country church, but…

Inside! We were blown away. Continued on page 3...

2

ACLA NEWS VIC. CHAPTER NEWS ACLA MEMBERSHIP

Annual Subscriptions

South Australia Members

$20.00

Payable to

ACLA — SA Chapter

5 Dalaston St.

MODBURY, SA 5092

Victoria Members $20.00

Payable to

ACLA — VIC Chapter

364 Thompson’s Rd.

LOWER TEMPLESTOWE,

VIC 3107

National Membership

(for Members outside SA/VIC)

$10.00

Donors $50.00

Both payable to

ACLA

8 Rawlings Rd,

MODBURY SA 5092

Electronic Funds Transfer

Account Name:

Australian Church

Library Association

BSB 805 050

Acc. No. 612 686 47

S.A. CHAPTER NEWS

O n 28th. October nineteen members and friends met at the

Blackwood Uniting Church. In the morning Rob Noble

spoke of his new book "The Friendship" and his vision as a

Christian author and songwriter.

There were displays and a PowerPoint of Natalie

Schwarz's creative ideas.

— Joy Belling

T he October meeting of the Victorian chapter was held on

Saturday, 14th October, at Manningham Uniting Church

in East Doncaster. In the morning our speaker was David

Lepore, from the Bible Society, which is celebrating the 200th

anniversary of the beginnings of its work in Australia. In the

afternoon we had a discussion on biographies and

autobiographies with committee members and others bringing

and speaking about some examples from their libraries which

they particularly enjoyed. We also held our biennial general

meeting when we received reports on the last two years

activities, and elected a committee to organise our meetings

for the next two years. Two members, Ann Taylor and Lesley

Welch, decided not to renominate, and we thank them for

their contributions over the years. Lesley is a founding

member of our chapter, a committee member for many years,

and the receiver of a Margaret Stiller Award. We were

fortunate in recruiting husband-and-wife team, Jessie and

Warren Glover, which keeps our numbers at five. We have

met, and identified a venue, a speaker, and a topic for

discussion for our first meeting next year planned for 26th

May. More details next year.

— Rachel Hardie

3

From Meg’s booklet: The figure of

Jesus is made of Barbed wire as

this harsh material evokes images

of suffering – of imprisonment,

subjugation and torn flesh and so

helps us contemplate the suffering

endured by Christ as the price of

our redemption.

It is interesting to see the contrast

in materials that still vividly evoke

our memories of the story.

M rs Meg Cullen is a parishioner in the church. She is an

accomplished artist and tutor, and has used her creativity and

talent to visually tell God’s story in pictures, which are all around the

walls of the church. The paintings are so eloquent the viewer hardly

needs the explanations. These paintings tell the story of the six

covenants of God; God with Adam and Eve; Noah and his family;

Abraham and a tribe; Moses with a nation; David with a kingdom; and

through Christ with the whole of mankind. Meg’s booklet explains the stories and there are

many more pictures to look at: The Annunciation, the Nativity of Christ, The presentation in

the Temple; Baptism in the Jordan, Miracle of the Wine — well you can fill in the gaps.

Smaller pictures around the walls help to tell the story.

Outside the church there was once a vacant block of land, which has been transformed

into a magnificent garden with a pathway and mosaics, painting, sculptures all depicting the

Way of the Cross. All is most beautifully done and very descriptive. The delightful garden is

now filled with many plants, some of which are native to the middle-east. There is a memorial

to the shepherds who worked in the area when it was part of Jimbour Station. This memorial

was a joint project by the Bell Catholic Art Group and features a mosaic of Jesus, and a couple

of corrugated iron sheep.

Meg Cullen

Continued from page 1...

4

Does the Digital World Need Libraries? by Sam Burton

Reprinted from the Mozilla Foundation’s Internet Citizen blog.

T he library I grew up in was at the corner of

Neilson and Sewells, on the far east side of

Toronto. A stocky brick building flanked by

two churches, it was dim inside and smelled of well

-loved paperbacks and coffee in Dixie cups. One

corner was home to a cluster of off-white

computers with fat screens and hippo-teeth keys.

There, my friends and I spent hours clunking

through typing drills and trying to survive on

the Oregon Trail [an old, educational computer

game — Editor].

