Continue reading »]]> Pupil 1 – “Why is it so dark?”

Pupil 2- “Because it’s night time.”

The pupils in question are playing Minecraft (a game that they adore playing). The first child was also heard questioning how you got a door, why you couldn’t keep going forward at a cliff edge and how everyone else got a whole range of things.  Though apparently “There’s not a single circle in this whole game.” Finally the cry came “How do I get off this?”. Escape love, Escape.

Continue reading »]]> Created by Bobbi Newman of ‘Librarian By Day’ the ‘Library Day in the Life Project’ is all about sharing what you do as a librarian and seeing what others do given how varied the profession really is. So I thought I’d share my day with you in honor of National Library Day and the ‘Library Day in the Life Project’.

So let’s start at the beginning in case anyone reading doesn’t know me – I am a school librarian. I work in a Scottish High School meaning I am dealing with pupils aged from about ages 12 (S1) to 17 (S6). These 6 years of school include the exciting highlight of the national exams and as a result pupils are usually split in two main camps – those that spend lots of the year worrying about exams or those trying to ignore them altogether. The library is a busy a popular place with most days seeing every period being booked by teaching classes and outside of school the room full of pupils. For the sake of full disclosure the day I’m about to describe was Tuesday 31st of January.

My day started with picking up the newspapers from the school office, laying them out and tidying away the old ones. Least that’s how it’s supposed to start in reality as I walked towards the library a pupil asked to renew books and when I got to the library I helped mediate an argument about why it was or wasn’t rude to tell someone to go away.

Tutor brings a welcome break and for 15 minutes the library is quiet save for the couple of pupils querying my request for them to do a detention for overdue books and a couple of pupils handing books in or taking them out.

Period 1 was supposed to see me teaching an S1 class but all the S1 pupils had headed off on an educational trip to the National Museum (I am so jealous I totally want to go but have yet to find the time). In fact within about ten minutes I’d gained the whole morning as my period 2 cancelled and my period 3 was another S1. So with about four hours I decided to tackle some of the backroom tasks I usually ignore until the holiday.

Least that was the plan, instead I spent the first hour checking the budget and making sure I wasn’t owed money for the books I bought and that I’d spend all the library budget for the year. Then I sorted the CPD budget book requests and made up that order. Luckily for me I pass the request down to the office for actual ordering so the process isn’t as time consuming as it could be. I asked some S6 studying in the library to talk quieter (repeat this for most of the morning) mostly as I don’t want to hear their versions of world history (we are all descendants of Irish and Vikings) or their take on politics (if the Falkland Islands were attacked we’d loose them) as it makes me want to either correct them or debate them.

I also sorted the overdue notices (with pupil help), this also involved finding tutor group codes for all the pupils and working out who stilled owed books, requesting letters home and detentions for those long term overdue. All of these letters went in the pile to take down to the pigeon holes. I replaced a vandalised celling tile, logged two lights that were out and requested the replacement of two locker locks.

Then there was the daily check and update of email, blog, twitter, and tumblr. I’ve a bunch of posts for the blog just now as pupils have done reviews in class and S1 were doing recommendations for the animals of the Chinese Zodiac. So I sorted some of these as well.

At some point during all this break happened. Fifteen hectic minutes when pupils request a varied range of thing including computers for homework, paper, scissors, staplers, and some even asked for books. It was a quiet break with only about 80 pupils thanks to the S1 trip.

Next I catalogued the books that pupils had already marked up for me. Plus I marked up and catalogued the pile that had been ordered to fill requests.  Added stickers to them all showing where they get shelved and checked them all in.  Next I wrote the request slips for those books and the other requests that come from other libraries (pupils had checked the two boxes of books in for me already), found the tutor groups for the pupils and added them to the pile to go down the the pigeon holes.

My head monitor was full of motivation and enthusiasm in her free period so helped me arrange a monitor meeting for the next day and updating the monitor lists (I sacked three this week, four have left school and I recruited five new S1 pupils). She also helped create a competition for National Library Day – a simple prize draw for a book if people gave us their favourite books. Even better this can be combined with World Book Day when we will share the choices everyone made with the wider school population.

I also headed off to the religious, moral and philosophical studies department to claim the free stapler, hole punch and warning tape they were offering. I’m thinking a banned books display with the tape, the other bits were for the pupils to use.

By the time lunch came round I was looking forward to a wee break, enjoying my current book and some bran muffins (made in the microwave I acquired just recently for the library). Alas three different members of staff called  or dropped in one with a book query and two looking for computer bookings so in the end I managed five minutes and about two pages.

