Category Archives: St Margaret Mary’s Secondary School

Not scared of dolls? These books could help you with that…

Among the latest delivery of books to arrive at St Margaret Mary’s and St Oswald’s Library were several titles from the Red Eye horror series published by Little Tiger. Alex Bell’s two books Frozen Charlotte and Charlotte Says have proven very popular with pupils who are always asking for more horror. The two stories are built around a collection of dolls known as Frozen Charlottes and their decidedly creepy presence at Dunvegan House on the Isle of Skye, in the present day (in Frozen Charlotte) and in Victorian times (in the prequel Charlotte Says).

Now Charlotte says to me that I should write this post recommending further books about scary dolls. Have a look at the titles below; they’re all available to borrow from the school library and/or from the Libby app (available on your iPad and on smartphones). Come and see me for help in setting up the app if you don’t already have it installed.

If you’ve read these, which doll is the scariest? Or do you know one even more terrifying?

Library Christmas Trees and Holiday Reading

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There’s a been a bit of experimentation on the Library Christmas Tree front this year! In addition to the more traditional tree (this year with extra elves), we created a second tree out of books in the Library collections. It really was surprising to find just how many green books there were on the Library shelves when I started looking for them. The addition of a few printed baubles and star, and it really does look the part.

If you run out of books to read over the Christmas holidays, never fear! Here are some of the festive/wintry ebooks available to read via Libby on your iPads (or phone/computer): https://glasgow.overdrive.com/library/teens/collection/1137149. Just don’t forget to get your Library card number and PIN from Librarian Kathleen before the holidays start!

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful break from school, that you keep warm, and get some time to relax. Merry Christmas, and see you all in January!

Reading Resolutions: 12 months, 12 challenges

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Happy New Year! I started back to school on Monday, and with the Library being closed for Prelims, I’m spending my time planning what to do in my first full year as the St Margaret Mary’s Secondary and St Oswald’s Secondary Librarian. The first Library tweet of the year asked about your Reading Resolutions for 2023 – have you made any yet? If not, this blog post is here to help you! I’m setting 12 reading challenges, one for every month of the year. Pupils who complete all the challenges will get a certificate and a wee prize in January 2024. The most important thing to remember is that you should enjoy the books you are reading, and if you don’t like a book, don’t force yourself to finish it. Teachers, you are of course welcome to get in on this too! Continue reading →

There’s a new Librarian in town!

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Blue dragon wearing glasses and holding book, sitting on top of pile of books. Text: In a world of bookworms be a book dragon,

Artist: Katie Tholke

I’ve been spending the first few weeks here at St Margaret Mary’s and St Oswald’s getting to know the Library and the school. With all the S1 inductions complete, I can properly introduce myself here on the Library blog!

My name’s Kathleen O’Neill, and I’m in the Library on Mondays and Tuesdays, from 8.45am to 4pm. You can visit the Library at interval and lunchtime, but please have your snack/lunch before or after your visit. Pupils in S1, S2, and S3 will also have regular opportunities to visit the Library during English classes.

A little about me – when I’m not here, I’m at Lourdes Secondary in Cardonald, but you can always send me an email at gw16oneilkathleenmar@glow.sch.uk. I am owned by three cats. My favourite book genre is fantasy fiction, including books like The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien, the Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, The Princess Bride by William Goldman, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, and Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. My all-time favourite book is Possession by A. S. Byatt, which is about two university lecturers researching two Victorian writers, and solving the mystery of the relationship between these writers. It goes from university libraries to the wild coastline of Brittany in France, going back and forward in time, with lots of fairy tales, poems, romance, and Celtic mythology all coming together. I started playing the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons about 6 years ago, and over the years have tried out other RPGs as well. If you are a Stranger Things fan, you’ll almost certainly know about D&D. Basically, you make a character – you could be an elf, a goblin, a wizard, a warrior – and go on adventures with other characters made by your friends. The decisions you make decide what your group’s story will be. Since I started playing, I’ve been a druid, a cat wizard, a medium in 1920s America. I’ve been killed by vampires, and I’ve flown on a griffon. Since October 2019, I’ve been running a very popular Role-Playing Games at Lourdes.

You can follow the Library on Twitter. If you would like to create something – a book review, a story, a poem, some art – for the Glasgow School Libraries magazine Swatch, please let me know. Here are some previous issues: Autumn 2022 and Summer 2022. You could also share your creations through this blog.

