What’s available from SLO:
- Topic Boxes with books and artefacts to support curriculum and teaching
- Reading Choice boxes to support reading for enjoyment
- Large print books for primary and secondary pupils with visual impairment
- Story sacks, big books, costumes, puppets, toys, and more!
Specialised Resources:
- Early Years: EY establishments receive Books to Go from SLO, but thy can also borrow from our EY menu.
- EAL: Our dual-language collection is listed in the Reading Choice menu. We also have wordless picture books available.
- ASL: See our topic box menu for our *new* ASL boxes. Also visit our page of Social Story resources.
- Visual impairment: Large print and some braille texts are available
- Dyslexia: Request one of our Barrington Stoke boxes or send a special request if there are particular genres you would like in dyslexia-friendly format
- Other mental and physical conditions: We are always expanding our collection. Please contact us if there is a specific condition you would like resources for. We also recommend Medikidz, whose free resources can be found here. (Medikidz is produced by Jumo Health, an American medical education company)
Frequently Asked Questions:
Who can borrow?
Glasgow City Council primary schools, ASL schools (including secondary), and Early Years establishments. We do not loan to schools outside Glasgow or private individuals. Glasgow’s mainstream secondary schools have their own librarians but can borrow from our large print and dual language collections.
Can anyone place an order?
We don’t mind who in the school sends the request but we ask that one person collates the request for the whole school and acts as the point of contact. It has big implications for staff and van journeys/time/costs if multiple requests come in from the same school.
When are the borrowing periods?
The main periods for requests are at the start of term in August, January and April. Resources are then uplifted in December, March and June respectively. We don’t turn away requests at other times but those are the key points.
How do I borrow from SLO?
The full process is listed in the menu, but here is the process in 3 easy steps:
- View our menus and decide what you want to request.
- Download our request form and type or write in the items you want to request.
- Email your form to us.
Once we receive your form, we will confirm your request and notify you when your order is ready for transport in our vans. Item quantities vary and everything is available on a first-come-first-served basis.
Does SLO deliver?
Yes, we have vans that deliver borrowed resources to schools and collect them again. Please be kind to our van drivers by having your materials organized and ready for them on your collection day.
What happens if SLO items are lost/damaged?
We know books wander. If you cannot find all your SLO items by the van pick-up, we ask that you keep looking for them and return them when they are found. SLO books and small individual items can be returned to any Glasgow library with a note that they belong to SLO. All boxes/packs not given to the van driver MUST be returned to the Mitchell Library.
If an item has been damaged, please return it to us so that we can either fix it or remove it from our catalogue.
Can SLO provide a list of the contents of a box?
Unfortunately, we can’t. Our computer system does not currently enable us to produce contents lists. All our materials are labelled clearly and we recommend taking a brief note or a photo of box contents upon arrival.
Does SLO have class sets?
Our service – and Glasgow Libraries in general – does not hold class sets though we do have some book group sets of around 12 books each. We are aware that schools would like there to be class sets but that would have significant impact on book budget costs, storage, and workload.
