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September 2023 Roundup – Shawlands Academy School Library

S1 Library inductions: We delivered in-house Library inductions to our ten S1 classes. The pupils learn about the library offer, including all the activities and programmes we have planned throughout the year as well as an introduction to our collection with a library treasure hunt. Pupils were given a map of the Library along with five questions to help them locate books and familiarise themselves with each section of the Library.

SfL Book Group: The Library is working closely with the Support for Learning department to host another book group for our SfL pupils following the success of last year’s group. The pupils have chosen to read Horowitz Horrors by Anthony Horowitz, a collection of short horror stories to see us through the spooky season.

Pupil Library Committee: Our Pupil Library Committee are back on the scene, helping out in the Library, planning future activities, and creating monthly displays that tie in with cultural and literary events. Our display for September included East and South East Asian Heritage Month, Zero Waste Week, Read a New Book Month, and Maths Week Scotland.

Summer Writing Competition Winners: Congratulations to our four pupils who won our Summer Creative Writing Competition.

Swatch: Our Autumn issue of Swatch, the Glasgow School Libraries eMagazine is now available. Here are some links to our previous issues: Summer 23, Spring 23, Winter 22, Autumn 22, Summer 22, Spring 22, Winter 21, Autumn 21, Summer 21, Spring 21, Winter 20, Autumn 20  

Trending 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

 

Upcoming Literary and Cultural Events – October:

1st – 2nd: The Words of War Book festival (Perth, Scotland)

7th – 8th: Libraries Week (Nationwide)

7th – 8th: Bookmark Book Festival (Blairgowrie, Scotland)

13th – 29th: Scottish International Storytelling Festival (Edinburgh, Scotland)

21st – 22nd: Boswell Book Festival (Dumfries, Scotland)

27th – 28th:  Tobermory Book Festival (Tobermoray, Scotland)

26th – 29th: Orkney Storytelling Festival (Stornoway, Scotland)

Awards:

Booker Prize – Shortlist

Diverse Book Awards – Winner

Klaus Flugge Prize – Winners

 

Book Buzz:

BBC

Book Riot

Buzzfeed

Epic Reads

The Guardian

Huffpost

The New York Times

 

All change at Eastbank – library refurbishment

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Come and see our transformation in the Eastbank Academy Library !

Through the summer, Mrs Marshall and her many helpers (thank you librarians and janitorial staff !) worked to transform the library space at Eastbank Academy.   The whole project involved recycling unwanted bookcases from other libraries with little or no money spent.  Some bookcases work so well in a different space and our library has a new lease of life.  At the start of the project, when you decide to change a library space, you have to move lots – and lots, and lots – of books !

   

And when the books are off the shelves, then the shelves are the next thing to dismantle.  What a job that was!  It involved lots of helpers to take down the bookshelves which had been at Eastbank for several years.  Being a green school, we saved some of these shelves for other projects.  Here’s how the shelves looked all piled up after taking the bookcases apart.

One by one we built the new bookcases and got the new spinner book cases into place.   The library definitely was looking quite different now.   The light colours of the bookcases definitely looked brighter and gave us more room to relax while choosing books.

 

In addition, the library was provided with 2 brand new small bookcases which will become home to special collections in the library, such as our Shelf Help selection of books.

 

Finally, this week, the last bookcase arrived to complete our transformation !  It’s looking great and certainly makes the non-fiction more attractive and easier to see.

Overall, the pupils’ feedback has all been very positive, and they enjoy coming into the new space to choose their books. The library now is far more attractive, but also far easier to use.  With a new layout instead of just rows of books and new signage, book borrowing is a better experience.  The library itself is a lovely space to be in.  We are all looking forward to the rest of the school year in our the new library space.

 

 

 

Lochend new non fiction

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We’ve had some amazing new non fiction arrive last week at Lochend.  Why don’t you prepare for Halloween at the end of October by reading some gruesome and scary new books?