Artist: Munashichi

The most important thing that you need to know about the Library is that it is your space. It’s full of books that you like to read, and you can help me with the book shopping list by giving me your suggestions and recommendations. It’s a place to visit with your friends to just sit and chat, to do your homework, to make new friends, to get some quiet time. If you would like to volunteer to help out in the Library, come along and we’ll chat about your ideas. If you have an idea for a club, a celebration, an event, a book display, I can’t wait to hear all about it.

Looking forward to seeing you in the Library soon!

Kathleen (Librarian/Book Dragon)

May Roundup

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Pop-Up Library

May/June Booklists

June 22 Booklists – Book Trust

Best new Children’s Books – Toppsta

Bookbug’s Books of the Month – Scottish Book Trust

Books of the Month – Love Reading 4 Kids

May Roundup – Love Reading

Book of the Month – Scholastic

Books of the Month – Waterstones

Children’s Book Roundup – Guardian

Trending Books – Epic Reads

Upcoming Events (June)

May 26^th – Jun 5^th: Hay Festival (Hay-on-Wye, Wales)

2^nd – 4^th: Riverside Festival (Glasgow, Scotland)

2^nd – 12^th: Glasgow Science Festival (Glasgow, Scotland)

3^rd-5^th: Cymera Book Festival (Edinburgh, Scotland & Online)

4^th: Glasgow Comic Con (Glasgow, Scotland)

4^th: Vinicombe Street Gala (Glasgow, Scotland)

11^th: Laugh in the Park Comedy Festival (Glasgow, Scotland)

11^th: Mansfield Park Street Festival (Glasgow, Scotland)

16^th – 19^th: Borders Book Festival (Melrose, Scotland)

17^th – 19^th: Solas Arts Festival (Perthshire, Scotland)

16^th – 19^th: Glasgow Jazz Festival (Glasgow, Scotland)

17^th – 19^th: Dandelion Festival (Glasgow, Scotland)

17^th – 26^th: Refugee Festival Scotland (Across Scotland)

18^th: Kelvingrove Outdoor Ceilidh (Glasgow, Scotland)

18^th – 19^th: Yardworks Street Art & Graffiti Festival (Glasgow, Scotland)

26^th: Glasgow Mela (Glasgow, Scotland)

29^th – Jul 3^rd: East Neuk Festival (Fife, Scotland)

Literary Awards & Prizes

Winners

CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Awards

Nibbies (British Book Awards)

Pulitzer Prize for Literature

Tir na n-Og Welsh Awards

Shortlists

The Royal Society Young People’s Prize

Literature & Culture news

Interesting articles

Burn-Proof Edition of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Up for Auction – Huffpost

David Byrne’s New Illustrated Book Playfully Presents A History of the World (in Dingbats font) – Open Culture

High School Activist Given PEN Award for Organising Protests Against ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill – Book Riot

The Stories that Shaped Ukraine – BBC

What Your favourite Book genre Says About You – Times of India

April Roundup

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Pop-Up Library

The Pop-Up Library stall is back in lieu of the library space being used throughout the exam period. Here, pupils can browse handpicked goodies selected by the Librarian, request specific titles, or return their books. Our Pupil Library Committee members will be helping at the stall too, we couldn’t run it without them.

Challenges and Contests

We’ll also continue to promote our range of challenges and contests, including Bookopoly and Ask Me What I’m Reading. Pupils are also encouraged to submit a completed book review to be entered into the monthly School Library prize draw.

April/May Booklists

May 22 Booklists – Book Trust

Best new Children’s Books – Toppsta

Bookbug’s Books of the Month – Scottish Book Trust

Books of the Month – Love Reading 4 Kids

April Roundup – Love Reading

Book of the Month – Scholastic

Books of the Month – Waterstones

Children’s Book Roundup – Guardian

Upcoming Events (May)

National Share a Story Month

International Young Adult Literature Month

Local and Community History Month

1^st – 7^th: The FOLD (Festival of Literary Diversity) (Brampton, ON, Canada)

2^nd – 8^th: Children’s Book Week

3^rd – 8^th: Stratford Literary Festival (Stratford-upon-Avon, England)

4^th: Star Wars Day

6^th – 8^th: Ullapool Book Festival (Ullapool, Scotland)

6^th – 8^th: Cromarty Crime and Thrillers Weekend (Cromarty, Scotland)

6^th – 22^nd: Aye Write (Glasgow, Scotland)

