Librarian – ACHUKA Children's Books UK

School Librarian Of The Year

June 12, 2021 By achuka Leave a Comment

Kristabelle Williams of Addey & Stanhope School, a voluntary aided state secondary in inner South East London, has been awarded the honour of School Librarian of the Year 2020/21 by the School Library Association (SLA).

Kristabelle is the school’s Learning Resource Centre Manager and received the award at the SLA’s online course on Leading School Libraries yesterday (11th June) after being announced as one of five librarians on the SLA’s 2020/21 Honour List last year. The final stage of the judging, in which a panel of experienced school librarians visit all the candidates in their workplaces, was delayed until earlier this year due to the pandemic.

Kristabelle runs her library single-handed and ensured its services continued during the pandemic by including books in lockdown care packages for families. She used BookTrust’s Bookbuzz programme and the Free Books Campaign to encourage book ownership.

She said in a recent article for Books for Keeps magazine: “Whether young people read or not is often due to cost, access and content… in a pandemic where the public faces further unemployment and child poverty crises, book gifting has, is and will continue to be an important part of what our school does.”

The award citation noted how Kristabelle used her experience of the pandemic to implement positive changes when school reopened—for example, by retaining a click-and-collect loan system and continuing remote community building.

ACHUKA sends Kristabelle warm congratulations.
You can follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/libthroughthis

The Wizard in the Wood – The Dragon In The Library by Louie Stowell ill. Davide Ortu

January 7, 2021 By achuka Leave a Comment

Waterstones
Amazon
Bookshop

Kit, Josh and Alita are heading back to school – and they’re excited to discover that they’re getting a brand new library, which also means getting their own wizard librarian… and a dragon! But when something VERY BAD happens at the new library, it’s up to Kit and her friends to save the world one more time. The third instalment in the funny, exciting, magical, and action-packed Dragon in the Library series, brilliantly illustrated throughout by Davide Ortu.

Have you read the other books in the series? Look out for:
The Dragon in the Library
The Monster in the Lake

SLA School Librarian of the Year Award

October 4, 2016 By achuka Leave a Comment

A self-inflicted muddle over dates meant that I missed attending this important award for the first time in several years. School libraries play such an important and often unsung role that as much coverage as possible should be given to this annual award and the innovative ways in which librarians can nurture and encourage a love of books and reading. I discovered a few months ago that the school librarian at the school I used to work in had received notification that her role was being ‘deleted’ as part of the process of the school being academised. I gather the library is now going to be run ‘by the children’. We all know what that means. A library needs an informed and committed adult with a professional approach to their role and sufficient time and funds to carry it out if it is really to flourish.

This award celebrates such people. May the schools in which they work continue to value them.

[Because I wasn’t there in person the attached photos are courtesy of Philip Cooper Photography]

The SLA School Librarian of the Year Award is the School Library Association’s prestigious honour to recognize the excellent work that is carried out in school libraries every day, highlighting the best practice of those whose work is outstanding.

This year Amy McKay at Corby Business Academy (www.corbybusinessacademy.org) has been awarded the honour of the School Librarian of the Year 2016.

Amy McKay School Librarian of the Year 2016 receives the award from author Kim Slater (published by Macmillan Children’s Books, a sponsor of the award with Softlink)

Home-made reward scratch cards, staff/student battles of the books, BBQs, sleepovers, Comic-con events and even zombie apocalypses have all taken place in the library at Corby Business Academy, thanks to the energy and enthusiasm of Amy McKay. Amy is a member of the national Youth Libraries Group committee and has recently taken on the role of Carnegie Kate Greenaway Coordinator. To read more about Amy go to: http://www.sla.org.uk/amy-mckay.php

Ginette Doyle, Chair of the SLA School Librarian of the Year Selection Committee, said: ‘‘Amy McKay injects fun into her activities, whether to promote reading for pleasure or to demonstrate study skills. Her library is vibrant, colourful and full of displays promoting books, authors and reading. Passionate about her work she is a kind and caring individual who has an impact on the lives of her students: she is a very worthy winner of the 2016 award.’’

Amy’s achievement this year is particularly notable because 2016 saw an unusually long Honour list for School Librarian of the Year, a testatment to the innovative, high quality work done by so many school librarians across the country. Five exceptional school librarians were considered for the award; each of them makes an exceptional contribution to the schools they work in.