But over the last decade — as more homes

plugged into high-speed internet, cell phones

burrowed into our pockets, and people declared

that “print is dead!” — I started to worry about the

future of libraries, like the one where I spent so

much of my childhood. So, I decided to see what I

could find out about the role of libraries in our

hyper-connected world.

What I discovered is that today, libraries

remain firmly at the heart of communities around

the globe. What’s more, they’re actively evolving

into information hubs for the digital age. In the

United States, 98% of libraries already offer free

public wi-fi. Last year, 29% of all library-using

Americans went to the library to use computers or

connect to the internet. Those who take advantage

of these services are more likely to be young, black,

female, and lower income, and libraries are playing

an important role in offering access and training to

people who typically face more barriers to getting

online. For example, Americans with less than a

high school diploma are more likely than college

graduates to say libraries help them protect their

personal data from online theft (48% versus 18%).

These same trends are happening

worldwide. Libraries on every continent are

working to enhance their services to meet patron’s

evolving needs, while also helping to overcome

connectivity challenges that can worsen social

exclusion and inequity. “There are 230,000 public

libraries in the world,” said Donna Scheeder,

President of the International Federation of Library

Associations, in a 2015 interview, “and these are

the places where people can go when they don’t

have access to technology.”

This is critical, because fast, reliable,

affordable internet remains out of reach for many

people around the world. In this week’s episode of

Mozilla’s podcast, IRL: Online Life Is Real Life, host

Veronica Belmont talks to a wide range of people

— from a mom in Fairfax, Minnesota, to a Syrian

refugee living in the Netherlands — about their

struggles to connect to the kind of internet they

need, and what they’re doing about it.

But even as prices drop, infrastructure

improves, and speeds increase, there will always be

groups who are excluded by the market or who

remain unable to afford adequate access.

I live in Canada, which is generally thought to

be a pretty connected place. That’s true in my

hometown of Toronto, where I can pay

Teksavvy $52 a month for a 50Mbps broadband

connection and unlimited data. But if I moved

north to Whitehorse, I’d be paying $110 a month

for the same speed, with a 200GB cap. The only

way to bring the cost down would be to slow my

connection: the cheapest plan on offer is $42 a

month for 5Mbps and a 20GB cap.

Internet is expensive partly because building

infrastructure to connect remote regions is

challenging and costly, and partly because there

are only a few service providers available. But the

bottom line is, if I lived in Whitehorse and wanted

to get online at home, I’d have little choice but to

pay more for less. If I could afford to. This is why

the access provided in libraries, and other public

spaces, is so important.

What’s more, getting online is only half the

battle. You know this if you’ve ever gotten spam

5

The Mozilla Foundation work to ensure that the internet is open and accessible to everyone, both in freedom of open web standards, and freedom of speech.

They are also the developers of the Firefox web browser software.

email, forgotten a password, or wondered if a story

you saw on Facebook is true. It takes a lot more

than just a connection to be able to use the

internet effectively and safely. And we’re

increasingly looking to libraries to help us learn

these skills: 80% of Americans say that public

libraries should offer programs to teach people

digital skills, and close to 90% of public libraries in

the US already offer basic digital literacy training.

But with the pace of change being what it is,

librarians and staff need to be continuously

updating their own skills. They need to ensure that

their own digital know-how is sharp enough for

them to meet the growing demands of library

patrons. And these demands vary widely, ranging

from asks for training on digital content

management and data privacy, to requests for help

taking Massive Open Online Courses.

Mozilla is currently working with librarians

and staff at eight libraries across the Unites States

— in Colorado, Ohio, New York, Oregon, Rhode

Island, and Washington — to help them build the

digital skills their communities are demanding.

“Public libraries are the one place any community

member can walk into and learn how to apply for

jobs or search for education opportunities, for

free,” said An-Me Chung, who leads Mozilla’s Web

Literacy Skills for Library Staff project, “In a world

where technology is becoming ubiquitous, library

staff need to be prepared to help patrons learn

how to use the open internet to access personal,

civic, and economic opportunities online.”

We need libraries and librarians as much, if

not more, than we did when I was growing up. It’s

impressive how quickly they’ve adapted to the

connected world we now live in, but libraries still

need our support to ensure they can continue to

provide vital services to our communities.

