Author Archives: Mr McGregor

February @ St. Andrew’s!

Hi everyone! Welcome to our first full month of normal service!

This month is LGBT History Month and we have a display of some great books which relate to LGBTQ+ issues or contain LGBTQ+ characters and protagonists. It’s a very eclectic mix and some are more ‘obvious’ than others, but we hope that there is something for everyone. Plus, there is a free rainbow bookmark with every book borrowed!

This month also brings us Languages Week Scotland as well as International Mother Language Day so what better time to set up our new Community Languages Section! We have a number of new books in French, Polish, Italian, Spanish and Arabic (most of which didn’t last long before pupils snapped them up!). We are hoping to have more in the not-so-distant future but we reckon this is a good start! Also special thanks to our EAL group for creating a new multilingual. ‘Welcome’ sign for the library.

3rd March is World Book Day and we have lots of exciting things planned, including a book cover competition, a book swap and much more. Our next update will be a WBD special so keep your eyes pealed!

Bliadhna Mhath Ùr!

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Welcome back to the Glasgow Gaelic School blog!

2022 will hopefully bring us an array of exciting events and updates to the library. We have been working with the Art department in adding a bit of colour and beauty to the library and have decided to use the space to showcase some pupil artwork. As you can see below, there are some excellent examples here:

We have also been working with the pupil-led school magazine, who have their weekly meeting in the library on Thursdays. There are lots of great things coming out of it and the young people are doing a great job of contributing and organising. If you are interested, please get in touch with me on gw19mcgregormark@glow.ea.glasgow.sch.uk and I will p ass this onto the magazine’s editor, Sophie (S6). Also, look out for the library segment for more updates and reading recommendations!

January 27th also marks Holocaust Memorial Day. A day on which we draw attention to and raise awareness of the Holocaust and all genocides across the world. We have set up a display of related books (below) which we will leave up for the next few weeks. Also, check out the Glasgow School Librarian eMag for further reading!

Next month will be LGBT History Month and we hope to bring you further news, recommendations and happenings in the library. See you then!

Happy New Year from St. Andrew’s!

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I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year and found time to relax with a good book!

We have largely been closed since we came back from the break to accommodate prelims. However, we can still provide books! Aside from reintroducing the class boxes – a bespoke selection of books for each class – we are also bringing back our click and collect service. Click on this link, fill in the form, and collect your book!

Alternatively, we have QR codes dotted around the school and also on our Twitter page which will also take you to the form.

There are also vast selections of eBooks and Audiobooks available on Libby and BorrowBox – both of which are available on your iPads. You’ll need your library card number or your PIN, so if you don’t have those then email me at gw19mcgregormark@glow.ea.glasgow.sch.uk

More updates in February where we will be back up and running to full capacity plus the return of the Manga Club, the EAL reading group and other exciting events!

We’re back!

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Hi there! The blog has been a bit quiet lately as we have been busy producing a shiny new newsletter. Every month, we will be featuring some of the best the library at St. Andrew’s has to offer plus book reviews, events and much much more. Follow the link here for the March edition and here for the April/May edition. We have already had some pupils coming forward to contribute to next months’ edition but we are always looking for more! Email me on gw19mcgregormark@glow.ea.glasgow.sch.uk if you are interested.

Our service will be limited over the coming weeks due to assessments taking place in the library which will make browsing very difficult, if not very close to impossible. But fear not! We still have a click and collect service! Look out for the QR codes around the school or follow this link and fill out a form!

Also, to keep up to date with the very latest goings on in the library, follow us on Twitter! @standrew_schlib

We’re back!

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We are finally getting round to updating this again as we finally have much to talk about again!
Since we started back, the library has been operating a little differently: We are only open during lunchtime, can only allow 15 in at a time for study and 2 in at a time for borrowing/dropping off, you must try and avoid touching books if you do not intend to take it away with you and all returned books must now be quarantined for 72 hours. *breathes*

Now, enough of what you CAN’T do. What CAN you do?

As with lock down, we are still encouraging everyone to make use of the eLibrary apps. Your iPads can come in handy for this as they can be used to download apps such as Borrowbox (books/audiobooks), Libby (books/audiobooks), RB Digital (Magazines) and Freegal (music). Again, just contact me via email if you require your card number and/or PIN – gw19mcgregormark@glow.ea.glasgow.sch.uk

Our click and collect service is also up and running and we have had a few takers so far but we would like to see more! Dotted around the school, are some posters which include a QR code. The code will take you to a form and in just four simple questions, you can request your book and collect it the next day (or lunchtime on the same day if before 12pm). I appreciate not everyone has a QR code function on their iPad/device, so you can alternatively follow this link, or just email me your order.

There have been changes to some of our book displays. As we are trying to minimise contact with the books, we have put handy descriptions beside them helping you to get some kind of idea what the books are about. We will be rotating these every once in a while.

We are also hoping to get our class boxes out to you ASAP but we are still waiting on said boxes being delivered!

For September, we are hoping to get the Manga Club back up and running. I am currently in discussions with a few young people about a lunchtime club since an after-school one is no longer possible.

