Stamping The Books

We are in challenging and unusual times, and the library sector has been as much affected by the Coronavirus control measures as any other work sector. I'm a librarian unable to access the two school libraries I manage. I am finding this difficult to accept as there is much more I could do for the students and teachers by physically being in my libraries. The sudden move to providing teaching and learning to students via online platforms like Teams has left me playing catch up and unable to engage with students as teachers are able to do. While I'm struggling to find a role this doesn't mean I can't have an online presence to support teachers and students. Rather than dwell on the negative side of things, I'm looking at using this time of challenge and change to challenge myself to find ways to have an online presence.  While I still get to grips with Teams and what this can do, I have  created a Symbaloo page,  https://www.symbaloo.com/shared/AAAAA-8TxUUAA41_W

At school we often ask the kids to review a book they have been reading. Recently I thought to myself when was the last time I produced a book review. I couldn't remember. So I decided to write several for the website www.readingzone.com to remind me what it is like to write a book review to a deadline. I found it quite a challenge and realised that some kids will find the process equally as challenging! I do feel we shouldn't ask kids to do something we are not prepared to do ourselves. Ultimately I enjoyed the books and creating reviews which have been published on the website, and I have a better understanding of what I am asking the kids to do when I ask them to write a short review. Hopefully I can offer better guidance to those who find the task a struggle, and I will keep writing reviews for the website too.  The links are below for the two books I recently reviewed:  The M Word by Brian Conaghan https://readingzone.com/index.php?zone=sz&page=your_review&am

‘Birthday’ is the latest novel by Meredith Russo and is described on the cover as ‘A love story 18 years in the making’. As I started reading the book and with the blurb fresh in my mind I began to feel I knew where the story was going between Eric and lifelong friend Morgan, but that didn’t stop me enjoying this emotional and at times hard hitting novel. The journey of how there were going to get there had me hooked. The novel follows the lives of close friends Eric and Morgan, dropping into their lives the same day each year for six years which happens to be their shared birthday. ‘Birthday’ explores the relationship between   the two friends as both wrestle with the pains of growing up as teenagers in small town America, and for Morgan there is the added issue of realising his true gender and what to do about it, along with dealing with the death of his mother. This format worked well, and you could clearly see the development of the two characters into teenagers each year.

Photo taken by Stephen Leitch April brings the Cherry Blossom or 'Sakura'. Walking around Elgin enjoying and photographing the beautiful blossom of the cherry trees is an absolute delight. The blossoms are with us for such a short time, enjoy them! Up into the cherry tree Who should climb but little me? I held the trunk with both my hands And looked abroad in foreign lands. I saw the next door garden lie, Adorned with flowers, before my eye, And many pleasant places more That I had never seen before. I saw the dimpling river pass And be the sky's blue looking-glass; The dusty roads go up and down With people tramping in to town. If I could find a higher tree Farther and farther I should see, To where the grown-up river slips Into the sea among the ships, To where the road on either hand Lead onward into fairy land, Where all the children dine at five, And all the playthings come alive. Foreign Lands by Robert Louis Stevenson Photo ta

While at this years 2018 School library Association Conference in Glasgow in June, I took a notion and asked the publishers reps to recommend a few books for my pupils in my two schools to read at the S2- S3 level. And I recorded them doing this! I've pieced them together as a 6 minute book suggestion trailer to share with pupils in my two schools to inspire them into finding something new to read. Please feel free to share this and use it. There are some great suggestions and recommendations, and all the reps were very enthusiastic to be part of the trailer. A huge thank you to them and I hope you are inspired to read some of these books :0)

Ayr Carnegie Library: detail from window On my summer holidays I managed to visit several brilliant libraries, including the Ayr Carnegie Library, the Maybole Carnegie Public Library, and a visit to Scotland's oldest lending library at Innerpeffray - which proved to be an absolutely amazing library! With the future of many libraries uncertain, I do feel we should be supporting libraries whenever and wherever we can, even if that is just to look inside or ask a question. Who knows what else you may find while there. For example, at Innerpeffray Library my friend and I found ourselves leafing through a gardening book from the 1580's, and viewing hand written poems by Robert Burns, which was a privilege and delight to do. What will you discover at library near you? Maybole Carnegie Public Library  Innerpeffray Library: reading room and library