Lunch is 45 minutes but the library is closed for the first fifteen minutes (so that should my lunch fail in the half hour before, I still get time to eat) and I enjoyed chatting with the monitors (40 pupils who help in the library). Conversation included such fun topics as being told ‘I own more than the Pope’ (the premise for such statement being that the library is bigger than Vatican City – it isn’t and I don’t), what animal is currently on  my desktop (baby otters -squee!) and pondering if yellow can be worn by white people (it can’t). At 1pm the library opened to a throng of enthusiastic pupils and, with the S1 back, numbers were back up to the usual 100 plus. When the bell finally rang, I made sure pupils were leaving out the correct door as (and say it with me people) ‘the library is not a corridor’. A quick tidy round revealed lost property consisting of two craft and design technology folders, a pupil’s own book, and a wallet, all of which I sorted and left messages for the real owners to collect.

The afternoon saw two teaching classes, both S2 English. For the first one we talked about books vs movies (sadly they weren’t the keenest readers so choices were things like Diary of a Wimpy Kid or Cat in the Hat). The second class typed up their folios of work rather than the genre lesson I’d planned (less effort on my part, though not as interesting for any of us). While supporting these classes I fielded queries for books and more requests to book computers. When the school day ended I encouraged those staying on to talk in quiet voices then I picked up my bundle for the pigeon holes and office and headed off to the office.

I picked up the post from my pigeon hole, apart from the usual stuff there was a free book from Pan Macmillan (thanks!). I dropped in the overdue notices, request slips and careers appointment slips (I support the Skills Development Scotland Careers Adviser who comes into school two days a week) to the various tutors trays.

I also caught an English teacher and chatted about resources in particular the continuing supply of the teen review magazine Teen Titles for the library and picked up yet more paper for the printers. Back up to the library to fix the printer, issue the two books I’d requested to myself (Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher and Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle), check my email one last time and sort request for books not on the catalogue. Then it was a  final tidy round, lights out, doors locked and the librarian has left the building.

To read another example of my day have a look at another (more teaching filled day) as tweeted by Rhona Arthur and my post on what I did last year for World Book Day (or more accurately what I didn’t).

Continue reading »]]> I’ve a passion for library promotion and a fondness for library pin badges from my past. When I came across a badge maker at school I seized the opportunity to make my own promotional badges (well that was the professional reason, the fun reason was simply who doesn’t want to make badges?). I opted for a few that I could wear to help promote a display theme;

Then I decided to do a jokey one based on a slogan I’d seen online;

and finally given my love of Dr.Who (and as David Tennant comes from the County of Scotland where my school is based) I went with the classic quote from the episode Tooth and Claw.

“You want weapons? We’re in a library! Books! The best weapons in the world! This room’s the greatest arsenal we could have – arm yourselves! ”

I’ve discovered I have rather a lot of vintage library badges (I’ve a crafty plan for what to do with them so it’s not totally pointless) but since some of the slogans might inspire I’ve decided to blog one a week, every Sunday until I run out or I actually complete the crafty project.

Continue reading »]]> The Times are running a series of pull outs called “How to give your child a private education without paying a penny.” Today the subject up for grabs is Secondary School English and it came as no shock that the way get a better education in English is to read.

Despite this obvious point (and one much laboured by English teachers and Librarians in all schools) the article had at least one interesting thing- the modern definition of an educated person. Apparently this is “someone who reads fiction before lunch“. On a personal note I might well be in danger here since fitting in my book before I start work would probably kill me (I really do need 7 or 8 hours sleep) – I do, however, read when I wake at weekends so perhaps that will count.

Clarissa Farr (a ‘High Mistress’ at one of the public schools in the article) said “There is no doubt that those students who gain most from the subject – and who do best at it- enjoy reading for its own sake.” In fact she makes a number of excellent points about having a wide reading list and using the texts in school as a jumping off point. I liked her quote:

“Reading is what helps to form us as people and the books we read at school, especially those we study in detail, remain part of our internal landscape for life.”

So true! The scars from reading ‘Death of a Salesman’ and ‘The Crucible’ by Arthur Miller will never be fully healed. I have clear memories of a few of the set texts we did including ‘Flowers for Algernon’ by Daniel Keyes (a depressing tale) and Romeo and Juliet (which I got to study 3 times! Meaning that even now I can quote chunks and I could almost regurgitate an exam answer).