Do No Harm and Cursebreaker 

Nothing is scarier than real life, and in Do No Harm there’s lots of real life medical stories from the past to the present day.  This book shows how we’ve come from cutting off limbs with saws right up to date – making progress in the fight against cancer and other diseases.  A great read, with short sections and fantastic graphics

 

Cursebreaker   

Want to be scared?  This book, with it’s creepy adventures, gives you the choice to play a game where you can escape from prison – then fight your way to freedom via a fantasy world.  Great fun.

New Non Fiction

There’s lots to love in our new non fiction selection. Whether you want to find the confidence to speak up and be heard, or select a new film to watch there’s something for everyone.  Even a new Vegan cook book to get you cooking new recipies !

 

 

 

Book of the Month for October – Artificial Intelligence by Tom Jackson

This tiny book is a colourful explosion of  great information, with 4 chapters taking us from the early days of AI decades ago right up to today.   It’s a great read, giving clear information and you can dip into topics without having to read the full book.

Genrefying the Library

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At Bannerman High, the fiction section has been divided by genre rather than alphabetical order. This was done in hopes of supporting our readers in finding a book they might enjoy by following the kind of plot they prefer the most, as well as to invite them to read across different genres. The genres are: history in stories; animals are pals; action; fantasy and magical stories; comedy; slice of life; crime-horror-mystery.

There will also be a monthly “theme” display where the pupils will have the opportunity to highlight a specific collection in the library.

Lots of Newness in Bellahouston

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New School Year, New S1s, New Library Layout, New Librarian, New Books!

A huge welcome to our new S1s. S1 inductions are ongoing and our library class visit timetable is up and running. We’ve been super busy at interval and lunchtimes as well.

Check out the new books that have arrived this month, including some amazing books in different languages to add to our growing collection.

 

 

Welcome back to all our pupils at John Paul Academy!  Get back into the mood for school with these great school-themed books:

         

           

           

         

         

Holyrood Library, September Update

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What I’m Reading ….

Before the Coffee Gets Cold 

our students are reading ….

Bright by Jessica Jung

Both titles are part of our September theme : East and South East Asian Heritage Month, #ESEAHM celebrating the writing and culture of China, Japan, Korea and other countries in this geographical area.

The book display was created by our S3 Duke of Edinburgh volunteers.

Our Writing for Fun lunchtime club is new this month. Inspired by our White Water Writers project last session, our original group of young writers are now mentoring S1 pupils to enjoy creative writing. They chose fun writing prompts including “Pretend you’re a toothbrush”.

We had a brilliant time. The mentors are busy making plans for next month, including a new theme, and a Competition.

Well done everyone. Some of our S1 and S2 pupils’ creative writing, and illustrations :

Try something new

Thanks to Adam for bringing in a favourite book for me to try. As I’m not usually a fan of Sci-fi/ Fantasy, I’m really enjoying reading a new genre. Happy reading everyone.

Children of Time

The #Rood Reads Library Update

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For end of term, our Reading Schools Committee held a celebration event, and chose their highlights of the year:

Fatima, S3 loved the visit from Nadine Aisha Jassatt. Nadine read a poem from ‘Let Me Tell You This’ and told us about her brand-new book ‘The Stories Grandma Forgot’.  We shared lots of different words in different World languages, and thought about how to use these in our own poems.

 

Mehreen, S3 has enjoyed writing about books and sharing book recommendations. Here’s our display to celebrate Eid.

 

Sam likes chilling out in the Library (me too!). The group has lots of fun together, like the Book Oscars at Easter time, and choosing a book from the rewards vending machine.

 

Everyone agreed that Zine Club, run by Ailbhe from Glasgow Zine Library was brilliant. “We loved the zine making”.

S1 enjoyed meeting Maisie Chan, and learning about the importance of diversity in books. This was part of the YA-ldi Glasgow Schools’ Book Awards.

the Duke of Edinburgh library volunteers did excellent work keeping the book displays up to date, and helping to run the library at lunchtimes.

International Women’s Day

12 of our young people wrote a novel together as part of the White Water Writers’ Project. An amazing achievement. We celebrated in style with a Book Launch party for parents, friends and teachers.

What a year! So much fun. Have a wonderful holiday, and join us for more reading adventures in August.