7^th – 8^th: Bay Area Book Festival (Berkeley, CA, USA)

10^th – 22^nd: The Chalfont St Giles and Jordans Literary Festival (Chalfont Saint Giles, England)

11^th-14^th: PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature (New York, NY, USA)

12^th: National Limerick Day

13^th-15^th: Boswell Book Festival (Cumnock, Scotland)

13^th – 15^th: Franschhoek Literary Festival (Franschhoek, South Africa)

13^th– 29^th: Norfolk and Norwich Festival (Norwich, England)

16^th – 22^nd: Sydney Writers’ Festival (Sydney, Australia)

17^th: International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia

20^th– 28^th: Derby Book Festival (Derby, England)

21^st: World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development

21^st: Neurodiversity Celebration Week

21^st – TBC: San Antonio Book Festival (San Antonio, TX, USA)

21^st – 22^nd: The Northern YA Literary Festival (Preston, England)

26^th: Dracula Day

26^th – Jun 5^th: Hay Festival (Hay-on-Wye, Wales)

27^th – 29^th: Calabash International Literary Festival (Treasure Beach, Jamacia)

TBC: Open the Door Festival at the Women’s Library (Glasgow, Scotland)

Literary Awards & Prizes

Winners

Edward Stanford Travel Writing Children’s Book of the Year

Shortlists

Branford Boase Award

English Association 4-11 Picture Book Award

Jhalak Prize

Women’s Prize

Longlists

SLA Information Book Awards

Literature & Culture news:

Press & websites

Interesting articles

Charlotte Brontë early Book of Rhymes sold for £1m – BBC

A Gallery of Fantastical Alchemical Drawings – Open Culture

The Library of Esoterica: Taschen’s Visual History of Tarot, Astrology & Witchcraft – Open Culture

The Literary Film and TV you need to steam in May – Literary Hub

The New York Public Library provides free online access to banned books – Open Culture

March 2022 Roundup

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World Book Day Week: This year, World Book Day was celebrated on Thursday, March 3rd and the School Library delivered a plethora of fun, bookish activities throughout the week. Our World Book Day programme included the following activities, where participants were entered into a prize draw for a £10 National Book Token:

World Book Day Quiz: A book-themed quiz was delivered during both lunch periods in the School Library for St Margaret Mary’s pupils and in class time for St Oswald’s pupils. All participants were entered into the prize draw and those with the highest points received three entries into the draw.
Bookopoly: Pupils are given a Bookopoly board. They can choose to read two fiction books per genre, one nonfiction book per subject, and/or three ‘chances’ where they can either select a ‘reading dare’ or spin the Wheel of Genre. The completion of each genre/subject/chance grants them an entry into the monthly school library prize draw. Pupils can also earn a certificate for completing the entire board.
Ask Me What I’m Reading: The winning designs from our Ask Me What I’m Reading design competition were circulated alongside a sheet where pupils must ask five people what they’re reading. This is to encourage pupils and staff to have a conversation about books and promoting literature via word of mouth. Submitted forms grants one entry into the monthly school library prize draw.

Pupil Library Committee: Our PLC members were very busy this month with various activities:

Pop-Up Library: Members of our Pupil Library Committee volunteered to host a pop-up library stall in the Fuel Zone during lunches throughout World Book Day week. Members promoted the variety of World Book Day activities and reading challenges as well as selected books to display and promote for borrowing. This initiative was so successful that we’re planning on hosting other Pop-Up Libraries in the future.
Bag A Book: Pupil Library Committee members have been helping the School Librarian for weeks to prepare withdrawn stock for our popular Bag A Book giveaway before the Spring break, held Tuesday and Thursday during lunches.

World Poetry Day Quiz: Pupils and staff were invited to participate in a quiz of Teams, inspired by the Librarian @GrammarLRC. Can you guess whether the passage is a lyric or a title?

