Spotlight:The Influence of Libraries by Sara Grant

It is with pleasure I welcome Sara Grant to Book Angel Booktopia today to share how libraries have made an impact in her life. Over to Sara:

How libraries influenced me....

I was born and raised in a small town in the United States. We didn’t have a bookstore or Amazon, but we had a beautiful library. It was a quiet, magical space that echoed with stories and the click-clack of hard-soled shoes on the tiled floor. It was my first portal to the world of books.

I would always visit the same shelf first – the one with The Boxcar Children. I’m sure I checked out other books but this is the one I returned to again and again. I can still see its faded cover, worn spine, and the black line drawings that graced the inside pages and also recall the adventures of the orphaned Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny.

I recently visited this library again – twenty-five years after I moved away. I was invited to give a talk on creative writing to coincide with the publication of Dark Parties in the United States. I donated a copy of my book to the library. It was a strange and satisfying feeling to have my book on those shelves that I had visited so long ago.

Title: Dark Parties
Author: Sara Grant
Publisher: Indigo
Publication Date: 22 Dec 2011

Synopsis from Goodreads

Sixteen-year-old Neva has been trapped since birth. She was born and raised under the Protectosphere, in an isolated nation ruled by fear, lies, and xenophobia. A shield "protects" them from the outside world, but also locks the citizens inside. But there's nothing left on the outside, ever since the world collapsed from violent warfare. Or so the government says...
Neva and her best friend Sanna believe the government is lying and stage a "dark party" to recruit members for their underground rebellion. But as Neva begins to uncover the truth, she realizes she must question everything she's ever known, including the people she loves the most.

Spotlight: Guest Post: One Step At a Time by Duncan Wright

I am so excited to see how the Kindle introduction is going in the School Library. Over  to Duncan:

One Step at a Time… 

In the 1st instalment of this article (HERE) I explained how we had set up our Kindles for use in the school library including registering the Kindles with Amazon and how we were downloading e-books to our Kindles. The final part of the article will look at how we are managing the Kindles within our school library and possible next steps for their use.

As we only have five Kindles the day to day management is relatively simple. When not in use they are stored in a locked filing cabinet. This is easily accessible from the library desk ensuring that should a pupil request to borrow a Kindle we can get hold of one quickly. The battery life on the Kindle Keyboard is excellent and they do not need charged often. When a Kindle is returned by a user I check the battery percentage and should it have fallen to a low level the Kindle is charged at the library desk. A full charge takes approximately 2 hours and is indicated by the amber light on the Kindle changing to green.

Each of the Kindle books that we have bought is catalogued on our Eclipse Library Management System. This allows students to see which e-books are available via the Pupil OPAC machines and allows me to keep a record of our purchases. (Purchases are of course also stored within the Amazon account that the Kindles are registered to.) Every e-book that we purchase can be downloaded to all five Kindles so each e-book has been catalogued five times, each showing the location as SMC Library Kindle 1, SMC Library Kindle 2, etc. This was a time consuming exercise and shows how Library Management Systems have not yet caught up with the e-book revolution.

Currently our pupil use of the Kindles is restricted to within school. This gives pupils access to a Kindle at break, lunch, after school or if required during lessons. If a pupil wishes to borrow a Kindle they sign up on simple signup sheet at the library desk. Each of our Kindles is numbered and the pupil signs the relevant part of the signup sheet. This allows us to track who has our Kindles and if necessary follow up with previous users should the Kindle be damaged or settings changed. It also allows us to keep some crude statistics on how often they are being used and by whom.

Here are a couple of examples of how the pupils have been using the Kindles.

Two S2 (Year 8) boys have been coming to the library during lunchtime to read a book on the Kindle. They are already reading a novel at home but have chosen to read a different novel on the Kindle. They have said they enjoy reading novels on the Kindle.

Four S4 (Year 10) boys have been using the Kindles in their ‘Extra English’ class. On the 1st week that these four boys arrived in the library they were given the opportunity to read a ‘printed’ book. Although they did eventually settle down and read the book, they were not fully engaged and they took a long time to get fully involved with their book.

The following week the boys were given the opportunity of reading a Kindle book. Each of the boys was keen to use the Kindle and they were engaged with the novel they had chosen almost immediately. They were much quieter and settled down to read much quicker than the previous week. When asked why they preferred to read on the Kindle they said “it did not feel like real reading (!).” At the end of the lesson they asked if they could use the Kindles again next week!

The Kindles have also been used in the classroom by boys who have forgotten their class text and one of our teachers borrowed a Kindle over the October holidays.

