tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post3739996417466272902..comments2024-03-25T09:56:16.164+00:00Comments on An Awfully Big Blog Adventure: School Librarians - A Precious Resource - Linda StrachanUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-2152686524315374072013-12-21T09:38:20.147+00:002013-12-21T09:38:20.147+00:00Thanks, Ann.
Barbara you are right it should be...Thanks, Ann. <br /><br />Barbara you are right it should be part of school inspections. The Society of Authors has been campaigning to get the school inspectors to recognise that the library and also author visits should be included.<br /><br />It is something we all need to shout about together, again and again, so that someone listens!Linda Strachanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04354324158228109351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-68020211345256096262013-12-20T21:12:58.111+00:002013-12-20T21:12:58.111+00:00Totally agree with everything you've said (alt...Totally agree with everything you've said (although being a school librarian myself, I'm unlikely to disagree) and so glad that the education chiefs have decided to rethink their decision. The situation in England is sadly very different. The decision as to whether to have a school library lies completely with the Head and not with the local education authority. And Ofsted happily inspect schools and give them an outstanding grade without ever going near the library. <br /><br />As for what school librarians do: we manage a busy space accommodating a diverse range of needs from students and staff; we are responsible for the selecting and promotion of the stock ensuring this supports the curriculum as well as reading for pleasure; we constantly promote reading and literacy with a range of strategies and promotions throughout the school; we provide a safe environment for vulnerable children; we encourage them to explore their interests and hobbies; we organise clubs and activities both within and outside the curriculum; we participate in collaborative projects with departments; we teach a range of information skills at all levels ... it might actually be easier to say what we "don't" do! <br /><br />As has been mentioned, a school library with a professional librarian impacts on the attainment of students throughout the curriculum. Literacy levels in the UK are falling, there is concern regarding this. Research shows that school libraries improve literacy levels. And yet no-one insists that schools have a library ... why doesn't someone join the dots here!Barbara Bandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04806135083697903642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-22553179278669616922013-12-19T20:39:16.540+00:002013-12-19T20:39:16.540+00:00Anonymous, I agree with all that's been said. ...Anonymous, I agree with all that's been said. But I also wonder, could your son be feeling a little bit bolshie? Maybe having such very bookish parents makes him want to be different. But if he can read, he surely will read when he wants to.<br /><br />Excellent post, Linda.Ann Turnbullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06484265041343702129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-61648532194270660622013-12-18T20:53:49.553+00:002013-12-18T20:53:49.553+00:00Anonymous I agree with Nicola. Possibly he will co...Anonymous I agree with Nicola. Possibly he will come to them when he feels ready, and better with no pressure. Sometimes it is just that one book that will open the door for him and perhaps he has not found it yet.Linda Strachanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04354324158228109351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-75224348484276582702013-12-18T20:47:12.128+00:002013-12-18T20:47:12.128+00:00Cat, I am horrified by that attitude, and as Penny...Cat, I am horrified by that attitude, and as Penny, and Elspeth said this 'all online' approach is very shortsighted. <br />I am constantly amazed at the knee-jerk reaction about online versus books.<br />It is not that everything online is great or on the other hand that we should bury our heads in the sand and ignore it, like so much else eventually a middle ground will emerge.<br />As has been seen over the years in other areas it will all level out and we will find that we marry both online/ebook reading with paper books in a way that suits our lifestyles in the future.<br />In the eighties (I think it was) everyone was in a panic that cinemas would completely disappear because people could watch films on video. The reality was that, yes, some smaller cinemas did disappear but we still go to the cinema, and we also access films in other ways.<br />Books will stay with us, but ebooks and accessing information online will also be part of the lives of our children, much more than they were for us growing up. <br />We do, however need school librarians and libraries to be there to help the next generation find out what a joy reading is, which books to try, to encourage reading in different ways and help those who find it a difficult skill to master. They will still need to discover what to read through book clubs and quizzes, and reading may also become more of a social event in the way book clubs bring people together to discuss their books and festivals have exploded into almost every small town. <br />We need librarians to take the time to encourage and promote books and reading for fun to our children so that they know what to access either on paper or online.Linda Strachanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04354324158228109351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-64157136330151667842013-12-18T20:27:39.672+00:002013-12-18T20:27:39.672+00:00Hi Sue,thank you for your comment. I think it is t...Hi Sue,thank you for your comment. I think it is telling when you say.. "The principals of schools don't know what we do because they don't WANT to know; if they allowed themselves to find out, they would have to staff and fund us properly."<br />I am sure it is sadly all too true but perhaps it is time. All the great things you do should be documented and acknowledged. <br />I also know it does take time, effort, and some skill, to run an author visit well so that the students get the best out of it, (and it sounds as if you do!) <br />From the author's point of view far too many are not as well organised as one might wish, but the great librarians are those who you know will have thought of all the things you mention!