Are you involved in school library provision in Scotland? Would you like to hear from colleagues who have successfully developed nurturing library spaces and led wellbeing projects within their schools? Why not listen to Education Scotland’s new School Libraries podcast? This three-part podcast series focuses on Health and Wellbeing, in line with Strategic Aim 4 of the Vibrant Libraries Thriving Schools (VLTS) strategy. Thank you to Jess Burnett, Moira Paton and SLG Scotland‘s Shona Page for sharing their experiences of supporting children and young people’s health, social and mental wellbeing ..read more

Welcome to our Agony Aunt page – Ask Alex! Do you work in a school library in Scotland? Do you have a problem or need advice? Get in touch with Alex so she can offer her words of wisdom. (All submissions are anonymous unless you wish a personal reply)   Dear Alex, I’ve recently been downsized into a smaller library space. Intervals and lunchtimes are proving to be a bit of a problem – the reduced capacity means that pupils are frequently being turned away. What’s the fairest way to limit numbers, but ensure that everyone who wants to have some chance to use the library? Yours, Tight Sque ..read more

School Libraries Group Scotland believe that your whole school can (and should) be school library advocates, but we understand how challenging it can be to engage certain hard to reach departments with all the amazing services, activities and opportunities that our school libraries have to offer. Read and discover here how we came together on 5 December 2023 to discuss tips and techniques for maximising engagement and working with hard to reach departments. Professionals across the school library sector shared their news and views in a supportive space, helping to shape SLG Scotland’s programm ..read more

School librarians, please join our welcoming and collaborative School Libraries Group Scotland team, which aims to support and promote the professional interests of school librarians throughout Scotland. You will help to share blogs, resources, good practice; contribute to and deliver networking events, and work with a proactive and energising committee to raise awareness of the potential of school libraries. Take the next step – wherever you are in the profession – and expand your network and knowledge. Develop your skills and keep your thinking fresh! We have room for you – and meeti ..read more

Derek France, Preston Lodge High School, East Lothian. Winning the SLA Secondary School Librarian of the Year  Award 2022 is a huge honour and it’s been an amazing experience. Our Headteacher, Gavin Clark, delighted with my cross-curricular involvement, suggested nominating me. I said ‘go for it’ and didn’t really expect to hear much more – I was pleased the Headteacher recognised the value of his School Librarian! The nomination form consisted of five headings, each requiring a 200 word response: Professional and Personal Qualities; Showcase Projects; Teaching and Learning; Reading for P ..read more

2023 began positively with the first joint School Libraries Group Scotland and Youth Libraries Group Scotland event being held.  We’ve long promoted each other’s training and events on our respective social media channels, and the realisation that we are mostly serving the same audience brought us together to host a joint event. Lack of time and money across all library services and sectors often now sadly means that opportunities for CPD are limited, so joining forces seemed sensible. Planning began towards the end of 2022, when I attended an SLGS committee meeting in my role as YLG chai ..read more

SLG Scotland regularly showcase and activity or project that highlights useful digital initiatives and gives guidance on how to do them for yourselves. SLG Committee member Tanya Odie and her colleague Lynn Goodlad from Anderson High School, Lerwick, Shetland, share their Bookflix Project guide. They used an interactive digital screen with a Bookflix themed display to promote new books, genres and special events.  It’s an animated PowerPoint presentation which runs on a timed loop, pupils are able to touch/click on a book cover to get a blurb or online book trailer. This can be used in sc ..read more

Summary and reflections by Leah Higgins, CILIPS Graduate Trainee The benefit of school libraries and librarians cannot be overstated when it comes to the general wellbeing and integrity of a school. We are delighted to be able to share the results of the Great School Libraries 2023 Research Report and support their call to formulate an evidence-based, strategic approach to championing school libraries across the UK. With the title of Equal Futures? An Imbalance of Opportunities, the report’s scope was to outline and present research based on the different factors impacting the school library l ..read more

‘The impact on young people would be long-term and substantial. Before it is too late, I ask you to do whatever is within your remit to encourage local authorities to rethink these proposals.’ As budgetary threats to school librarianship across Scotland intensify, Head of CILIPS Sean McNamara has written to Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, to highlight the stark reality of the situation and appeal for some level of statutory service that will ensure all pupils retain the right to access to a school librarian. Read the letter in full ‘Whilst I understand that th ..read more

As CILIPS continues to advocate for Scotland’s inspirational school library staff, we are also inviting all secondary school library workers in Scotland to share their views and experiences of collection development via a timely postgraduate research project being conducted by one of our previous student placement researchers. The questionnaire and/or interview data will be used to answer research questions about book challenges, graphic novels, intellectual freedom, and the use of selection policies. The researcher seeks to understand which views and experiences are common among school librar ..read more