Here are some of my thoughts on why our pupils enjoy using the Kindles…

· Because it’s not a book! Or at least to them it doesn’t feel like they are reading a book. It’s just another piece of technology – and they love technology

· Nobody can see what they are reading and then judge them on their choice of book

· They are not put off by the size of a book. Kindles do not show page numbers by default, rather a percentage of the book completed. Pupils feel a sense of achievement in having read e.g. 10% of a book

· If the library doesn’t have a copy of the book they would like to read, we can download a copy instantly. They love doing this!

· They can adjust the text size to something they are comfortable with

· The built-in dictionary allows them to find definitions of words just by using the device

The next step for us is to allow our Kindles to be borrowed by pupils outside of school. This is something that we will take great consideration with and which will need to be discussed and agreed with senior management. Any pupil wishing to borrow a Kindle to take home will be required to complete a ‘Kindle Acceptable Use Agreement’. We have already started to look at what some other schools are doing and hope to draw up our own agreement in the New Year.

It is likely that pupils will be able to borrow the Kindles for one or two weeks(two weeks is our standard loan for books.) The Acceptable Use agreement will include clear guidelines including reference that content must not be downloaded and settings should not be altered. How workable this will be is unclear but it is hoped that our pupils can prove themselves to be trustworthy.

At the moment our philosophy regarding e-books is to give pupils exposure to them. We see the Kindles we have has an opportunity for pupils to explore the technology and experiment with reading electronically. I would love to be able to offer pupils the facility to download e-books from our library to their own devices however at the moment we are restricted from doing this because of the financial implications. A system capable of offering this, e.g. Overdrive as used by Edinburgh public libraries, is out of our league in budgetary terms. In time traditional school suppliers such as Peters or Browns Books for Students may be able to offer similar services but until this point we will continue to offer e-books via our current method.

If anyone is keen to discuss the role of Kindles and e-books in a school library setting you can find me on Twitter on most days - @loveliterature

Huge thanks to Duncan for these posts. I hope he will keep us informed as to the developments with the new technology in the library as it happens. Thanks again

Spotlight: Guest Post: A Brave New World by Duncan Wright

It is my great pleasure to welcome Duncan Wright to Book Angel Booktopia today, this is where I turn into a librarian fan-girl as Duncan was School Librarian of the Year 2010, he kindly agreed to write a guest post for me on the introduction of Kindle's into school libraries. Something that I have been interested to learn more about alongside fellow School Librarian Becky of The Bookette. Without further waffling from me over to Duncan:

A Brave New World…

In June our school library was given kindly given funding by our Former Pupil Council to purchase five Kindles for our school library.  Having initially requested funding for only one, this came as quite a surprise and required me to revaluate how we would use and manage the Kindles within our library.  What follows is very much our story so far as we embark on an e-book adventure…

We purchased our Kindles directly from Amazon as the price was relatively universal with no real discounts available elsewhere.  As we were buying in June the smaller keyboard less Kindle had not yet been launched so we opted to buy what is now called the Kindle Keyboard. We bought the Wi-Fi only version and did not opt for 3G.  Taking away the 3G option gives us much more control over what can be downloaded onto our Kindles. In addition to purchasing the Kindles we also bought leather covers to offer the Kindles some protection from the grubby mitts and general carelessness of teenagers. The covers we bought were relatively inexpensive (approximately £10) and were recommended to us by a pupil who already owned a Kindle.

Our Kindles arrived just before the end of the summer term, much to the excitement of our Pupil Librarians who I had promised would be given the first look. They all thought it was extremely cool that the library was now the owner of five Kindles!  

Before everyone set off on their summer holidays I asked our Finance office to order the library a £100 Amazon gift certificate so that I could purchase books for the Kindle during the summer holidays. However before purchasing anything the Kindles required to be set up.

I waited until the peace and quiet of the summer holidays to embark fully on the set up of the Kindles however in hindsight this wasn’t really necessary. I found the Kindles very intuitive and the set up procedure was pretty simple. Although we have a Wi-Fi connection in the school library I took the decision to register the Kindles at home using my own Wi-Fi connection. This would again limit the opportunities for pupils to download material onto the Kindles. 

To register a Kindle you must have an Amazon account. If you own more than one Kindle, as the library does, you can register each Kindle to the same account. By doing this any books purchased for the Kindles will be downloaded onto each of the separate Kindles, with you only paying once for the e-book. I sought clarification on this from Amazon as it did at first seem a little bit too good to be true. This was their response in June 2011 and I am unaware that this information has changed in any way.  

“There is no limit on the number of times Kindle content can be downloaded to a registered Kindle device or application. Publishers determine how many copies of each title can be downloaded to different Kindle devices or applications at the same time so there may be limits on the number of devices (usually six) that can simultaneously have a single book or Kindle active content title.”

This is a major difference to how Amazon operates in the USA and things may, and most probably will, change in the UK as the popularity of the Kindle increases. This would be a real shame as at the moment this is one of the most appealing features of the Kindle.  

