How Libraries Can Help Learning and Media Literacy

You can also access streaming service Kanopy to find these titles:  

Democracy Today, Democracy Tomorrow – the final episode of the Athenian Democracy series 

Lies, Politics and Democracy – a documentary about the 2020 US election 

Democracy for Sale – a documentary about political spending in the state of North Carolina  

Self-Improvement in your own way:

When we open ourselves up to new perspectives and learn about a new topic, sitting with these ideas can be a discomforting experience. Magazines can be an accessible way to familiarise yourself, too.  

Our digital magazines and newspapers page can help. Through Libby you can browse over 50 ‘News & Politics’ titles such as Mother Jones and New Philosopher. If you want to know more about science and technology but aren’t very savvy (yet) New Scientist might just be what you’re looking for.

And for informed consumer decisions, you may have already heard of the very popular Choice magazine!

Don’t forget - we have books! 

The following is a selection of titles from our junior and adult collection.  Don't forget, if you’re looking for something specific but are having trouble finding it in our catalogue, you can always ask one of our staff members.

What if we don’t have a book you want? You can always submit a purchase request, including our community languages. Having this user-driven collection, YPRL seeks to strengthen community connections by supplying what is requested (where possible) and making this material available to all. 

Junior titles: 

The big book of Australian states & territories: the definitive guide to their geography, history, people & government by Linsie Tan

Thoroughly researched and up to date, the book provides young readers with content that is easy to access and interesting to look at. Australian Aboriginal history, culture and viewpoints have a prominent place in this book. A combination of text and photographs from both historic and recent sources explains the importance of the land and notable locations to Australia's Indigenous people.

All the prime ministers of Australia by Peter Turner

What does it mean to be Prime Minister of Australia? What are the Prime Minister's duties? What is his or her role in making Australia's laws? What is the difference between the Prime Minister and other members of Australia's Federal Parliament? Find out the answers to these questions and many more in All the Prime Ministers of Australia.

Elected to Parliament by Peter Turner

To complete your knowledge and understanding, check out all the book in this series by Peter Turner:

The Citizens Who Vote and Why Do We have a Governor General

Taking a fresh new approach to the subject of how Australian society is structured and governed, this series explains some of the key roles in Australian civic life, from that of ordinary citizens to those of Members of Parliament, the Prime Minister and Governor-General. The titles explain the rights, responsibilities and privileges of individuals in each social position, and the relationships that exist between the Prime Minister, the Governor-General, Members of Parliament and private citizens.

Adult Titles:

Revolutions: How they changed history and what they mean today edited by Peter Furtado

Revolutions hold a distinct place in the popular imagination. Twenty-four leading historians, each writing about their country of origin, consider revolutions from England's Glorious Revolution of 1688 to the Arab Spring of 2011, reflecting not only on their causes, crises and outcomes, but also their long-term legacies and their changing, sometimes contested, meanings today. They reflect on key questions, such as: What were the reasons for the revolution? What were the main events and dominant ideologies, and who were the leading protagonists? How is it considered today and what is its ideological legacy?

Arguing with Zombies: economics, politics, and the fight for a better future by Paul Krugman

An accessible, compelling introduction to today's major policy issues from columnist, best-selling author, and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman. There is no better guide than Paul Krugman to basic economics, the ideas that animate much of our public policy. Likewise, there is no better foe of zombie economics, the misunderstandings that just won't die. This delightful new book finds Krugman at his best, turning readers into intelligent consumers of the daily news with quick, vivid sketches of the key concepts behind taxes, health care, international trade, and more. Arguing with Zombies will put Krugman at the front of the debate in the 2020 election year.

The Age of the Strongman: how the cult of the leader threatens democracy around the world by Gideon Rachman

The author of Easternization, an award-winning journalist, offers an intimate look at the rise of strongman leaders around the globe, charting the most urgent political story of our era. We are in a new era: authoritarian leaders have become a central feature of global politics. Since 2000, self-styled strongmen have risen to power in capitals as diverse as Moscow, Beijing, Delhi, Brasilia, Budapest, Ankara, Riyadh and Washington. These leaders are nationalists and social conservatives, with little tolerance for minorities, dissent or the interests of foreigners. At home, they claim to be standing up for ordinary people against globalist elites; abroad, they posture as the embodiments of their nations. And everywhere they go, they encourage a cult of personality.

Glimpses of Utopia: Real Ideas for a Fairer World by Jess Scully

Also available as an eBook (Libby).

It's hard to be excited about the future right now. Climate change is accelerating; inequality is growing; politics is polarised; institutions designed to protect us are strained; technology is disrupting the world of work. We need to upgrade the operating systems of our society. Jess Scully asks, What can we do? The answer is: plenty! All over the world, people are refusing the business-as-usual mindset and putting humans back into the civic equation, reimagining work and care, finance and government, urban planning and communication, to make them better and fairer for all.

Shakespeare in a Divided America by James Shapiro 

From leading Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro, a timely and insightful examination of what the world's greatest dramatist can teach us about life in an America riven by conflict. The United States has always been divided, but Americans from all walks of life have also always shared a deep affinity for the plays William Shakespeare, even if their meaning has been fiercely contested. For well over two centuries now, Americans of all stripes--presidents and activists, writers and soldiers--have turned to his plays to prosecute the most intense and pivotal quarrels in the soul of the nation, a nation defined by its political and social pluralism.

A History of Ideas by The School Of Life

This is an unusual sort of history book: a history of ideas - and not just any old ideas, ideas from across time and space that are best suited to healing, enchanting and reviving us. It's a collection of humanity's very best thoughts on how to approach the challenges and joys of being alive. The book amounts to a feast for the intellect and the imagination, to make us into the best sorts of historians, those who know how to use the past to shed light on their own lives.

Additionally, Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House (MoAD) have a variety of fantastic free media and literacy resources for access on their website, a place where they "share the story of Australia's democracy through exhibitions, events and education programs, as well as through our rich online collection of stories, objects and resources.” 

Finally, don’t forget to look at the range of programs we have running next week as part of Library and Information Week. We would love to see you come along and perhaps tell us what you’ve been learning about lately!