Joyce Fardell

Joyce Fardell (1923–2007) was an Australian teacher librarian and advocate for children's literature. She was instrumental in establishing teacher librarian roles in New South Wales Schools, establishing the principle of teacher-librarians being qualified both as teachers and as librarians.

Early life Joyce Gladys Fardell was born in Portland, New South Wales on 31 March 1923. She attended Portland Intermediate High School and won a bursary to further her high school education. Joyce attended Sydney University 1940-1943 and did her practice teaching at Sydney Girls High School in 1943.

Career Joyce began her career as a teacher, then teacher librarian, at Portland Intermediate High School in 1944. She then became teacher librarian at Penrith High School from 1951 to 1955.

Joyce was invited to join the NSW School Library Service in 1956, by the "founding" officer-in-charge, Elizabeth Hill. There she worked with Ailsa Hows and Maurice Saxby. In 1959, Joyce became the officer-in-charge. Literature and the Reading Programme ., and the Central cataloguing bulletin, the precursor to SCAN.

Joyce was a foundation member of the Children's Libraries Section of the Library Association of Australia when the group was established in NSW in 1953. She was active in the Children's Book Council of Australia and a noted authority on children's literature.

In 1970 Joyce coordinated a conference on school libraries as part of the World Confederation of Organisations of the Teaching Profession forum which was held in Sydney. influencing the movement to establish the International Association of School Librarianship which was formed the following year.

Personal life In 2007 Joyce established the Ruth Marion Fardell Bursary at the University of Sydney for students in wheelchairs, in memory of her mother.

Joyce died on 15 July 2007 in Ashfield, New South Wales. She was 84 years old.