I am aware that Buffy Hamilton (Unquiet Librarian) a school librarian working in the USA encountered various problems around this issue and as a result has moved away from using Kindles. 

With our Kindles registered the next step was to download material for the Kindles.  This can be done in two ways. Either browsing the Kindle store directly from the Kindle which obviously requires a Wi-Fi connection, or browsing the Kindle store on the Amazon main web page and then downloading the books via USB (using the cable supplied) from the PC. I have found the easiest way to purchase books is to browse directly from the Kindle device.  

Once a book is purchased it will download automatically to the device in less than ten seconds. It also downloads to the ‘archived items’ folder of any other Kindles registered to this email address meaning that as soon as another device is switched on, it is a simple case of accessing the archived items folder and downloading the book, again in a number of seconds.

The second method is a little more cumbersome, especially if downloading to numerous devices but I have used it within the library. If a pupil is looking for a particular book on the Kindle that we do not have I have offered to download the book there and then for them, using the USB cable.  They love it when I do this as it feels like they have had the book delivered personally to them! All of e-books are purchased using Amazon gift certificates which allow us to purchase books in this way.

By the time the new term started at the end of August our Kindles had approximately 50 books available on each device.  I decided to ‘soft launch’ the Kindles in order that any teething problems could be sorted out in the early stages, although I did bring them to the attention of each of our S1 induction classes. I also asked our Pupil Librarians to spread the word amongst their peers and tweeted about the Kindles on the library twitter account. This generated more than enough interest and the 1^st few days of the new term saw lots of pupils asking to look at the Kindles.  The general consensus was that they were a good thing and they certainly reflected the library in a positive manner. 

In the next instalment of this article I will discuss how we are the managing the use of our Kindles, what the pupil reaction to them has been, and what the next steps are for us in the use of e-books in the library.

Duncan Wright

Librarian at Stewart’s Melville College, Edinburgh.

@loveliterature

www.literatureforlads.com

Saturday Spotlight: Guest Post: Libraries Open up the World by Savita Kalhan

It is my great pleasure to welcome Savita Kalhan to Book Angel Booktopia today to talk about the role libraries have played in her own life. Thank you so much for this guest post Savita.

Why Libraries are so Important to Me...

When I was a child the most important place in my life was the town library. The children’s library was housed in a separate structure to the main library, which was a grand old building. The kid’s library was basically a very large terrapin hut. But that didn’t matter. All that mattered was that it was big and it was full of books, and they were free to borrow!

I come from a very traditional Hindu background and my parents were extremely strict. Basically we weren’t allowed to go out anywhere. Luckily I had lots of siblings, I’m the eldest of seven, so there was never much time to get bored. But we did get cabin fever!

The only place we were allowed to go to was the library. We were taken there every Saturday morning and got to stay for as long as we wanted. I ended up reading almost every single book in the library by the time I was 12, and asked the Head Librarian of the adult library if I could join, even though you had to be 14. She let me – as long as she checked the books I was intending to borrow first.

So from a very young age, libraries and librarians have been my friends. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without them, and I doubt very much I would be a writer today if it wasn’t for my them.

Books opened up the world for me. It’s as simple as that. They’re still opening up the world. The ongoing threatened library closures make me sad and angry – how can you deny such pleasure, enjoyment, knowledge, to the children and people who rely on the free and easy access to books that the library provides?

Title: The Long Weekend
Author: Savita Kalhan
Publisher: Andersen
Publication Date: 2 Oct 2008 

Synopsis from Goodreads 

Sam knows that he and his friend Lloyd made a colossal mistake when they accepted the ride home. They have ended up in a dark mansion in the middle of nowhere with man who means to harm them. But Sam doesn't know how to get them out. They were trapped, then separated. Now they are alone. Will either of them get out alive? This gripping and hypnotic thriller will have you reading late into the night.

Saturday Spotlight: Guest Post: 5 Reasons Libraries ROCK by Alyson Noel

I cannot tell you how much I love this guest post - go read it and you will see why:

1. Library cards are a backstage pass to awesomeness! The first day I was let loose among the stacks, library card in tow, collecting piles of books I couldn’t wait to take home, was a moment I’ll never forget.


2.  Libraries are air-conditioned! Growing up in California in a house without air conditioning made the library a welcome reprieve from the blazing summer heat on days when running through the sprinklers just didn’t cut it.


3.  Libraries provide a safe and quiet place to hang out. As a kid, the library was the one place the gang of girls who bullied me could not penetrate (they didn’t read—go figure!) it provided safe haven and I relied on it heavily.


4.  Libraries build community! My local library provides talks, programs, classes, storytime for kids, and more—it’s a valuable asset I can’t imagine doing without.


5.  Libraries have librarians! Connecting books to readers is important work, and librarians rock that like nobody else!

Now you can see why I love this post especially Number 5 [ ; D ] Thank you so much Alyson for writing it.

