Back at the end of  May, I was honoured to be invited to the opening a a “small but perfectly formed” library in Stenness Community School . It is good to see the importance placed on reading and the need for a dedicated space by the pupils, staff and parents / carers of the school. The pupils, staff and invited guests gathered in the school’s communal area to listen to introductions and speeches and to recognise the work that the three parent volunteers, all qualified librarians had put in. After the ribbon was cut we were invited to view this little library.

Users, which include those in the school and folks in the wider community can borrow books, recorded in a computerised Library Management System. Pupils have been trained in using the system so they can self-issue.

Such a library space will stand pupils in good stead when they come up to Stromness Academy and use the library here. They will be familiar with the arrangement of books, especially Dewey classification used to arrange non-fiction books and will hopefully have a good understanding of the importance of libraries and books, even in this age of technology and the internet.