Library Publications: Swatch Spring 22

March Booklists

March 22 Booklists – Book Trust

Best New Children’s Books – Toppsta

Bookbug’s Books of the Month – Scottish Book Trust

Books of the Month – LoveReading4Kids

March Roundup – Love Reading

Book of the Month – Scholastic

Books of the Month – Waterstones

Children’s Book Roundup – Guardian

Upcoming Events (April)

BigDog Book Festival (Wigtown, Scotland, 1st – 3rd)

Cúirt International Festival of Literature (Galway, Ireland, 4th – 10th)

Southside Fringe (Glasgow, Scotland)

Wee Write Festival (Glasgow, Scotland)

Cambridge Literary Festival (Cambridge, England, 20th – 24th)

Soutar Festival of Words (Perth, Scotland, 22nd – 24th)

World Book Night (UK & International, 23rd)

McLellan Arts Festival Poetry Fringe (Arran, Scotland, 28th)

Colonsay Book Festival (Colonsay, Scotland 30th)

Bocas Lit Fest (Caribbean, 30th – 2nd May)

Past Events (March)

International Women’s Day (8th ) & Women’s History Month

British Science Week (11-20 )

Neurodiversity Celebration Week (21st – 27th )

Jaipur Lit Fest

Literary Awards & Prizes

Winners

Audie Awards

Blue Peter Book Awards

OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature

Rathebones Folio Prize

Royal Society Children’s Book Prize

Shortlists

YOTO Kate Greenaway Medal

Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize

Longlists

International Booker Prize

Jhalak Prize

Women’s Prize

In the news:

A Field Guide to Strange Medieval Monsters – Open Culture

Beyond the fog of war: Books to help us understand the invasion of Ukraine – Guardian

Free Colouring Books from the Public Domain Review – Open Culture

Outrage as LGBT author banned at state school – Politics.co.uk

The Reading Agency partners with the British Science Museum on this year’s Summer Reading Challenge Theme – The Reading Agency

February Roundup

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A relatively uneventful month this time around with the February break and use of the school library space. But we’ve bene having a blast with the pupils during breaks and book borrowing times. Our s1-2 pupils have created their own Book group called ‘They Both Read at the End’, inspired by Adam Silvera’s hugely popular Young Adult novel, They Both Die at the End.

Pupil Library Committee – Members of our Pupil Library Committee have been gaining experience of library work through their volunteering as part of their Duke of Edinburgh awards, where they’ve been learning how to process and display new stock. They’re also helping to prepare for the upcoming World Book Day festivities where they’ll be hosting a pop-up library in the Fuel Zone and help with the zine making workshop.

EAL Book Group – Our EAL book group is continuing with the non-fiction book, YouthQuake: 50 Children and Young People Who Shook the World by Tom Adams and Sarah Walsh as part of the Inspiring Lives series by Nosy Crow. In this project, each pupil has selected five inspiring young people that they’d like to learn more about. We research two people per session, looking at their biographies, videos and other online multimedia resources to get a sense of who they are and what they’ve achieved. It leads to some very engaging discussions with the pupils.

February Booklists:

February 2022 Booklists – BookTrust

Best new Children’s Books – Toppsta

Bookbug’s Books of the Month – Scottish Book Trust

Books of the Month – LoveReading4Kids

February Roundup – Love Reading

Book of the Month – Scholastic

Books of the Month – Waterstones

Children’s Book roundup – Guardian

Upcoming events:

African Festival of Emerging Writers (March 17^th-19^th) – ArifFesti (Cameroon)

British Science Week (March 11th) – British Science Week (UK)

Earth Hour (March 26th) – Earth Hours (International)

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (March 21st) – United Nations (International)

International Women’s Day (March 8th) – International Women’s Day (International)

Jaipur Literary Festival (March 5^th-14^th) – Jaipur Lit Fest (India)

LitFest 2022 Mini Children’s Festival (March 11^th-12^th) – LitFest (UK)

Shakespeare Week (March 21st) – Shakespeare Week (UK)

World Book Day (March 3^rd) – World Book Day (International)

World Poetry Day (March 21st) – UNESCO (International)

World Storytelling Day (March 21st) – (International)

Past events:

Alasdair Gray Day (February 25^th) – Gray Day (Scotland)

Emirates Literature Festival – (catch up on YouTube) Emirates LitFest (UAE)

International Festival of Children’s and Youth Literature (Catch up on YouTube) – FESTILIJ (Spain)

Jewish Book Wee (February 26^th-March 6^th) – Jewish Book Week (UK)

Literary Awards & Prizes:

American Indian Youth Literature Award Winners – American Indian Library Association (USA)

Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Winners – Asian/Pacific American Library Association (USA)

Blue Peter Book Awards Shortlist – BBC/BookTrust (UK)

Bookbug Picture Book prize announced – Scottish Book Trust (Scotland)

Caldecott Medal Winners – American Library Association (USA)

Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Award Long Lists Announced – CILIP (UK)

The Klaus Flugge Prize Long List Announced – Klaus Flugge Prize (UK)

The Laugh Out Loud Book Awards 2022 (the Lollies) – Scholastic (UK)

Prémio Autores/ Authors Awards Winners – Sociedade Portuguesa De Autores (Portugal)

Waterstones Children’s Book Prize Shortlist 2022 – Waterstones (UK)

In the news:

17^th Century Buddhist Texts for the Illiterate: how ‘Buddhist Emoji’ made the Sutra Legible for those who couldn’t read – Open Culture

Bologna Children’s Book Fair (March 21-24^th) – Bologna Fiere (Italy)

The Book of Kells, has been digitised and put online – Open Culture

Campaign for every Scottish Secondary School to receive a copy of Me and White Supremacy (YA edition) by Layla F Saad successful – Lighthouse Bookshop (Edinburgh, Scotland)

2021 Recap

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The blog is back! Watch this space for monthly updates from St Margaret Mary’s and St Oswald’s School Library.

2021 Recap – What have we been up to?

eBooks & eAudiobooks: The library continued to roll out the Libby app to all S1 pupils in both St Margaret Mary’s and St Oswald’s school. The eBooks, audiobooks, and eMagazines supplement the physical stock in the library, offering pupils a broader range of formats and books, with accessibility features to make the reading experience more inclusive.

Pupil Library Committee: This year, the school library has created the Pupil Library Committee to help provide young people’s voice in the stock and library service. Duties include shelving and organising stock, selecting books to be featured in the library’s monthly newsletters, create and deliver quizzes/activities, and curate monthly displays. Some members of the PLC have also been heavily involved in stock selection, focusing on graphic novels, thrillers & horror, and enhancing our Equality & Empowerment collections.

Book Week Scotland: The library hosted a very popular manga quiz for both BGE and S4+ St Margaret Mary’s pupils and St Oswald’s BGE pupils . We were also delighted to have award-winning slam poet, Ash Dickinson, deliver a session to Mr Cawley’s S2 class.

EAL book group: We’ve continued our EAL book group this year. The project is funded by the Scottish Library and Information Council on behalf of the Scottish Government through their Scottish Library Improvement Fund, which support innovative projects in the school library sector. The EAL project is aimed at pupils who are developing their English literacy skills whilst also placing an emphasis at valuing home/original languages and multilingualism. In addition to reading books and completing literacy-based activities, pupils are invited to create multilingual signage for the library and contribute book reviews to school library newsletter and magazine. In November, our group met the talented Neil Slorance, who delivered a virtual session to the group where he taught them how to create their own comic.

The project also supported the library’s first ‘Community Languages’ collection, a section devoted to books and resources in languages other than English. Many thanks to GCC EAL and Dyslexia Unit as well as Multilingual Library Scotland for their recommendations. We’re excited for the upcoming Languages Week Scotland and International Mother Language Day (Feb 21st), where our group will be looking at an array of international book awards and festivals for young people. On a city-wide level, our group is collaborating with other EAL book groups to create a pupil-led Glasgow Guide by and for pupils. Work on the guide is still ongoing and we’ve commissioned Metaphrog to design the cover and background.

Workshops: During the autumn, the school library delivered an eResources workshop to Dr Moody’s English class. The workshop introduced pupils to how to think critically about using online media resources to their assignments. The Higher English class were introduced to ProQuest and Gale Literature Resource Centre.

Library publications: This year, the school library has continued its monthly newsletter, packed with book lists, reviews and the latest news in the YA literary world. An interactive format is circulated via the English department. The Glasgow School Library service has also continued its quarterly digital magazine, Swatch. In it, you can find author interviews, guest features, book lists, crafts, quizzes and more. The upcoming issue will be released in March. Links to past issues are below.

Winter 21 Autumn 21 Summer 21 Spring 21 Winter 20 Autumn 20

January/February book lists:

Best books of the year 2021 – BBC

Best new books January – Book Trust

Best new children’s books February – Toppsta

Bookbug book of the month January – Scottish Book Trust

Book of the month February – Scholastic

Debuts of the month February – LoveReadingforKids

Great Books Guide 2021 – Book Trust

Monthly Roundup January – Love Reading

Top 10 Audiobooks February – Love Reading

UK Public Library Authorities ‘ top eBooks, audiobooks and digital magazines borrowed in 2021 – Overdrive