Of course the most obvious point she makes is that your kids will read if you read,  telling them to won’t work if they see don’t see you read. I’d go further and suggest books should be part of the house, found in every room (I can totally tick that one). “But what books should we read?” cry those parents reading the article – fear not The Times provides two reading lists to help. One provided by author Alexander McCall Smith and the other the list of books that Clarissa Farr’s all girls school sends out as recommendations. I have two issues with these lists.

1. The list from the school is meant for girls (it being a girls school) so what about those boys looking for something to read? (though a number of titles will work for either)
2. McCall Smith’s list is 10 classic books and none date past 1960.

McCall Smith’s list is interesting reading in itself he suggests that the ’10 to read by 16′ are:

1. Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
2. Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
4. The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
5. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
6. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
7. Short Stories by W. Somerset Maugham
8. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
9. Collected Shorter Poems by W.H. Auden
10. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Of which I’ve read three, seen the movie version of three others. Perhaps my life is poorer for not having read them (I might still read them) but I can’t help but feel there are perhaps more interesting books to have read by 16. I don’t know what 10 books I’d choose and his picks are in the main as good as most. It is hard to suggest books everyone should read and not be swayed by the current popular titles but I’d argue that a few tweeks might make the list more useful to parents hungry for recommendations.

First off ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ is a much more enjoyable Shakespeare play to self study than ‘Merchant of Venice’, especially as an introduction to him without teacher support – the story is easy enough to follow and some of the banter is excellent.

If you are choosing only one poet Auden does have some excellent stuff including the famous ‘Funeral Blues’ (that the one that starts ”Stop all the Clocks”).  Though I’d probably suggest Roger McGough or John Hegley if they weren’t poetry readers to get them going.

I’m not totally sold that Tolstoy and Maugham are essential reading in life, having never read either I think I’m doing ok. (Though what do I know, maybe if I’d read them before 16, I’d be waking up at dawn to get in some fiction reading before work). What I do know is that the list is missing any fantasy or Science Fiction work and while I dare say Tolstoy is a good meaty choice, I’d replace Maugham with the likes of 1984 by George Orwell or ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ by Douglas Adams or ‘The Hobbit’ by J.R.R.Tolkein depending on how serious they wanted to be.

The comment is made in the article that “reading should be enjoyable, so book choice should reflect not just ability, but also interests.” Yet the reading lists are full of worthy titles that aren’t the best in the cannon of work by that author or ones the young people might have heard of. For instance they suggest ‘The Magician’s Nephew’ by C.S.Lewis rather than the much more readable ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’. I’d argue if introducing them to an author choosing one to get them hooked would surely make more sense.  Certainly if they read all 31 titles suggested in the school’s list they will have a varied read though I’d be surprised if many teenage boys found many of the titles ‘interesting’. (It shouldn’t be a surprise that boys aren’t the intended audience).

On the upside for those parents looking to get recommendations for their teenagers there is one sure fire way to get persoanlised reading recommendations without parting with cash – by hitting the school library (or local one for that matter) and asking a librarian for help. How much cheaper can you get than borrowing the books and getting free advice from a professional who’s job it is to know all about teen reading? Shame the article never managed to mention that as a way to improve your education without paying a penny.

Continue reading »]]>

The fairy image came from Twinkl (a primary school resource site) printed off. We then taped a simple folded card concertina to the back to make them a bit more 3D. The fairy wings came simply by printing the image out (I used this one from Drawbot) on coloured paper and mounting some coloured card.

Continue reading »]]> So I’ve finally got to writing up Thing 23 – reflection – what next? To sum it up in six words – Exploration develops renewed passion for librarianship.

It has been an interesting journey and one that has provided me with lots of ideas, resources and food for thought. I’ve a few things I am now doing, a few I’m still doing and some I’ll be saving for later (or possibly the right query). I think the next step is integrating this stuff into what I do and applying my newly acquired knowledge and skills. For instance the podcasting I enjoyed back in Thing 18.

I’ve done a second podcast – 5 min appears to be about the max I can talk for before the file is too big. I’ve started hosting them on one of my Glow blogs (that Scottish Schools network thing). I created this blog last year, decided not to use (as it couldn’t import my blogger library blog) but couldn’t seem to delete the damned thing. Anyway it’s all worked out as now I have a wordpress blog I can use that isn’t my personal blog so that’s a win.

The latest podcast is all about banned books as that is the current external display. I’m thinking podcasts linked to the external display is probably a good way to go as I do them monthly so that’ll fit together nicely.

