January/February 2023 Roundup – Shawlands Academy School Library

We’ve been rushed off our feet issuing 2000+ books to our pupils visits throughout January and February after a long hiatus to accommodate prelim exams. In amongst it all, we still managed to squeeze in some excellent programmes for our pupils – it’s good to be back!

LGBT+ History Month – Heartstopper Party: We threw a huge Heartstopper soiree to coincide with LGBT+ History Month and Valentine’s/Palentine’s days. Pupils enjoyed a Heartstopper themed quiz created and delivered by one of our amazing Pupil Library Committee members. Every attendee got a chance to win three prizes: A package of skittles, a Heartstopper bookmark, and a Heartstopper colouring book.

Author Visit with Carrie Marshall: We were so fortunate to have musician, author and BBC tech journalist Carrie Marshall visit us to discuss her new book and what it is like to become an author.

Participatory Selection Sessions:  Hosting participatory selection sessions ensure our school library stock remains relevant and useful to our readers. Participatory Budgeting enable the library to represent the reading needs and interests of the school community. This term, we’ve focused on books for struggling and reluctant readers. Non-fiction is a big hit with some of our S1/2 participants, reflecting a recent study conducted by the National Literacy Trust as part of National Non-Fiction November. Key findings of the report are on the National Literacy Trust’s website).

Pathways to the Profession: Our first Pathways to the Profession talk was a success! We invited a Community Librarian from Glasgow Libraries, a Membership Officer from the Chartered Institute of Library and  Information Professionals Scotland (CILIPS), and a Library Assistant from Glasgow Caledonian University Library to chat with members of Pupil Library Committee and other pupils interested in a LIS career. The speakers chatted about their backgrounds and experiences, what their current roles involve, and answered several questions from the audience. A big thank you to CILIPS, Glasgow Libraries, and Glasgow Caledonian University Library for presenting!

Creative Writing Workshop: To coincide with World Book Day, we invited author Victoria Williamson to deliver a lunchtime workshop to members of our creative writing club. Victoria shared some helpful advice and techniques that will be very useful in our White Water Writers project in June, funded by the Scottish Government and administered by the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC). The group will work with the White Water Writers team to write and publish a novel collectively within a week. We’re really looking forward to this amazing opportunity.

Creative Writing competition: We’ve extending the deadline on our World Book Day creative writing competition. This year’s theme is Big Dreams.

Trending: March Booklists

Best New Children’s Books – Topptsa

Bookbug’s Book of the Month – Scottish Book Trust

Books of the Month – Love Reading For Kids

Books of the Month – Scholastic

Books of the Month – Waterstones

Children’s Books Roundup – Guardian

New Releases – Epic Reads

 

Literary and Cultural Events – March

9th – 12th StAnza Poetry Festival – Scotland’s International Poetry Festival (St Andrews, Scotland)

15th – 2nd April Glasgow International Film Festival (Glasgow, Scotland)

15th – 19th Govan Music Festival (Glasgow, Scotland)

 

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