Jane Hayes
Co-Director of Libraries, Teacher Librarian (Senior School)
Qualifications
- Graduate Diploma of Information/Teacher Librarianship, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
- Bachelor of Arts, University of Newcastle, Australia
- Diploma of Teaching, Newcastle College of Advanced Education, Australia
Relevant Experience
Jane has been an educator for over three decades, working in Australia, the US and most recently the Middle East where she worked as Senior School Librarian at Raha International School, a school of excellence in Abu Dhabi.
Prior to taking up this position, Jane was a Senior Education Officer responsible for retraining teachers for the New South Wales Department of Education. In this capacity she worked with university academic staff to prepare teachers to take up positions in areas of workforce need, including mathematics, physics, engineering studies, ESL, careers counselling and teacher librarianship.
Before this, Jane was a Teacher Librarian in Australia for over 20 years. Her passion for reading and life-long learning led her out of the classroom and into the library after 13 years as a primary school classroom teacher. Here, not only did she realize the value of the library as the central hub of enquiry in the school, but quickly learnt the importance of collaboration and networking between teachers and teacher-librarians.
She has long understood the effectiveness of mentoring and the value of working within a strong professional network. This is evidenced by active participation in and organisation of conferences, workshops and seminars. The Abu Dhabi School Librarian Group, which she founded shortly after arriving in the region, has become an integral mechanism in linking professionals and progressing the reading and information culture within the education sector of the city and beyond.