As for a personal development plan – that is part of my job anyway. We do an annual plan and mine closely links with the library development needs. I find my CPD plan tends to focus on the bits of the job I want to develop or the school wants me to develop. I’m not going to share it (most of it is rather dull) but this years did include increased ICT use in the library and learning to make better use of my SMART board. I think I can tick the ICT development but the SMART board is still on the cpd list (maybe the Easter holidays will provide a chance). I also think development of my teaching skills is the next logical step in my school librarian CPD. As a school librarian I do find myself ‘teaching’ a lot despite this not being part of my training, so improving this aspect of my work will hopefully provide new inspiration for lessons and a better understanding for the pupils learning styles etc.

So that’s CPD23 done, finished, completed. Now why didn’t they make a badge for that?

Continue reading »]]> So what is a holiday without a quick trip to a library? I’m like a homing pigeon for the things and our latest Orkney trip was no different. You might be familiar with Orkney Library thanks to the very amusing Orkney Library and Archive facebook and twitter feed.

The library is a new build and is really lovelyThe inside was light and open feeling despite the fact that it was quite a small library compared to what I have locally (least in terms of main book stock).

What it did have was a self service issue desk! I would love one of these for the school library but like a fingerprint scanner the budget will never stretch.

Something they did have that I could add to the library was a book of the day (I’ve seen these posh display stands before they are done by Opening the Book Furniture). Alas the official units are a bit out of my price range but I do have some more basic ways I could make this happen. What I did like was that the humour that I love about the twitter feed was present in the book selection.

A book of hangover cures seems very appropriate for just after New Year

Continue reading »]]> Zac and the Dream Pirates by Ross Mackenzie was the last book in my A-Z Challenge. This won a place on my reading list partly because it began with a Z but mostly as the cover is glow in the dark! (Not that such gimmicks should win me over.) So how was the read? I did enjoy it, it was easy to read and the action was quite fast paced especially as the end neared. It has set it up for sequels with a few questions unanswered or adventures clearly coming up but it was a satisfying read and didn’t feel incomplete. For Harry Potter fans this does seem like a good fit though they might think a few bits are rather familiar (the Dream Pirates wear silver masks and there are flying cars, to name a couple) but it’s not like Harry Potter didn’t have ideas seen in older stories (there are after all only so many ways tell a story). Having said that it didn’t read as a poor copy but as an original tale and one well worth a read.

So how did I get on with The Thoughts of a Book Junky challenge – 26 books read over the year and one matching each letter of the alphabet? In a period of 365 days I have managed though I think the idea was they were all supposed to be in 2011. Ah well, you can’t do everything.

It was a fun challenge to do I enjoyed looking through my books to see what would count or searching the library for the missing letters. The list of books changed a few times over the year to meet with what I fancied reading (I just can’t read a book if I don’t want to). In the end only 6 came from my personal collection the rest from the library (and one from a friend). 8 are non-fiction, 3 graphic novels and 6 were teen/children’s and only 8 were written by women (and only 6 different women at that). 8 are crime, 3 are super hero and 8 fantasy. So what does all this tell me? Nothing save this small sample is a pretty good account of my reading habits in 2011.

So for those who want to see exactly what I counted they were:

A – Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks by John Curran
B – Buttercream Bump Off by Jenn McKinlay
C – Confessions of  a Failed Southern Lady by Florence King
D – Dr. Horrible and other horrible stories by Zach Whedon
E – Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich
F – Florida Roadkill by Tim Dorsey
G – Golden bats and Pink Pigeons by Gerald Durrell
H – Hero by Perry Moore
I – I wish that I had duck feet by Dr. Seuss
J – Just a Geek by Wil Wheaton
K – Kung Fu Trip by Benjamin Zephaniah
L – Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox
M – Mad Dogs and English Men by Paul Magrs
N – Nemesis by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven
O – Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman
P – Post-Mortem by Patricia Cornwell
Q – Quiet Please; dispatches from a public librarian by Scott Douglas
R – Recipe for Rebellion by Cathy Hopkins
S – Sprinkle with Murder by Jenn McKinlay
T – Trouble on the Heath by Terry Jones
U – Universally Challenged by Wendy Roby
V – Valhalla by Tom Holt
W – Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich
X – Xena: Warrior Princess by Roy Thomas, Aaron Lopresti and Robert Trebor.
Y – Young Sherlock Holmes – Death Cloud by Andrew Lang
Z – Zac and the Dream Pirates by Ross MacKenzie