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Using a template from the amazing Melissa Core y, I've made my own Book Character Guess Who game adapted to book characters that are popular within our library!

You can download mine below or go here for Melissa's template!

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Using a template from the amazing Melissa Core y, I've made my own Book Character Guess Who game adapted to book characters that are popula...

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The school hall is filled with over three hundred children screaming at the stage. There's hardly any room to move, so little room, in fact, that the author has to stand on the stage in front of a screen depicting illustrations from her books. She's using a hairbrush as a makeshift microphone, two teachers are sat in chairs wearing oversized, frilly glasses. They are encouraging the students to yell louder. It's chaos and it's really, really wonderful.

This was the scene today when Alex Foulkes, author of the stunning Rules for Vampires and Rules For Vampires: Ghosts Bite Back, visited the school to speak to our Year 7 (age 11) students and students from a local primary school that were ages 9 & 10.

She gave a stellar performance, depicting her writing journey and life with sharp wit and humour and ending with a game-show style quiz that had them in such a state of excitement that teachers walking past the hall stuck their heads in to see what was going on. It was pure joy.

When she finished speaking, they roared with applause, they bounced on their heels to meet her in the Library during break time. There were so many students lined up to meet her that I had to email teachers to tell them their students would be late for the lesson after break because they simply kept coming in. They wanted to get a book signed or say hello or just be a part of this event, they wanted to keep this shared experience going for as long as they could.

When every last student who came in had a chance to meet Alex, she hopped over to another set of chairs and was interviewed by two twelve year olds for our library podcast. The second that finished, Alex sat down with ten of our Year 11 students and played Dungeons and Dragons. They had made a mini adventure for her when they found out she liked to play D&D. They made a character and drew pictures of her, a little owl musician named Ooni. One student asked Alex to sign his copy of the D&D Player's Handbook, there was a lot of laughing, and then a lot more laughing. It was for me, the perfect ending to an amazing day.

We had teachers come to the library after the event asking for the Rules for Vampires books for their children and their friends' children, they had heard the lovely chaos in the hall and wanted to be a part of it.

I'm writing this down because I don't want to forget this day and also because I want to highlight the impact a visit like this can have. When I was a kid, I never met an author, I assumed they were all millionaires, elite visionaries that sat in gated compounds somewhere. That's why I get extremely excited to bring authors to the school and I know that a visit like the one I saw Alex deliver will ripple through the school for a long, long time.

First, I know that Rules for Vampires will be at the top of our circulation stats for ages, probably into next year, I would bet money on it. That in itself means a lot to me, considering the competition that exists in regards to celebrity writers for children. Alex's books will not only be borrowed more, they will mean something to these kids, these will be the books they read after they actually met the author, some of them walking away with a personalised signature and a little bat drawn in the book by Alex. These will be the books they talk about with their friends.

Second, there is tangible evidence to show the impact that an author visit can have. The National Literacy Trust states that students who have author visits are:

Twice as likely to read above their expected age level.

More likely to be more confident in their reading and writing.

Much more likely to read daily.

More likely to enjoy reading.

Enjoy reading. That's huge, that's every librarian's dream, to have an entire year group feel better about themselves and their reading, to read daily.

Third, I know that Alex's visit will bring new faces to the library, faces of children who felt that the library wasn't a place they wanted to go. They will hear and feel the excitement from their classmates and they will also want to be a part of this magic that's been placed here. They might not check the book out, but they will come in, I know they will because I've been doing this ten years and I've seen it before. They will come in and then they are here, they are in the library and they might find a book that will change their life.

It's not just me saying this, there is evidence to show that author visits encourage students labelled as reluctant readers to visit the library more. I personally do not like the term "reluctant reader," I think kids put negative stereotypes on themselves or feel that reading isn't something that certain social labels take part in, like an athlete, for example. Reading, to some, is just something that nerds do, it's not for them because to be a nerd can mean social exile. However, when everyone sees an author and they all take part in this shared experience, they are all, even if momentarily, swept up in the excitement that an author like Alex Foulkes brings to the echoey school hall.

Sometimes all they need is to see the motivation behind the creation of the book to get started. Sometimes they just need to see that it's not impossible for them to write a book one day, to see that authors are real people can be a massive thing to behold.

"I can be quite down on myself," said Alex to a room full of 9 and 10 year olds, "who else in this room can be down on themselves?"

Three quarters of the room put their hands up.