Saturday Spotlight: ALA Banned Books Week

September 24th to October 1st

BANNED BOOKS WEEK WITH THE ALA

For more information, press kit and events guide go here

Terrific resource. Now this is a great way for you to get involved - maybe a media studies or library lesson project.

Create a YouTube video of you, your students or friends reading a banned book. For full details go here

Banned or Challenged Book Lists go here

Taken from School Library Journal:

Librarians, bookstores, and others celebrating the freedom to read from September 24 to October 1 are encouraged to take part in this year's Virtual Read-Out on YouTube. The criteria are simple: create a video that's less than two minutes long of anyone reading a book that's been banned. If you choose to talk about a personal experience battling censorship, then feel free to extend the video to three minutes.

So what do you think guys - are you up for it. I cannot wait to see the videos.

Book Speed Dating: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Book Speed Dating is a little idea I came up with for a year 7 library lesson. They pick a book that they enjoyed, preferably one that is actually in the library so they can show the cover and synopsis. Then they have to write a short but convincing argument as to why other people should read it. It has been a shambles the few times I have tried it out but it is a work in progress. After they have written their short review/persuasive argument, I line them up facing each other and give them 30 seconds in which to pitch their chosen book. After switching sides the line on the right moves down a space so they now have a new partner to pitch to. you like the idea I can tell [ ; D ] I am more than happy for other people to use my ideas but please credit it back *hugs*

To fully benefit from the book speed dating experience you need a stopwatch and for pupils to not pick the same books - seriously I was told that Breaking Dawn was educational by 3 Year 7 girls *snort*.

I also used this little idea as an ice-breaker in my presentation about Blogging Benefits Libraries to the Staff - it was even more uncontrollable than the pupils - seriously in need of a stopwatch and a whistle [ : D ]

Here is my Book Speed Dating for Forever by Maggie Stiefvater I used this as an example on the Staff Development Day.

Title: Forever
Series: The Wolves of Mercy Falls
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication Date: 13 July 2011

Synopsis: From Amazon

In SHIVER, Grace and Sam found each other. In LINGER, they fought to be together. Now, in FOREVER, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. An love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.

Review - Speed Dating Style:
Fabulous world building. Descriptive writing to immerse yourself in. A Super sweet romance to sweep you off your feet.
Interesting take on werewolf mythology - ingenious use of a blood disorder affected by temperature.
A snarky, spoilt brat with a well hidden warm heart.
A genius, suicidal rock star who finds his niche in life.
A truly heart breaking and heart warming, beautiful read.

So what do you think. Would you read it after the speed dating [ ; D ]

Saturday Spotlight: Guest Post: Pete Johnson: Libraries changed My Life

I am very excited to welcome Pete Johnson to Book Angel Booktopia today, his libraries post just makes me so happy and I am sure will provide inspiration for a lot of other people. Enjoy and your comments would be greatly appreciated.

Libraries changed my life.

          I’ve always been captivated by stories. In fact, some of my earliest memories are of Mum reading to my sister, Linda and myself. Then on Sunday nights Dad would tell us really exciting tales – like ‘The Three Musketeers’ – which for years I thought he’d made up himself.

          But joining the library was like finding myself in a vast intoxicating treasure trove. For one glorious hour, Mum would leave Linda and me under the kindly eye of the librarian, while we decided which six books each we’d be taking home. Only that hour sped past and by the time Mum returned, I was still stomping about with ten or eleven books under my arm agonising over which ones should make the final cut.

          One of my six choices was almost always a ‘Just William’ book. Richmal Crompton’s stories made me laugh out loud. They also gave me a life-long love of humorous fiction, which now stretches from P.G. Wodehouse and Gerald Durrell’s ‘My Family and Other Animals’ to Nick Hornby and David Nicholls.

          But the wonderful thing about my library is that it also encouraged me to be adventurous. And alongside favourites like ‘Just William,’ Anthony Buckeridge’s ‘Jennings’ and Jane Shaw (still a very underrated writer) I’d spot a book in a display or be intrigued by a blurb. So stories like ‘Tom’s Midnight Garden’ by Philippa Pearce or ‘Marianne Dreams’ by Catherine Storr, which I’m not sure I’d ever have bought (though I did later) were sampled and became cherished discoveries.

          And then I found ‘One Hundred and One Dalmatians’ by Dodie Smith. It entranced me so much that I took it out from the library again and again. I couldn’t stop reading it. I tracked down other books by Dodie Smith too, including the wonderful, ‘I Capture the Castle.’ And then I wrote a fan letter to Dodie Smith. To everyone’s amazement – and my great delight – she replied. That was the beginning of a correspondence which went on for over twenty years.

