What is SCIS?

SCIS (Schools Catalogue Information Service) was created with the aim of providing schools with access to a database of consistent catalogue records created according to agreed national standards, in order to reduce the cost and duplication of effort of cataloguing resources in schools. Since its inception, SCIS has been responsible for improving the quality and consistency of cataloguing materials for schools.

Since 1990 SCIS has been owned by Curriculum Corporation, an independent, not-for-profit organisation owned jointly by all Australian Ministers for Education. In December 2009 the Ministers announced the establishment of a new jointly owned Ministerial company - Education Services Australia (ESA) - which will deliver innovative, cost effective services across all sectors of education. The new company is being established through a consolidation of the two existing ministerial companies, Curriculum Corporation and education.au Limited. Further information is available on the Curriculum Corporation website.

SCIS continues to support school libraries throughout Australia and New Zealand, offering access to the largest database of school-related catalogue records in the Southern Hemisphere. We also maintain SCIS Subject Headings, a controlled list of subject headings particularly appropriate to the needs of schools; SCIS Authority Files, a downloadable file of all approved SCIS Subject and Name Headings, which can be imported directly into schools’ library management systems; and SCIS Special Order Files, which allow schools to download regularly updated bulk files of catalogue records for educational websites, ClickView video files and The Le@rning Federation (TLF) learning objects.