How do school libraries fit into CILIP's "Trust Libraries" pledge?

 

I was catching up with the latest CILIP Information Professional (June 2024) at the weekend - yes, I know it’s already mid-July but this time of year is very busy with no less than three family birthdays - and was interested the news feature on page 12 titled “Trust Libraries”. This article was CILIP’s response to the announcement of the election and that’s old news now, but the aim of the feature was to highlight the need for advocacy to a new government with a key message that libraries are “perfectly placed to help transform … political aims into reality” and MPs need to “trust libraries to deliver.”  If you want to read more, you can find it here.

There are 10 pledges relating to public libraries and it’s important for CILIP to advocate for this sector because many councils seem to have forgotten libraries are statutory or consider that one library in a couple of major county towns constitutes “a comprehensive and efficient library service for all” (Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964, Section 7). However, as with many CILIP publications, I found myself thinking that a lot of these pledges are also relevant to school libraries:

·         To deliver trustworthy information and access to culture

One aim of a school library is to provide a range of appropriate, accurate and up-to-date resources to support the curriculum as well as students’ interests. It’s not possible to check every book or website a student is using so it’s important that they can trust the information they’re reading and using. This is why school librarians “curate” their collection … and why it’s important to systematically deselect stock if it no longer meets these standards.
The other aspect of this is that students need to be taught how to evaluate information to ascertain whether it’s trustworthy or not. Too many schools do not have a robust information and media skills curriculum; rather it is delivered piecemeal via various subjects without any overview. This is where the skills and experience of the librarian can play a role - involve and use them!
Many students live in a small cultural bubble. There may be few cultural opportunities within their local community and, even if there are, a lack of parental time and money may restrict participation. School libraries can help fill this gap; by linking books, displays and activities to different cultures, presenting different perspectives and encouraging creativity these cultural bubbles can be expanded.

·         To inform better decisions

Students must often make important decisions impacting their lives and career paths with little experience and whilst they are still developing their emotional intelligence. By providing reliable information, trusted advice and guidance, school libraries can help students make better informed decisions.

·         To offer a warm welcome and safe space for all

Every school librarian will tell you that their library is recognised as a welcoming and safe space within the school. Witness the numbers of students who use it every day – from those who have yet to find their “tribe” to those who need somewhere to recharge before re-entering the busyness and bustle of the school day. Librarians do this by creating an inclusive ethos and diverse collection that represents their community.

·         To champion the right to read and intellectual freedom

School librarians want every student to be a reader! They have a wide range of material within their collections – fiction and information books, comics, graphic novels, manga – in order to tempt even the most reluctant of readers. And they fight for students to be able to read what they want to. I had Daniel Pennac’s “The Rights of the Reader” poster up in my library and would regularly have discussions with students about it.
Intellectual freedom – the right to think, express and access information – occurs daily within schools. The library supports this, not by censoring books but by providing a curated collection of diverse perspectives, different opinions and points of view. School library books are purchased from reputable publishers and the majority are written by experts in their field; thus a book on vegetarianism will also list the disadvantages as well as advantages.

·         To enable learning at the heart of communities and institutions

I feel I don’t really need to expand on this point. Learning is at the heart of every school and whether it’s learning to read, learning to research, learning for formal examination subjects or simply learning about a new interest, the school library is central to it all.

·         To open a world of opportunities, inspiration and ideas

Anyone who works in a school will tell you that there’s always something happening. These activities might involve the entire school, just one year group or even a single class. Whether linked to a national event or unique to the community, they offer a myriad of opportunities, inspiration and ideas for students. School libraries are no exception. I’ve organised author visits and theatre trips, hosted film clubs and Warhammer groups, managed makerspaces and craft circles - the list is endless. Most of these initiatives go unnoticed because librarians see them as part of the job and quietly get on with them, and yet they offer students chances they may not get elsewhere.

The final pledges relate to: fuelling the green economy with data and skills; being ethical partners committed to social justice: supporting start-ups; and unlocking new research. I can’t help thinking that young people currently in schools are going to be working in the green economy. They are learning and developing the skills needed in this environment. Possibly, many of them will create start-ups and work in research. And their future paths are very often activated by a book or article they’ve read, a topic they’ve been able to explore, a project they’ve been involved with – all within the library.

If you’d like to find out more about the impact of school libraries and the sort of things librarians do, have a look at the Great School Libraries website. It’s full of links to research and case studies. And if you think they should receive better recognition and be properly funded, then do have a look at how you can help.

Unlike public libraries, school libraries aren’t statutory but if they can help the government deliver their “political aims” then maybe they need to be higher on the agenda?

 

A Call To Arms For School Libraries?