If anyone has any thoughts/requests/problems then feel free to drop me an email. Equally, contrary to popular belief, my door is always open if anyone wants to come and talk in person. I will be here at the usual times Tuesday to Friday.

End of the year post!

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The blog has been a bit quiet of late as we prepare for any changes that may or may not take place as of August! As you can probably imagine, the library and the service it provides might look slightly different from what we are all used to.

Firstly, we will need to provide you with books remotely. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to browse books in the way you used to. On the plus side, everyone will be able to request any books or authors they want and if you let me know what sort of books you enjoy reading then I can do all the work for you and find something I’ll think you enjoy! These will likely be done on a class to class basis and I can even also bring your requested books down to you. Any individual requests can be made by emailing me directly: gw19mcgregormark@glow.ea.glasgow.sch.uk

We will also be further promoting our online services to you throughout the year. The good news is that we now have Borrowbox and Freegal on your school iPads and we are hoping to have more by August! You can access any of the eLibrary features here: https://libcat.csglasgow.org/web/arena/home. To access them, all you need is your library card number (the D00… one above the barcode) and your PIN (I can provide that! Just let me know).

Events might also look different but we will work with everyone to make sure that we can still bring you some excellent author events throughout the year, regardless of what restrictions may or may not be in place!

Finally, I would like to say thanks again to all the pupils and staff at the Gaelic School for making me feel welcome and for supporting me in my first few months with the school. I am looking forward to next year already, whatever form it might take. I will try and use this summer to work on my Gaelic!

Enjoy your summer break! You’ve earned it!

End of the year post!

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You might have noticed that I have been a bit quiet on the old blog front lately. I have been busy trying to devise the weird and wonderful ways in which I can continue to provide a service to you in times of social distancing.

As we well know, things are not set in stone and everything is subject to change. However, assuming that we are sticking to our current plans, then the library will look slightly different for a little while.

Firstly, we will need to provide you with books remotely. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to browse books in the way you used to. On the plus side, everyone will be able to request any books or authors they want and if you let me know what sort of books you enjoy reading then I can do all the work for you and find something I’ll think you enjoy! These will likely be done on a class to class basis and I can even also bring your requested books down to you. Any individual requests can be made by emailing me directly: gw19mcgregormark@glow.ea.glasgow.sch.uk

We will also be further promoting our online services to you throughout the year. The good news is that we now have Borrowbox and Freegal on your school iPads and we are hoping to have more by August! You can access any of the eLibrary features here: https://libcat.csglasgow.org/web/arena/home. To access them, all you need is your library card number (the D00… one above the barcode) and your PIN (I can provide that! Just let me know).

Events might also look different but we will work with everyone to make sure that we can still bring you some excellent author events throughout the year, regardless of what restrictions may or may not be in place!

As for clubs, namely the Manga Club, we will need to have a look at where we are in August but it is my sincerest hope that we can get any clubs or groups back up and running as soon as possible.

Finally, I would like to again take an opportunity to thank all the pupils and staff at St. Andrew’s for making me feel welcome and part of the team in my first school year. It has been a challenging year and next year looks set to come with its own challenges but we will get through it and can look forward to a Library Grand Re-Opening party when everyone is allowed to visit the library again.

Enjoy your summer break everyone. You’ve definitely earned it!

St Andrew’s Library during Lockdown!

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Hi all, I thought now would be as good a time as any to dust off the old blog again. Here, I can provide more detail than I can on our Twitter page plus share any other interesting or useful information from the library itself or farther afield. If any of the teachers know of any budding writers in the school then get in touch! It would be great to get some young people to contribute to the library blog.

Since the end of normal service, I have been encouraging both teachers and young people to make use of the eOffer via the Glasgow Libraries site. Using your library card number and PIN, you can access a number of eBooks, eMagazines, audiobooks and music. I will have a record of individual pupils’ details if needed so please get in touch if you need it! Here is the link.

I am also using this time to plan and develop some exciting new projects for next year and I am hoping to work with staff and pupils as much as possible in the coming months in order to develop these.

Also, for those who don’t have it, the library Twitter page is: https://twitter.com/standrew_schlib

I am already excited for what next year holds and dying to get back into the library!

Fàilte gu Bloga Leabharlainn Sgoil Ghàidhlig Ghlaschu!

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Welcome to the Glasgow Gaelic School library blog page! I will be using this blog to keep everyone up to date with the goings on with the library whilst we are in lock down and without a physical library (and beyond).

Firstly, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I would like to draw everyone’s attention again to the Glasgow Libraries eLibrary feature which pupils can access using the number on the back of their library card and their PIN. I can provide both so please get in touch with me at gw19mcgregormark@glow.ea.glasgow.sch.uk if you need either. It is a great service and gives you access to a range of features including books, magazines, audiobooks and music. Here’s the link to the main page.

Secondly, the Glasgow School Librarians have gotten together and compiled a Lockdown Reading list for your enjoyment! There are some good reads in here for adults and young people alike. It can be found here.

Finally, I would like to take another opportunity to thank all of the pupils and staff at the school for making me feel most welcome in my first few months here and I hope we can continue to improve the library and its services into the next school year!