          And one day Dodie Smith asked if I’d ever thought of becoming a writer myself, as she was sure I’d make a good one. So she first put the idea into my head and when the inevitable rejections thudded through my letter box, it was she and her husband, Alec, who urged me to keep going. ‘We just know it will happen for you,’ she said.

          And one glorious day it did. And there were my children’s books on the library shelves. Today when a library invites me to give a reading and I hear children laughing at, ‘How To Train Your Parents,’ or ‘Rescuing Dad,’ or listening in tense silence to ‘The Vampire Blog or ‘Traitor’ (which is dedicated to Dodie Smith) I feel as if my life has come full circle.

          I also visit the library now with my nephews and niece. They use the computers, peruse the magazines and enjoy all the exciting events and Book Club meetings. 

Libraries have changed and developed since I first joined. In fact, they’re more exciting and dynamic than ever.

          But as I watch my nephews and niece agonise over their book choices (They’re allowed eight books each now and it still isn’t enough) I realise some things remain gloriously the same.

          And long, long may libraries continue.

  

                                                           *******

Title: The Vampire Hunters

Series: The Vampire Blog

Author: Pete Johnson

Publisher: Yearling

Publication Date: 2 Jun 2011

Synopsis: From Amazon

On my thirteenth birthday, my life changed for ever. That’s when I learned the shocking truth: I’m a half-vampire.

Think that sounds cool? Think again! I’ve been attacked by an evil vampire bat, had huge cravings for my best friend’s blood, and nearly died from eating a pizza (half-vampires aren’t great with garlic). Writing my secret blog is the only thing that’s kept me from going completely crazy.

As if life couldn’t get any more complicated, there have been some vicious attacks in the local woods. Vampire-mad Tallulah (definitely not my girlfriend) thinks a super-vampire is behind them – and she’s desperate to prove it, with a mysterious chain that’s supposed to glow red-hot when a vampire is close by.

And I have a horrible feeling that the chain’s going to turn red-hot any day now . . .

Review here

Find out more about Pete Johnson here

Saturday Spotlight: Guest Post: Libraries, Love of Books and Reading by SC Ransom

Today it is my pleasure to welcome Sue Ransom to Book Angel's Booktopia. Not only is Sue the author of Small Blue Thing and Perflectly Reflected she is also a Headhunter (makes me giggle the imagery it conjures up) and has helped J loads. I am sure she has super-powers. Over to Sue:

When I was young I lived in a house full of books which seemed to be mostly for adults or directed towards boys (I have two brothers). I read everything I could lay my hands on, but when I first went to my local library I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Racks and racks of books for girls, my own library cards and no-one to tell me what to pick. Every Saturday morning I took the bus into town clutching my three books, handed them in and got back my three little orange cards. I then sniffed along the shelves until I found something which caught my fancy. Half the time the three books wouldn’t last me through the weekend. I pleaded with the librarian to be allowed to take out more, but those were the rules. Even so, in a few years I must have read half the library.

When I moved up to senior school there was a small fiction library to explore, so I was able to take out books from there too. As I got older I started to get my own books and borrow from friends (there’s nothing quite like having a rummage through someone else’s bookshelf). But mostly I bought my own, enjoying the thrill of a nice, crisp paperback which may or may not in time turn into a soft, well-worn favourite. I stopped going to the library, and with the arrival of full time employment and two kids,reading became a holiday activity.

It wasn’t until my job changed and I started to commute on the train that I really started to read again. With an hour a day to sit in peace and quiet, I quickly re-read all my old favourites, lots of new authors and then I started on my children’s books. What struck me about my daughter’s books was that they were (mostly) very American, and that started me thinking. With all the background research I had done into books with a lifetime of reading, how hard would it be to write a story just for her? A story which was about her world, her friends, her school? What better birthday present could I give her? I fished my BlackBerry out of my bag and began to write. Every day on the train I wrote, and very soon the project got a little out of hand.

Two years later (almost exactly), that book has been published. Small Blue Thing is now sitting on the shelf in libraries, where a whole new generation of girls can find it, and that makes me hugely proud.

Thanks so much to Sue for that wonderful Guest Post.

Title: Small Blue Thing

Series: Small Blue Thing

Author: S C Ransom 

Publisher: Nosy Crow

Publication Date: 13 Jan 2011

Synopsis: From Amazon

When 17 year-old Alex rescues a swan caught on a wire stuck deep in the Thames mud, she finds an extraordinary bracelet. Through its disturbing and compelling powers, she meets Callum, a soul locked in a half-life of sadness and mystery following a terrible accident, and his persuasive and sinister sister, Catherine. As Alex and Callum grow closer despite the enormous obstacles to their love, the dangers mount until Alex must risk everything to save her best friend and Callum must risk everything to save Alex.