<br />As you obviously know, it is not all about money,but enthusiasm and imagination to make a small budget stretch. I am sure your students appreciate it and this is exactly why schools and the next generation will miss out if School librarians are allowed to become a thing of the past.Linda Strachanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04354324158228109351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-22420958401493127232013-12-18T13:03:12.261+00:002013-12-18T13:03:12.261+00:00Well said, Linda. It's so easy - and so much a...Well said, Linda. It's so easy - and so much a modern management cliche to say it's "all online", without knowing what the "all" actually is, and is not. <br /><br />In my darker moments, I'm sure there's big business and influential people behind the online "one-approach fits all" drive, and they are using all sorts of apparently "good messages" to drive out libraries and other spaces and subjects that don't conform easily to sit-and- watch and or fill-in-the-worksheet/form. Dickens "Hard Times" schooling model, updated. again. All these brave initiatives and determined librarians who fight on as best they can win my admiration!Penny Dolanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16386668303428008498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-83766339228914663122013-12-18T11:58:09.056+00:002013-12-18T11:58:09.056+00:00Thank you so much for your heartening post, Linda!...Thank you so much for your heartening post, Linda! As a practising school librarian I am finding it hard to stay positive in the face of the onslaught of short sighted cost cutting by councils. When we meet people as individuals and explain what we do - as we did at the lobby of the Scottish Parliament last year-they are so often surprised to find out what we offer.<br />As Catdownunder says, arguments are made that everything is now available 'on-line' - but who is it who teaches pupils how to find, select evaluate and use this online material? In my (38 years) experience of schools,it is usually the school librarian! We are the people who aim to develop the skills needed for learning, life and work and instil the love of reading which, as Linda so eloquently pointed out, is the key to future success.Elspeth Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01834041351713094712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-58891273461979865842013-12-18T11:47:33.627+00:002013-12-18T11:47:33.627+00:00Anonymous, two possibilities to suggest (and I spe...Anonymous, two possibilities to suggest (and I speak as a former expert on literacy acquisition). Only offered as possibilities not a "diagnosis". (and forgive me if you already know all this!) First, the fact that he's steeped in books will stand him in good stead for such time as he decides he wants to read. So, patience and a long game. Second, however, the most common reason for a child choosing not to read is that the child finds something difficult about reading. There are a number of reasons for this, from psychological to more actual. If he feels (rightly or wrongly) that he is less good at it than his peers, even if no one has told him this, he then is very likely to develop an antipathy. And the trouble is that the direct result of that is that he will do it less/be more reluctant, and thus compounding the problem. If you think there's a chance that the second reason applies, it would be good to make enquiries, while being very careful not to put pressure on. Does that make sense? Meanwhile, keep reading to him.Nicola Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-78845855588837223032013-12-18T11:24:37.352+00:002013-12-18T11:24:37.352+00:00All true, all too true, of course. Agree with ever...All true, all too true, of course. Agree with everything here.<br /><br />But I'm stumped by a mystery of a more private nature. My eight-year-old has been marinaded in books (read to him) from birth. We go to the library every week. One of his parents is an author, the other reads three times as many books as the author does. The kid's bedroom is overflowing with books of every description.<br /><br />Will he read? Will he heck.<br /><br />He can. He just won't ever pick a book up.<br /><br />Odd.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-48187157232553742552013-12-18T07:21:53.061+00:002013-12-18T07:21:53.061+00:00Hear, hear. The research about reading for pleasur...Hear, hear. The research about reading for pleasure producing better results on other subjects is older than the most recent 2013 one - there have been several, all saying the same. The OECD PISA study is the biggest, I think, and it's highly compelling. And without school librarians in every school, the only kids who will be reading for pleasure will be the ones from highly literate "reading" households, not those who need encouragement. More inequality looms. <br /><br />Shame on you, local councils who would do this. We will fight you all the way. And if we lose, more shame on you, Nicola Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07847390687632715336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-16751894064280772132013-12-18T04:48:18.147+00:002013-12-18T04:48:18.147+00:00Oh yes Linda - I can only agree. We have secondary...Oh yes Linda - I can only agree. We have secondary schools here which no longer have a library. The argument was made that the students could access anything they needed "on-line". The reality is that they read even less than before and that they are not reading fiction because that is no longer available in the way school texts are. <br />When I worked as a school librarian I chose to keep the library open at lunch times and it was always crowded with children wanting to return and borrow books. One of those children told me that her children are not even allowed to read at lunch time. (It's considered ant-social.) <br />Our local council library struggles to get funds for Children's and YA services - because schools are supposed to be doing the work. In reality neither is doing the work - although the staff would dearly love to do it. catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.com