A photo report on the SLA School Librarian of the Year Award Ceremony at Dexter House, Tower Hill, London, 1 October 2012. The award was won by Adam Lancaster of Monk's Walk School in Welwyn Garden City. Also awarded was the School Library Design Award, on its second year. Winner was The Duston School in Northampton. The school library, known as "The Hub" was praised by the judges for giving students "ownership of their own space and their own place. Funky furnishings, a bold colour scheme, creative space planning, natural and artificial lighting, effective acoustics and ever changing, motivating signage and graphics make The Hub a destination like no other." Kevin Crossley Holland, author and chair of the SLA, in praising the finalists for the awards said: "Make no mistake about it! School libraries and school librarians are under real pressure – political apathy, cuts in their budgets, threats of redundancy, status within their schools. But all over the country, individual librarians are doing imaginative and valiant and, frankly, quite crucial work, inspiring a love of reading within their schools and communities. They’re not only custodians of the storyhoard, the river of poems and the building blocks of information but brokers of the relationship between books as physical artefacts and the Digital Age. Now, the very best of them have been shortlisted to be the SLA School Librarian of the Year. It’s an award that matters, and it should be recognised by each and every one of us.” Sponsored by Scholastic Children's Books, Raintree Publishing, and Demco Interiors. Photographs/Report by Candy Gourlay www.candygourlay.com

1. School Librarian of
the Year 2012
Award Ceremony
On School Libraries Celebration Day, 1 October 2012
Dexter House, Tower Hill

2. “I don’t think I’ve met
an author who
doesn’t talk about
how libraries turned
them into the authors
they are.”
Alec
Williams,
compere
Independent
Library
Consultant

3. “We are
professionals …
being a librarian
is not a hobby.”
Lin
Smith
Chair
School
Library
Associa6on

4. • Librarians were nominated
by head teachers and
colleagues. Five schools
were visited and three
librarians shortlisted.
• For the Library Design
Awards, 23 libraries were
nominated, six visited by
the judges and three
shortlisted.
Dawn
Woods
Chair
School
Librarian
of
the
Year
Selec6on
Commi<ee

5. School Librarian of the Year
Honours List
Rosalind
Buckland
Adam
Lancaster
Gill
Trueman
Ripley
St
Thomas
Academy
Monk’s
Walk
School
Peasedown
St
John
School
Lancaster
Welwyn
Garden
City
Near
Bath

6. “Ripley is very much a reading school, many of the
students like to read and their families buy books,
however there is always more you can do.”
• Interschool Year 8 reading project
communicating via a blog
• Interschool author visits – including authors
of adult books
• Set up gender-based boy-friendly area
• Partnered with Cumbria University so Ripley
students can access Cumbria’s online
interactive tutorials and swap staff and pupil
visits
Rosalind
Buckland
• Led Ripley’s investment in qualitative school
Librarian
databases
Ripley
St
Thomas
Academy
Lancashire

7. “We are working to create a literacy-rich
community which takes time and will benefit the
school for generations to come.”
• Monk’s Walk Library has offered free continuing
professional development to primaries and
secondaries across Hertfordshire after SLS closed
• Aims to create a reading community beyond the
school
• Reading Collection for parents and intensive
parent support to create a reading climate in the
home
• Enjoying Reading sessions – doing fun stuff
around reading like book trailers
Adam
Lancaster
• School to scrap homework in favour of preparation
Librarian
and
Associate
Assistant
Head
Teacher
for lessons
Monk’s
Walk
School
HerEordshire

8. “For me library provision is about developing children’s
reading enjoyment, helping them form their personal
taste … and teaching them how to access knowledge.”
• Timetabled library lessons for Years 3 to 5
teaching research skills, information
literacy and e-safety
• Team teaching with class teachers and
involving teachers in planning to reinforce
information literacy across the curriculum
• Reading Collection for parents and
intensive parent support to create a reading
climate in the home
• Enjoying Reading sessions – doing fun stuff
Gill
Trueman
around reading like book trailers
Librarian
and
InformaGon
Manager
• School to scrap homework in favour of
Peasedown
St
John
Primary
preparation for lessons
Bath

9. Library Design Awards Finalists
“An extremely beautiful
library that bridges the
gap between the
traditional library and the
emerging learning
commons model.”
The
ChaEeild-­‐Roberts
Library,
Cheltenham
College,
Gloucestershire

10. Library Design Awards Finalists
Rising from a school in
Special Measures to
Outstanding, the Dunston
School renamed its
library the Hub to put
books at the heart of the
school. The Hub gave the
children “ownership of
their own space and their
own place”.
The
Duston
School
Library,
Cheltenham
College,
Gloucestershire

11. Library Design Awards Finalists
“The investment, hard
work and exciting library
is inspiring children, staff
and the wider community
in an area of high social
deprivation … a real little
gem of a library.”
Front
Lawn
Junior
School
Library,
Havant,
Hampshire

12. BIG Thanks to the
Sponsors!
Scholastic Raintree Publishers Demco Interiors
Children’s Books Miles Steven Hawk Scott Grant, general
Hilary Murray Hill, MD manager

13. Om g that’snick
z
B rian Sel f hugo
a uthor o
cabret!
And the winner
of the Library
Design Award
for 2012 is …

14. THE DUNSTON SCHOOL LIBRARY!!!

17. And our School
Librarian of the
Year for 2012 is…
Hey that’s
kevin crossley-
holland!

18. ADAM LANCASTER!!!

21. “It shouldn’t be just one
person in a school
shouting about libraries
but a full orchestra. It’s
not easy … but just
because it’s not easy
doesn’t mean we
shouldn’t do it.”
Adam Lancaster
School Librarian
of the Year 2012

22. Big Congratulations to everyone. With
thanks to Nicky Potter for inviting me to
the ceremony. And thanks to all the cool
librarians who definitely make this world
that much more awesome.
This
Slideshare
report
is
by
Candy
Gourlay
www.candygourlay.com