I wondered how many of these kids expected an author to say that. I also wondered how many of them feel down on themselves about reading in general. Not just down, but out, done with reading. Someone like Alex can change that feeling.

These moments can be powerful, you can see it on their faces and the faces of the adults that were in the room. One of the teachers from the primary school, someone I've never met before, nearly hugged me when it was over, "it was amazing, wasn't it?" she said, "look at them," she said, motioning to the children, "they're really buzzing."

Another teacher wanted a photo of Alex in front of the screen beaming out two giant images of her books. I received an email from the literacy lead of one of the schools, she hadn't been able to come, but told me staff were absolutely raving about it and that it was clear the children loved it.

A student who came in the library at break told me Alex's visit was "the greatest moment she'd ever had." She came in to just say hello, she wanted to be with her friends and meet the person that made her feel that way. These are the moments that are hard to quantify, you can't put the looks on the faces of those students in a pie graph.

What drives me the most is the idea of positive memories. I want the students to leave school and maybe when they're older think back and at least be able to say they fun in the library, that there was someone there that cared, that they met an author that quite possibly changed their outlook on things.

I have few positive memories of school. I was an undiagnosed Autistic kid who was perpetually anxious and confused. I was called "backwards" by my grade six teacher and "stupid" by a grade 8 social studies teacher. I got in a lot of fights. If it wasn't for my older brother I honestly don't know how I would have survived it. My memories of school are stomach aches and a pounding heartbeat.

School doesn't have to be like that, it can be filled with more positive things. An author event can be one of those things.
Downloadable Infographic below!

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The school hall is filled with over three hundred children screaming at the stage. There's hardly any room to move, so little room, in fact,...

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I’ve been running Manga Club for nine years now, it has been one of my most popular programmes. I’m just going to share some of the most po…

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Dungeons & Dragons Resources for Schools

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Dungeons & Dragons Resources for Schools

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Getting Started with D&D in a School Library

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Librarian, author and Dungeons & Dragons Game Master

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My first question for the school will be:

Do they have a library?

My second question will be:

Do they have a full time librarian?

My third question will be:

If the answer is 'yes' to questions 1 and 2, does the librarian have a dedicated budget?

I will then discuss the findings of The National Literacy Trust's 2023 report which found, amongst many other things, that:

Just 2 in 5 (43.4%) children and young people aged 8 to 18 said they enjoyed reading in their free time in 2023. This is the lowest level since we first asked the question in 2005

Fewer boys than girls said they enjoyed reading (40.5% vs. 45.3%). While the gender gap in reading enjoyment has halved for those aged 8 to 18 between 2005 and 2023 (decreasing from a 10.7 to a 4.8 percentage-point difference in favour of girls), this drop is largely because of a greater drop in reading enjoyment in girls than in boys.

There has been a 26% decrease in the number of children and young people aged 8 to 18 who read daily in their free time since 2005 (decreasing from 38.1% to 28.0%).

This is not very good news, and poses a huge challenge to parents, teachers and librarians. In our library, when I run monthly statistics, I see that boys regularly borrow more than girls, only slightly, something like 4% more. However this appears to be much higher than the national average. Also, it's important to note that just because they are borrowing more doesn't mean that they are reading more.

It's also important to note another aspect of The National Literacy Trust's report, which stated that:

Nearly three times as many children and young people who perceived their reading environment to be supportive said they enjoyed reading compared with those who perceived it to be less supportive (63.9% vs. 25.4%), while twice as many read daily in their free time (41.7% vs. 17.7%).

With this information, here are some things I have found successful in making the library a desirable place to be for boys and therefore increase book borrowing on their part. All of these things also increase reading for girls and students who identify as non-binary, I just notice that they seem to be more effective for those who identify as male.