Americans, this is a particularly important

moment for you: the proposed US 2018 federal

budget calls for the elimination of the Institute of

Museum and Library Services, which directly

impacts public library funding. Your library needs

your support now, and here are some

suggestions about what you can do.

Wherever in the world you are, I know your

local library could use some love. I have a couple

books waiting for me on the hold shelf, so I’ll be

back in the familiar stacks before long. Whether

you were at the library last week, or you haven’t

visited in years, here are three things you can do to

show that libraries are still important to you in the

digital world:

1. Check out a book. Just using your local

library’s services is an impactful way to

demonstrate that it’s an important part of

your community. Not only do you get to

enjoy a good book, but data on how often

materials are checked out or many people

visit a library is also used to inform

government budgeting decisions.

2. Support your local library association. Library

associations like the American Library

Association, Canadian Federation of Library

Associations, and the UK’s Chartered Institute

of Library and Information Professionals support

libraries and librarians by setting strategy,

providing resources, and leading advocacy

efforts.

3. Volunteer your time. Most libraries have

volunteer programs with diverse ways to help

out, like stacking books, offering computer

tutoring, or hosting fundraisers. Speak with

your local librarian to find out how to get

involved.

You can read the original article at https://blog.mozilla.org/internetcitizen/2017/09/04/libraries/

with references to quotes and statistics.

Thank you, Gloria Wurst, for bringing this article to my attention.

6

BOOK REVIEWS The Friendship

Rob NOBLE

The Friendship Jacob House Publications (2017)

I found the story The Friendship as told

by storyteller Justus Mathias, an absorbing,

eye-opening, and sometimes emotional read.

The writer has woven a tale

(using fictional characters along

with historical figures) during a set

period of history (1787-1788),

depicting the social conditions,

attitudes and events of the time.

So read about 12-year-old

Isaac Dawson, his family’s tragedies, his struggle

with poverty and illiteracy, his giftings, the

influence of his godly mother, the injustice he

suffered, his battle with hatred, his perseverance, his

honesty, and his friendships.

You’ll ‘experience’ in a sense, the voyage of

The First Fleet; its long journey, and its arrival in

Australia.

And have you ever wondered what it would

have been like to see for the first time a dolphin,

goanna, or a kangaroo? Read about some of these

experiences. They were delightfully described.

The layout of the novel, the clarity given to

unfamiliar terms/words (especially for younger

readers), and appendices are all helpful. Lesson

plans are available for teachers and students from

the website robnoble.com.au

It’s also an inspirational read with a theme of

forgiveness and trusting in God when we realize

and find we can’t do things in our own strength.

As an adult I enjoyed the story, and would

recommend it for younger readers too.

I look forward to the sequel hopefully to be

published next year.

— Marie Ziersch

Simplify: Ten Practices to Unclutter Your Soul

Bill HYBELS

Hodder (2014)

Do you often feel exhausted,

overcommitted or overwhelmed?

Then this book is for you. Bill

Hybels puts a unique spin on

decluttering, by showing you

practical ways to declutter your

inner life. He covers ten topics:

energy levels, schedules, finances, work,

forgiveness, fears, relationships, God’s call on your

life, new seasons and meaning. As you let each of

these areas come under God’s scrutiny and control,

you can shed those things that waste physical and

emotional energy and start to live the life you were

designed to live.

This is a very accessible book. Hybels doesn’t

keep the discussion at the theoretical level, but

makes the material practical through anecdotes,

personal examples, questions and action points. It’s

not a book to be read quickly, but one to be

explored a chapter at a time and applied to your life.

This takes prayer and a willingness to examine

those things that are holding you back, but is well

worth the journey. I found it both challenging and

liberating. I had so many things underlined and

asterisked by the end of the fourth chapter, that I

had to stop and process it for a while before

continuing.

A study guide and DVD series are also

available for small group study. I highly

recommend the book and the extra resources, but be

warned! They’re life-changing.

— Nola Passmore

Thank you, Marie and Nola,

for your reviews.

7

“I don’t like to read,” confessed a lady who stopped

by the church library.

She wore a pained expression, as if reading a book ranked alongside a root canal or colonoscopy.

I started to reply, “I don’t like to crochet,”

knowing that was her hobby. Instead I opted for

the more noble position of reading evangelist.

