Back from Conference

The past week has been particularly hectic for a large group of school librarians.  First we had the School Library Association conference in Manchester over the weekend and on Monday there was the announcement of the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway book awards which had been shadowed by around 5000 groups nationally.  I was extremely lucky and attended both of these events, so I am now trying to catch up with sleep and all my emails etc.

I have a soft spot for Manchester as I spent 2 years there as a library school student in the early 1970s.  The city has changed dramatically, but it is still a hub for libraries and books, as I was reminded as I drove past the  world renownedJohn Rylands Library. There is also the newly refurbished central library, with the great round reading room, and the Cheetham’s Library which is part of the school.  The venue for the weekend was great with quite luxurious rooms (compared with student accommodation from past years) and all the talks, workshops, cake tastings within easy distance on the hotel mezzanine floor.

A comfortable sleep

A comfortable sleep

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We’re going on a Bear Hunt.

 

Whilst meeting authors and illustrators is the icing on the cake, conference is really about updating skills and gaining knowledge.  This is not just from the talks and workshops but also through the networking with colleagues from a range of other school settings.

There were two keynote sessions and both provided a lot of interest. Despite all my years in the profession and all the people I have met, I think this is the first time that I have had the pleasure of hearing Malorie Blackman speak.  She was in discussion with the lovely Wendy Cooling and the topics ranged from her role as the children’s laureate to her love of libraries and how they had been important throughout her life.  She was so full of enthusiasm and a wonderful ambassador when talking to members of the government.2014-06-20 15.06.01The second keynote session was by Niall  McWilliams, the head at Carterton Community School and winner of the School Library design award.  It was great to have a headteacher who was so supportive of the role that school libraries and their librarians have in the achievements of the school.

Workshops were wide ranging, from storytelling to EPQ  and also how librarians can work with publishers.  I particularly enjoyed author Steve Hartley who persuaded about 10 of us to step inside the most enormous pair of knickers that we had ever seen.

Really big knickers

Really big knickers

He also spoke about the importance of humour in connecting children to reading, something that we could all agree on.

It was also great to see the ever cheerful and brilliant Neil Griffiths, who as a headteacher many years ago had come up with the idea of Story-sacks.  He is wonderful at showing how storytelling SHOULD be done, so that the children are truly captivated by the experience.

Finally, I attended a workshop with Alyx Price from Macmillan and Harriet Bayly from Oxford University Press who were discussing how schools can work directly with publishers in a variety of ways.  This can range from reviewing proofs of new books to having author visits.  Publishers can also provide materials such as bookmarks which are always very popular with the pupils.

One of the really great things about a conference is usually the exhibition.  This one covered a wide range of areas for school librarians but it was rather short on publisher stands.  However those that did attend were friendly and very helpful, giving everyone a chance to catch up on what is new out there.  Overall this was a lovely conference which stimulated the mind and provided much needed time to talk to colleagues.