School Librarian of the Year 2016 –Amy McKay Corby Business Academy centre with Honour List Librarians from left to right Rachel Knight, Lauren Thow, Alison Tarrant and Sophie Chalmers

The four other school librarians on the Honour List are:

Sophie Chalmers at Southbrook School (www.southbrook.devon.sch.uk), a special school in Devon for 120 children aged 11 to 16 with complex difficulties

Rachel Knight formerly of Sherborne Girls (www.sherborne.com), an independent day and boarding school for 430 girls aged 11 to 18

Alison Tarrant at Cambourne Village College (www.cambournevc.org), a newly opened Free School with 495 students in years 7 to 9

Lauren Thow formerly of Portobello High School (portobellohighschool.org.uk), one of the largest State schools in Scotland with 1441 students.

To read the full profiles of all the librarians on the Honour List visit the SLA website at: www.sla.org.uk

SLA School Librarian of the Year Award Shortlist (Honour List)

August 23, 2016 By achuka Leave a Comment

The SLA School Librarian of the Year Award is the School Library Association’s prestigious honour to recognise the excellent work that is carried out in school libraries every day and highlight the best practice of those whose work is outstanding.

Their work will be celebrated at a ceremony held on Monday 3 October 2016 at the The Judge’s Court, The Rooms at Browns in Covent Garden. Multi-award-winning author Kim Slater, author of Smart and Seven Letter Word (Macmillan Children’s Books) will announce the SLA School Librarian of the Year 2016.

The librarians on the SLA SCHOOL LIBRARIAN OF THE YEAR HONOUR LIST 2016 are:

Sophie Chalmers
Southbrook School (www.southbrook.devon.sch.uk)
A double-decker bus is home to Sophie Chalmers’ library at Southbrook School, a special school in Devon for 120 children aged 11 to 16 with complex difficulties. As well as working passionately on one-to-one basis within the school, Sophie has developed strong connections with the wider community, including through a reading buddy scheme between her school and the local mainstream secondary school.

Rachel Knight
Sherborne Girls (www.sherborne.com)
During her time at Sherborne Girls, an independent day and boarding school for 430 girls aged 11 to 18 Rachel Knight hosted a dinner party with Mr Darcy, donned white coat and stethescope as the Book Doctor, and virtually visited Everest all in the name of bringing books to life for her students. As well as being a dab hand at study skills lessons, she can strip down an SA80 rifle in 15 seconds.

Amy McKay
Corby Business Academy (www.corbybusinessacademy.org)
Home-made reward scratch cards, staff/student battles of the books, BBQs, sleepovers, Comic-con events and even zombie apocalypses have all taken place in the library at Corby Business Academy, thanks to the energy and enthusiasm of Amy McKay. Amy is a member of the national YLG committee and has recently taken on the role of Carnegie Kate Greenaway Coordinator.

Alison Tarrant
Cambourne Village College (www.cambournevc.org)
At Cambourne Village College (www.cambournevc.org), Alison Tarrant was involved with the library from its very inception; the first time she visited her library-to-be she needed a high visibility jacket and hard hat! She insists her best inspiration comes from her pupils (such as setting up a library Amnesty International Youth Group) but her theatrical background also stands her in good stead for the more unusual activities she runs.

Lauren Thow
Portobello High School, Edinburgh (portobellohighschool.org.uk)
Lauren Thow has both physically and emotionally transformed the library environment at Portobello High School (portobellohighschool.org.uk), Edinburgh. In addition to teaching research lessons across all school departments (sometimes dressed up as Alan Sugar), she has established a school Literature Festival and enabled students to work with local BBC staff on a community wide history project.

The selection panel for the School Librarian of the Year 2016 includes four top school librarians. All have donated their time:

Ginette Doyle (Chair) is past chair of the SLA and was previously College Librarian at Cheltenham College.
Carl Cross is Vice Chair of the SLA and Learning Resources Manager at Heanor Gate Science College, Derbyshire.
Lucy Bakewell, SLA School Librarian of the Year 2009 and a governor of Hill West Primary School, Sutton Coldfield.
John Iona, SLA School Librarian of the Year 2013 and and during the judging process Librarian at Oasis Academy, Enfield.

Q&A: Betsy Bird – The Grossness Of Board Books

October 8, 2015 By achuka Leave a Comment

You wanted to be a librarian, but not a children’s librarian.
Initially, no. After finally realizing that I had to be a librarian, because I was ill-equipped to be anything else, I was going to be a conservator. The moment of truth came when my husband—who should be an archivist, because of the way he takes the covers off books, and is always like “don’t break the spine!”—he pointed out, “You put your coffee cup down on your book about how to preserve books.” I was like, “It’s a sign!”