Review here

Title: Perfectly Reflected

Series: Small Blue Thing

Author: SC Ransom

Publisher: Nosy Crow

Publication Date: 2 Jun 2011

Synopsis: From Amazon

This is the second book in the Small Blue Thing trilogy.

Still recovering from her earlier brush with death, Alex's source of strength and comfort is Callum, still locked in a sad half-life after drowing in the river Fleet that flows into the Thames. And she needs all the strength and comfort she can get: someone is out to make her life a misery, and someone is out to get hold of the extraordinary bracelet that enables her to communicate with Callum.

Review here

Saturday Spotlight: Guest Post: A Letter from Glenda Millard

Two young boys, an old tramp, a beautiful teenage dancer, and the girl's baby-ragtag survivors of a sudden war-form a fragile family, hiding out in the ruins of an amusement park. As they scavenge for food, diapers, and baby formula, they must stay out of sight of vicious gangs and lawless solders. At first they rely on Billy, the only adult in the group. But as civil life deteriorates, Billy starts to fall apart. Skip, who is barely into his teens, must take over and lead them on a search for sanctuary.

Blog 30 April 2011

http://www.asamumbooktopia.com/
Libraries

Dear Book Angel,

Thank you for your invitation to write a guest blog. I've decided to write it in the format of a letter, albeit one you may share with your followers. This way I hope to express my feelings more personally, about the topic you've chosen for me. I hope you'll read this letter as though it were from a friend, a concerned ally or an associate in the business of bringing books to a wider audience.

I was dismayed to hear of the situation in the UK regarding funding cuts and closure of public libraries. It made me think for a moment of an Australian television series titled 'The Librarians' - a comic drama about the lengths to which a librarian will go to keep her library from closure. Selling guided tours, providing morning teas and becoming an agency for a commercial video store might be funny to watch on television, but not so humorous in reality. Could these be the sorts of things our public libraries will have to resort to in future to keep their doors open and stock their shelves?

In Australia the government is funding the development of massive new secondary schools to be populated by students trawled from smaller, soon-to-be-redundant,schools. Big is better we are told. There is money to be had for state-of-the-art buildings, up-to-the-minute technology, sporting facilities and so on. But I was shocked to learn from teacher friends and associates that libraries are not being given priority in the design of these new buildings. The space allocated must often be shared – in one case as an annexe to the canteen to double as an indoor eating space during lunch hour! Thankfully, a more suitable arrangement was negotiated. But even sadder than these sorts of compromises, many schools no longer have dedicated librarians.

If the number of public libraries (including school libraries) decline, where will the disadvantaged get their fix of books? Where can readers gather in their lunch breaks, after school or work or on weekends? What will happen to those no longer able to find refuge, delight, reassurance, inspiration, courage and respite in borrowed books?

In a series of novels I've written for younger readers, the Silk family choose not to have a television or to be connected to the internet. For them, real books and reading, both alone and to one another, are an integral way of life. We are not all so fortunate as this. In A Small Free Kiss in the Dark, Skip, the homeless hero of the book discovers a whole new world in a public library. Things he'd never experienced in his life as a foster child, as a runaway. Things that give him hope for a better future, that make him determined to succeed.

Of course these examples are fiction, but here is true instance of how libraries and librarians play an essential role in nourishing community. Last year I visited an inner-city government school with a high population of migrants. I went because I'd read a newspaper article about a young teacher from that school who had single-handedly started a movement to get books for her students, most of whom came from homes where English was not spoken. The teacher explained that she asked her students to bring their favourite book from home. To her dismay, most of them had no book to bring. One of the few, who came with anything, brought a sample chapter of a book that had been taped to a cereal packet. When word of this sad fact was made public by the teacher, books came from everywhere; book shops, other schools, authors, but mostly, just ordinary, everyday, concerned people. The joyful outcome was that these children now read to their parents, teach them English, from these most treasured possessions...books.

Those of you who have read A Small Free Kiss in the Dark might have guessed how much I love libraries. The one depicted in the book is actually a real one in Melbourne, the capital city of the state of Victoria where I live. When I was a child, there wasn't much money to spare and books were usually given as gifts at Christmas and for birthdays. But I still had access to books through the public library system. I left school at 15, but credit my ability to write to my love of reading and being read to. That was how I found out about beginnings, middles and endings, similes and metaphors. That was how I learnt the rhythm of words, the poetry, and the music of them.

I'm lucky now, I can buy books whenever I want to, yet I still think of them as gifts. But sometimes I believe a book can be more of a gift when it isn't owned. If it's taken from the shelves of a public library by someone who owns no books, it is indeed a precious gift.

You and I, Book Angel, and our families live in privilege and plenty. Yet we share the same beautiful planet with people who have little or no access to books. This is a tragedy. Politicians purport to understand poverty, but I wonder if they understand that the soul must be fed as well as the body. Perhaps it is up to us, you and I and our community of book-lovers, to do what the young teacher at North Carlton in Melbourne did - cause a public outcry to effect change. I wish you well in your quest to bring books to the world.