“Maybe you haven’t got on the right book,” I

began, trying to fathom how anyone could

summarily dismiss all books with sweeping derision

when each is as unique as the individuals who read them. My eyes were already darting to the stacks

as I spoke, ready to settle on the right volume to

forever change her mind about reading. Was she a

Frank Peretti or Francine Rivers type? In a flash

assessment, I sized her up as a potential Joyce

Meyer fan. That remark was suddenly important to

me, and I knew it wasn’t merely and opinion I was

trying to influence, but a life. Matching Patrons with Books

How do you convey the joy of reading to

someone who sees it as a chore to be endured? A

good librarian is a psychologist, teacher and sales

person. Gradually we develop the ability not to

simply recommend the last book we read and

loved, but the book that is right for the individual.

That assessment should be based on something

more that the stereotypes of gender and age. I’ll never forget the time when a mature lady

in my congregation checked our one of Ted

Dekker’s thrillers. I hesitated and as I handed it

back to her. “Um, are you familiar with this series?”

I asked. I knew she more typically checked out

historical fiction with a touch of romance: Lori

Wick, Lau-raine Snelling or maybe T. Davis Bunn if

she was feeling adventurous.

“I want something different today,” she

responded with a sparkle in her eye. She stopped

me before the church service a week later. “I am

reading it,” she said, “and I’m testing it against my

spirit. So far, I just don’t know; but I’m going to

finish it! I like to finish what I start”.

I’m that way too. I hate to give up on a book,

even if I’m halfway through and still not engaged.

It’s as though I’m turning my back on a needy

friend. And by the same token, I can’t stand to

surrender a segment of my congregation, slapping the label of non-reader on their foreheads.

Evangelising Non readers

As librarians, we’re wired to love books: the

idea of them, the look, feel and smell. We like how

they feel when we’re surrounded by them- as

though we’re somehow wiser due to proximity, as

though we’re privy to hundreds of secrets hidden

between the covers. The stories are ready to burst forth in the living colours of our imaginations. All

that harnessed intellectual energy is exhilarating.

Yet non-readers, like non-believers have to

be convinced. Sometimes it is hard to be

convinced. Sometimes the message is hard to

accept. What? God could love a sinner like me?

What? There’s something interesting in that object

that resembles my seventh grade social studies book and doesn’t fit in my DVD player? Remember,

every Christian (or librarian) who shares the gospel

plants a seed. It may take many seeds to be planted

before one germinates.

So week after week, I take another stab at

reading evangelism. I include library promotions

with trivia questions, hoping to hook the

inquisitive. I research details about authors or plots

that readers can relate to and hope to engage them through identification. I ask patrons what kinds of

movies they like to watch or general books or

magazines they peruse. I encourage readers within

the congregation to recommend their favourite

titles with the hope of spreading literary contagion.

We have to be mindful, of course, that non-

readers could have an undercurrent of issues they

are not comfortable sharing, such as not knowing

how to read or having a medical disorder like

dyslexia that makes reading more exhausting. I

should exercise more than I do, but I don’t want

someone to remind me to do so incessantly and

convince me they think I’m fat.

So while we shouldn’t be obnoxious about it,

as church librarians it’s our mission to change the

world, one book — and reader — at a time.

One Book at a Time by Donna L. Davis

Reprinted from Church Libraries Magazine.

Donna Lewis is a church librarian and reader in Greenville, North Carolina, USA.

Thank you, Marilyn Jones, for sharing this article.

OFF THE SHELF

is a quarterly publication of the

Australian Church Library Association

www.acla.asn.au

Membership Enquiries:

phone (08) 8381 1695

or email webmanager@acla.asn.au

HERE IS A PATTERN FOR A LITTLE COTTON ANGEL

TO HANG ON THE CHRISTMAS TREE...

S parklit has launched the Australian Christian

Book of the year (2017). The book, Our Mob,

God’s Story, won the competition.

It took seven years in the making, and it

celebrates the impact of the Bible on Australia’s First

Nations people. It is also the bicentenary of the Bible

Society in Australia. The handout pamphlet has over

one hundred paintings by Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islanders from all over Australia.

Find us on Facebook

@AusChurchLibrary

Our Mob, God’s Story

Louise SHERMAN (ed),

Christobel MATTINGLEY (ed)

Bible Society Australia (2017)