It turns out, with my propensity for destroying books, I was perfect for children’s librarianship, where the books die instantaneously in the hands of very small people who tear them apart.

I’ve been grateful to children’s librarians when I’ve come in and admitted, “She kind of colored on this, I’m happy to pay for it,” and they’re like, “It’s cool.”
That’s why the the budget for children’s books is bigger than other budgets in the library. We understand the turnover rate is very high. If I had an unlimited supply of money I’d replace all the board books. Because they almost instantly go blehhhh with grossness.

Full interview recommended via Q&A: Betsy Bird, Kid Lit Star and New Evanston Librarian | Chicago magazine | Politics & City Life October 2015.

School Librarian of the Year 2014

October 7, 2014 By achuka Leave a Comment

Liz Millett, who runs the library at Weatherfield Academy in Dunstable Bedforshire (a special school for students aged 7-19), was yesterday named School Librarian of the Year, at a presentation ceremony held in London.

Chris Riddell, guest speaker and presenter of the awards, found himself in action early on in proceedings when certificates for schools shortlisted for the Inspiration Award (previously the library design award) were slow to arrive because of problems on the rail network – no matter, Chris quickly manufactured some temporary certificates on hotel notepads and these were much prized by those who received them, albeit not framed (though I did notice one school chose to replace the official certificate in its frame (when they eventually arrived) with the original Chris Riddell sketch – and why not?

Riddell’s keynote after-lunch speech was an entertaining look back at librarians he had loved, and the books that had opened up the world of reading for him.

He talked of the importance of allowing children to pick up books that might appear at face value too ‘difficult’ for them, calling this, in a memorable phrase “the liberation of incomprehension”.

In this regard he paid nostalgic tribute to “Agaton Sax’, the first book to have given him true reading pleasure, in contrast to the repetitive nonsense of Peter and Jane reading scheme books.

One school librarian he remembered for her no-nonsense, authoritarian, thou-shalt-remain-silent rule – one which suited his nature, as he welcomed the chapel-like atmosphere she maintained.

Another he remembered for her looks and her dress-sense. At which point the talk drifted off into fascinating recollections of various girlfriends and individuals he remembered from a time living in the grounds of a psychiatric hospital where his father was chaplain.

The other two shortlisted librarians were Tracey Needham from Sacred Heart RC Primary School in Barrow-inFurness and Helen Cleaves of Kingston Grammar School.

The presentations for the Inspiration Award (mainly delivered in video format) were definitely inspiring. I was particularly impressed with the library at Ashington First School in Northumberland, which has been zoned off into many differently themed areas – a castle area for information books, a jungle area, a space-age section etc. What was most impressive about this presentation was that the children clearly loved their library, and loved reading in it, and that the head teacher as well as Rachel, the ‘Reading Champion’, is fully committed to it – and rather proud of one design touch that he personally added to the space section.

A second presentation that impressed me was that of Budmouth College in the secondary school category. This school has created a ‘Hub Library’ in the atrium of the main building. Using the sort of wheeled, hinged shelving deployed by visiting school book fairs (but made to a higher design standard) the library is able to reshape itself throughout the day for different purposes. This was very professionally demonstrated by overhead shots in the course of the video presentation.

In the end though the awards were given to:

Oak Tree Primary School, Nottinghamshire
Dixons Allerton Academy, West Yorkshire

The SLA School Librarian of the Year Award is the School Library Association’s prestigious honour to recognize the excellent work that is carried out in school libraries every day and highlights the best practice of those whose work is outstanding.

Ginette Doyle, Chair of the SLA School Librarian of the Year Selection Committee said: “What we found so inspiring about our winner was that the students she deals with were confident and efficient library users. Liz Millett uses whatever means she can to ensure that they have books that they can access, at their level, and the response that the students gave us, their enthusiasm for the Library and for Liz herself, showed that she is doing an outstanding job for Weatherfield Academy.”

School Librarian of the Year Award 2014

October 6, 2014 By achuka Leave a Comment

Three exceptional school librarians – each committed to creating book-loving schools and to help make learning a fascinating and rewarding journey:

Which one will be chosen as School Librarian of the Year? We will find out later today, when the announcement is made at a presentation ceremony in London.

Such important work. Such an important award.

http://www.sla.org.uk/slya-2014.php

School Librarian(s) of the Year

October 7, 2013 By achuka Leave a Comment

School Libraries Celebration Day

Perhaps it is because I am no longer working in school (which is why I was free to attend the event) that I am able to see just why the School Library Association’s annual selection of a Librarian of the Year is so important and deserving of wider coverage. Too many schools have poorly-stocked libraries. Too many schools do not employ a librarian to manage their libraries. Some schools have even decided that a traditional library space is no longer something they need to invest money in.