With kind regards

Glenda Millard.

I am so in awe of this guest post. Beautifully written and truly unique, there was just no introduction I could make. A huge thank you to Glenda for writing it.  



Saturday Spotlight: Guest Post: Simon Mason: Libraries are Precious

As a Librarian I love hearing stories about how other people view libraries and the influence it has had on them. Today it is my pleasure to host Simon Mason author of Moon Pie with his feelings about libraries. Over to Simon:

When I was a kid growing up in Sheffield in the 1960s and 1970s I went once or twice a week to my local library in Ecclesall, a small and unassuming place full of wonders. Here I read all the Enid Blyton novels I could lay my hands on, and the Brer Rabbit stories, and the Moomintroll books, and Wind in the Willows, and, later, the ‘Narnia’ books and The Lord of the Rings – and dozens of other books whose titles I have forgotten but which worked their magic on me just the same. I went there to events and activities too, and to hear recordings of books on vinyl disks – and, of course, I took it all for granted.


It was always full. Thatcher closed it in the eighties. Not needed, apparently. Which is odd because, as soon as possible, a great deal of fuss was made locally to start it up again – and, twenty years later, it’s still going strong. I bet it’s still full too.

Now I live in Oxford. When our children were small we went once a week to the Children’s Section of the Central library, to get books. Picture books at first, then ‘chapter books’, then proper novels. Lots of different stuff. One of the great beauties of a library is the choice it offers, the freedom to follow your nose, to just grab something and run with it. We used to grab indiscriminately: ‘What about a spy thriller? What about a book of African folk tales? How about this facts book on the Arctic?’ We found authors the kids liked, and read all their books. We found a subject the kids loved – on Whales or Birds or Victorian Poisoners – and read everything on it we could (there was always lots). And if we ran out of ideas or energy, there was always the librarian to ask. She looked a bit fierce, but she was lovely – and incredibly knowledgeable.

Now my children are grown up. I go to the library on my own, once or twice a week, getting books for myself or my wife. I follow my nose. I try this, I try that. I know now that the library is something so rich I will never come to the end of it. Unless the council, forced to make cuts, decide to close it down. And they might well, actually. After all, people can buy books if they want them, can’t they? I’d love someone from the council to spend a bit of time in the library. See how full it always is. See people, not just borrowing books, but borrowing DVDs, CDs, using the internet, using the local history centre – see ideas taking hold of people, see thoughts growing in the minds of the children.

Something so precious is surely worth preserving.

Simon Mason is a novelist for adults and children. His novel for 9+ readers, Moon Pie, is out now. He is also the author of The Rough Guide to Classic Novels – a book about some of the fantastic books he has borrowed from libraries.

Someone has to keep their head, as Mum used to say, and 11-year-old Martha is used to being that someone in her family. Her little brother, Tug, is too small. Her dad has been acting too strange. And Mum's not here anymore.
So when Dad falls off the roof, it's Martha who ices his knee and takes him to the doctor. And when Dad doesn't come home, it's Martha who cooks Tug's favorite pie and reads him his bedtime story. And when Dad passes out, it's Martha who cleans him up and keeps his secret.
But eventually Dad's problems become too big for even Martha to solve, and she realizes it's not all up to her—there are people and places she can turn to

Get the lowdown on the best fiction ever written. Over 230 of the world’s greatest novels are covered, from Quixote (1614) to Orhan Pamuk’s Snow (2002), with fascinating information about their plots and their authors – and suggestions for what to read next. The guide comes complete with recommendations of the best editions and translations for every genre from the most enticing crime and punishment to love, sex, heroes and anti-heroes, not to mention all the classics of comedy and satire, horror and mystery and many other literary genres. With feature boxes on experimental novels, female novelists, short reviews of interesting film and TV adaptations, and information on how the novel began, this guide will point you to all the classic literature you’ll ever need.

(I think I really want this book)

Thank you so much to Simon for such a terrific and topical guest post.

Saturday Spotlight: Librarian Interview with Melanie of Library Mice

It is my great pleasure to conduct an interview with Melanie from Library Mice. As a Secondary School Librarian my self I am always fascinated by the initiatives and incentives Librarians use to encourage reading in teens. Without further ado, over to Melanie:

• Please introduce yourself with some background details for those that don't know you.

I am Mélanie from Library Mice, I am a qualified chartered librarian and I have been working in schools since late 1997. I have just started work in my fourth school which is a large rural mixed secondary school (11 to 18).

• How did you become a Librarian?