 

This was not my planned topic of my first blog for 2024. I was talking to friends about New Year Resolutions and book reading targets so was going to write up a few tips about how you can achieve this. But you’ll have to wait for that because my social media has been full of talk about libraries.

First we had twelve Children’s Laurates teaming up with BookTrust to launch their “Reading Together, Changing Children’s Lives” campaign that aims to support families in the early stages of a children’s reading journey. This was followed by Philip Pullman, with the support of Michael Morpurgo and Julia Donaldson, calling on the government to legislate to “ensure all schools in Britain have libraries” and then there’s been Baroness Sanderson’s Review of Public Libraries. I guess I should also mention that the Ipsos Veracity Index has put the category of librarians back on the list, resulting in the profession being the third most trusted in Britain.

I love it when the media talk about libraries because it’s an opportunity for advocacy and there are always people who are astounded to discover that school libraries are not statutory. But all this has a slightly déjà vu feeling about it.

Over a decade ago, I organised a Mass Lobby in support of School Libraries; I learnt a lot about “green carding” MPs during this process! We had placards and T shirts, and marched from Victoria Embankment Gardens to Westminster. Leaflets had been printed explaining why school libraries were important and given out to passers-by, most of whom seemed quite amused by this large and loud group of librarians, although I should add that we weren’t all librarians – we had support from parents, students, authors and illustrators.

The result of this lobby was an APPG Libraries report “The Beating Heart of the School”, published in 2014 with four recommendations:

·         The Department for Education starts collecting figures about the number of schools that have a library and librarian

·         The Minister for Schools examines the full contribution that school libraries make to children's education and development

·          Ofsted includes libraries in their inspections

·         The Department for Education has a lead staff-member for school libraries

If these look familiar it’s probably because very similar recommendations have been made by both Michael Morpurgo and the Sanderson review. Time will tell if any recent recommendations are followed through but, suffice to say, that 2014 Report is still gathering dust somewhere  …

What’s interesting is that in all of this talk about libraries, librarians are rarely mentioned. Now, it may be that the assumption is they are automatically included when libraries are discussed but those of us who work in the school sector know this often isn’t the case and a look at the statistics around school libraries confirms this; the 2023 Great School Libraries (GSL) Campaign report shows that 58% of schools (both primary and secondary) don’t have designated library staff. 

This doesn’t give the whole picture though because “designated library staff” could simply mean somebody assigned for a few hours a week.

I could regal you with horror stories about libraries I’ve visited that are run by volunteers or staff whose main role in the school is not being the librarian so this doesn’t get priority and they often “lose” this time to other tasks. The result is frequently libraries where inappropriate books have been put on the shelves (this regularly happens when a popular children’s author writes a YA or adult book and the person choosing the stock has limited book knowledge); where the majority of the fiction has been written by dead white men; libraries full of books that haven’t been labelled in any way so that picture books are mixed up with chapter books and information books; and libraries where the only supplier used was an Usborne rep so that’s all you’ve got on the shelves (I should say here that I love Usborne books but a library should have a range of publishers amongst their resources).

All this happens because the person responsible for the library does not have the relevant skills or experience, ie: they are not a librarian. You need a librarian to turn a room of books into a library, the same way you need an instructor to turn a room full of bikes into a spin class. You don’t have to take my word for this. There is a growing body of international research-based evidence that shows the impact of having a school librarian - some examples include:

·         A Pennsylvania study showed that  schools that had a full-time librarian, reading scores were consistently better for all students

·         An Australian report found that having a qualified librarian improved student literacy outcomes with up to two month’s learning gain

·         An HMI Ofsted report found that “well-trained specialist librarians had a positive effect on teaching and learning”

·         Research from New Zealand shows evidence that school libraries and library staff have a positive impact on student achievement

·         Scottish Book Trust research indicates that school libraries and librarians have value beyond academic achievement

Experienced and trained librarians bring so much more to a school library and its community. They are not simply curators of books or supervisors of the space; they manage a range of resources (hard copy and online) to meet curriculum and teaching needs of students and staff; they support learning to read, reading improvement, reading for information and reading for pleasure; they help students find relevant resources for educational and personal needs; they deliver information and digital literacy skills teaching; they promote the library resources and services throughout the school community; they engender a range of inclusive activities and events; and they provide a safe and welcoming space.

As I said in a guest blog for BookTrust last year, you can create a wonderful library space full of books but it needs a librarian – to plan and implement strategies and actions that link to school community needs – otherwise it is likely to become a rather tired-looking and muddled room. I know school budgets are at breaking point but you will not get the full package, the full benefits or full value-for-money from your library without a librarian.