Telling the story of what a difference a good library managed by a good librarian makes is becoming ever more important. And in the coming twelve months that task can be undertaken by two rather than one. For this year there is not just one but there are two School Librarians of the Year.

Hilary Cantwell, librarian at St Paul’s Community College (http://www.stpaulswaterford.ie/), Waterford, Republic of Ireland and John Iona, librarian at Oasis Academy (http://www.oasisacademyenfield.org/), Enfield, Middlesex were both awarded the honour at a celebration held at the Hotel Russell in London, this afternoon (Monday, October 7th 2013).

Speaking to ACHUKA after the event, John said, “It was an absolute honour to have been awarded School Librarian of the Year, a great accolade to have received and I feel privileged to have had my work recognised in this way. We saw today why school libraries and librarians are a necessity in our school provision.”

Candy Gourlay, author of the award-wining Tall Story and a recently published second novel, Shine, presented the award.

Hilary previously worked in New York schools and public libraries before joining an Irish government programme to create school libraries. St Paul’s has 430 students and is in a rural county with the highest unemployment in Ireland. It is affiliated to the Irish government’s inclusion programme, Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (http://goo.gl/GJ57jQ).

At his school, where some 70% of students have English as a second language, John creates award-winning resources, delivers the school’s Extended Project Qualification programme and plays a significant role in curriculum planning and support.

He actively promotes reading for pleasure with a number of initiatives including Reading Games.

Ginette Doyle, Chair of the SLA School Librarian of the Year Selection committee, who visits each of the nominated schools before drawing up a long list, said: “It was an extremely strong, and international, Honour List. In the end we chose two librarians both working in different ways to bring their libraries into the heart of the school and learning. They are not joint winners, but each deserves the accolade of SLA School Librarian of the Year.”

I arrived late just in time for John Iona’s presentation, not realising that I had settled myself on his school’s table. This was before lunch and before his success was known. During the lunch break I was shown the videos of the three presentations I had missed and can understand how the judges found it hard to pick a single winner (not that the videos are part of the submission – they are only prepared for the presentation day).

As Ginette Doyle explained afterwards, the expectations and role of the School Librarian of the Year are becoming ever broader and more prominent, so it is actually of benefit to have two people who can share the ambassadorial role.

In her guest speaking address to the audience after lunch, a passionate Candy Gourlay spoke about her first experience of a school library when she was growing up in Manila in the Phillipines. It had been neither positive nor encouraging. Her experience at the next school (her mother quickly moving her from the first) was quite different. The Phillipines remains a very poor country and she showed some photos of school libraries there which made the audience gasp. Dingy brown rooms stacked not with children’s books but with dissertations donated by the university. She described a charity – the SAMBAT Trust – that is actively working to improve the situation there and different photographs showed how, with limited funds, library areas are being transformed and made more colourful.

In the morning, another author, Stewart Ross, had spoken about a recent book tour in which he had visited six different schools. The better the library, the better the school.

He also spoke about the unique role of a school librarian. A member of staff but not a teacher. A good librarian is someone students can confide in and feel comfortable with. Removing a school library does more than remove a reading and research resource, it removes a nurturing and sympathetic core at the heart of a school.

The SLA President (2012-2015), Kevin Crossley-Holland, (pictured below with Lyn Hopson, another of the Honour librarians) was present throughout the day. It is good for the Association to have such an eminent, well-respected author as president.

Sally Cameron, the fourth Honor librarian (pictured below on the far left), had travelled from her early childhood and elementary school (3-11) at Marymount International School, Rome, Italy. Her library has a distinctive method of cataloguing suited to its young users.

The School Library Association also presents a Library Design Award (next year to become the Library Inspiration Award), this year won by a school which had to reinstate its library after a previous head teacher had closed it down and put books in a skip.

Specially commended for this award was Nansloe Academy Story Garden for a really impressive transformation of a courtyard space.

It was also announced that the SLA will be working with Kate Powling of the Siobhan Dowd Trust on a new initiative to support struggling school libraries. I understand there will be three awards (one sum of £6000 and two of £3000) schools will be able to apply for.

For details of how to nominate a school librarian for next year’s award, see the SLA website where you can also find full backgrounds on all four of the Honour List Librarians.

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A video about the Sambat Trust

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Video book trailer for SHINE