I always wanted to work with books. It was either going to be publishing or librarianship – my dad said I had to make a decision by the end of my exchange year in a university in Northern Ireland. I applied to a few universities to do Librarianship studies and got in Aberystwyth to do their Master’s in Information and Library Studies.

• What qualities do you think a teen/children’s librarian should possess?

I think you have to be able to relate to them, and be interested in them and the things they like. It helps to be interested in children’s/teen literature and be willing to try new things. You have to be flexible and open-minded, and have a good sense of humour but be able to firm when needs be. Of course within a school you also need to be able to teach. It is a much harder job than people expect. They think it is all about stamping books :0)

• Do you have a favourite author/genre?

Nope. There are genres I’d rather not read (crime, fantasy) but I try to stay open-minded. There are many authors that I “follow”, but have no favourites.

• What reading incentives/initiatives do you have in place (if any)?

I have not done much yet as I have just started at my new school. I used to give house points on my previous school and other initiatives such as “Read Around the World” an Readathon.

• How do you deal with bad behavior/non-return or damage to books.

In my last school year 11s had to return or pay for their outstanding books before they got their ticket to the leavers ball and that worked really well. But it is always a struggle to get overdue library books back. I don’t believe in charging fines, I only charge for the price of the book if it is lost or damaged beyond repair.

As for bad behaviour, I guess you learn on the job as far as this is concerned. I just got more confident over the years. I think consistency is the key!

• What question would you like to ask another librarian?

“What has been your most successful project?” It is always really interesting to see what works (and what doesn’t work) in other schools.

Please feel free to leave your projects in the comments and I will pass them on to Melanie

• Do you think that the current Library qualifications available enhance the library service and why?

I think so yes, but then I am a qualified librarian!

It is the same as any profession – would anybody like their children to be taught by an unqualified teacher? Most likely not. Would you like your teeth looked at by an unqualified dentist? Nope!

Experience is very important of course and there are a lot of amazing unqualified librarians around. But being a librarian is a job which, like most others, requires training. I think CILIP did right to introduce qualifications that can be done “on the job” so unqualified school librarians can get qualified status. Whether employers are willing to pay for it to happen is another story altogether!

• How would you like to see the library system progress?

I’d like to see the same as in my native France – school librarians train in the same way as teachers, a sort of PGCE in school librarianship, which makes so much more sense considering how much teaching is involved.




• Do you utilize other libraries resources in your area?

No we don’t really have a schools library service (there is one in Bristol but mainly caters for primary schools).

Maybe this could be suggested for a way to Save Libraries

 • Do you have any predictions for new trends within the library in the coming year.

Not really, I just don’t want to see so many close down, whether it is public or school. I think it says a lot about our government if they are willing to close libraries by the hundreds. I am not their number 1 fan.

Neither am I.

• Manga fan or fad.

FAN! It has been one of my most successful accomplishments at my last school (about to embark on it in my new one too, with lots of interest). It attracted kids who never stepped foot in the library and it did tons to my street cred :0)





• How do you choose/recommend the fiction titles for your library?

I guess with the blog it has become easier to choose fiction as I am more aware of what is coming out. I always think Red House are great at picking out popular stuff too so always keep an eye on their catalogue. I try to mix what I buy – some popular stuff and some more “worthy” stuff but I’d rather buy what I consider to be rubbish but that will be read rather than buy what I’d like them to read for it to sit untouched on the shelves gathering dust.

To be able to recommend books, you need to know your stock. I am still getting used to my new one, but I always try to gauge what they have like in the past before making any recommendations.

• Do you think the UK should have dedicated Teen librarians the same as they have in the states?

These days yes, as there is so much published and it is a very different field from say, picture books. But considering there is barely any money for libraries, I can’t see that happening in a hurry!

• Are there any perks to being a librarian?

You get to choose and buy lots of books and you don’t pay for them out of your own pocket!

• What do you think of the stereotyping of librarians as dull, dumpy bookish nerds/geeks?

I don’t mind personally, it makes me laugh and it allows for great comedy moment such as the Mc Hammer song in Glee!

• How do you decide the age restrictions to place on books?

I don’t believe in it particularly so try to avoid it, but bearing in mind that in a school you act as loco parentis you do have to be careful. So if I know a book might cause problems, I might put a 14+ restriction on it. My first job was in Catholic school and there were a lot of restrictions on the books, and was also more limited in my stock development.

This isn't something I am completely at ease with either but you do have to give way to parental pressure :(

• Have you experienced any parental complaints? If so what was the outcome.

Not so far, but I never say never!

• Do you utilize book reviews? If so where do you place them.

I have in the past for handouts for parents, displays. We have a plasma screen in our reading room so we stick some there too. Also, I am setting up a blog for school at the moment and we will put some on there too.

Wow I am so jealous a plasma screen in your reading room - well actually a reading room *swoon*.

Huge thanks to Melanie for answering my really random questions.