1. Create a dedicated manga area and fill your shelves with manga.

I know this isn't as easy as snapping your fingers. Manga isn't cheap and space is often very difficult or even impossible to come by. However, I can say with absolute certainty that by having a "manga area" with soft seating along with a massive collection of manga has made a huge difference. Every single day, before school, at break and at lunch, this little nook with a bean bag and soft chairs near the manga shelves are stacked with boys reading voraciously. This relates directly to the idea of having a positive reading environment directy affecting how these students view reading for pleasure. Tie this in with weekly manga quizzes, film clubs that show Studio Ghibli films, and you've got a great way to bring great books to boys. I have a list of appropriate manga here.
2. Highlight Your Non-Fiction Collection & Create Activities Around Them
I have found that boys love reading non-fiction and it is often a collection that gets overlooked. I've run a fake news lesson using Ripley's Believe It Or Not which you can find here. It's a programme that gets students reading from Ripley's and makes them think critically about the headlines they read. I also run a non-fiction scavenger hunt which you can read here. It asks students use parts of a non-fiction book like the index, bibliography, table of contents and more. I also find boys love urban myths, I run a lesson around these which you can find here. Another series the students love is called I Survived. I use this series to run a comic book contest, you can find this here. These are all ways, in my opinion, to bring non-fiction to the forefront and keep them reading.
3. Give Them A Lot of Choice
Again, this works for anyone, but in my experience, having a wide range of choices keeps boys coming back to the library for more. Comic books are an amazing resource, there are so many out there now it's quite frankly hard to keep up. There is a fantastic list here at Page 45 and I made a list here that might be useful. Comics have been absolutely essential in bringing boys to the library and getting them to come back for more. Essentially, you need books that aren't just on the shelves in Tesco, and I know I'm speaking to the converted so that message is essentially for senior leadership, parents and other teachers.

Books written in verseare essential, books by Kwame Alexander Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds are massive in our library. Books like Steady For This by Nathaniel Lessore has made a huge difference, as have books like When I See Blue by Lily Bailey. Barrington Stoke books have been a life-saver, they are short, engaging and written by popular authors. You can find anything you need in the Barrington Stoke collection.

Having a huge Sci-Fi collection, books on war, books that deal with real life issues, everything and everything, essentially. Ensuring you have books that act as both windows and mirrors so boys can see their lives

I'll add on to this section, author visits are massive in engaing all students. There is a ton of evidence to show how important these are. Students who engage in author visits are:

Twice as likely to read above their expected age level.

I wrote a longer piece on the importance of an author visit here.

We recently had author Jennifer Killick visit and it's amazing to see the impact she's had long after the visit. Hearing Jennifer speak to the students about her love of manga and her amazing horror / comedy novels Crater Lake, the stunning Dreadwood series and many more, means that both boys and girls are scrambling to the library to get a copy of her novel to read. They want to read these books so they can be in on the action, have a shared experience and have that connection to the author. It's an amazing thing to see.
4. Dungeons and Dragons
I've talked a lot about this but I'll try to boil it down to one paragraph: D&D has, for me, been completely revolutionary in the way it has brought new faces to the library, especially those who feel isolated or who might struggle socially. It has an unbelievably huge number of benefits, it improves confidence, reading comprehension, reduces anxiety, helps with public speaking and will help create extremely tight friendship groups. I wrote about our big Saturday DungeonCon in the library here which tries to capture many of these things. D&D will transform your library, I have a web site dedicated to everything you need to get started here.
5. Reading Aloud
There is a lot of data out there on the importance of reading aloud to youth and having them read aloud.

Reading Aloud:

Improves academic performance.

Improves vocabulary and reading comprehension.

Increases critical thinking and problem solving skills.

In my experience, it is a sure-fire way to make readers out of those who claim they are not, both boys and girls. A short story:

I bought two copies of Steady For This by Nathaniel Lessore. I read it myself and loved it, truly made me laugh out loud and that is not an easy thing to get me to do. There is one scene in that novel in particular that is so embarrasing for the main character, it's hard to describe it. I decided to read this passage out to around 1,000 students during the Key Stage 3 Whole School Assembly. What followed was a flood of students coming to the library asking for that book. I needed to buy many more copies and this book is now number one in our borrowing statistics.

Reading aloud works, because it creates a shared experience and brings this and other moments to life. Pair this with an author visit and this book will never stop being popular, as we've seen with authors like Lily Bailey, Alex Foulkes and Jennifer Killick.

These are just some ideas, there are plenty of other ways to engage boys, or anyone who says they don't like to read. These have been effective for me in my library and I would recommend any of these steps to cultivate a love of reading.

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5 Ways to Encourage Boys to Read for Pleasure

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I've been asked to speak to a visiting school to discuss how to engage boys in reading for pleasure. My first question for the school will...

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https://glenthornelrc.blogspot.com/search/label/library%20lesson

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5 Tips For A Successful Open Evening in the Library

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5 Tips For A Successful Open Evening in the Library

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Open Evenings, or Prospective Parents Evenings can be great ways to promote the Library to potential new students and to existing staff.

At Glenthorne it is a very busy evening with several families streaming into the school and of course the Library to find out what you have to offer.

Here are few tips I've come up with after six Parents Evenings in the Library:

I find it's always good to have activities that parents and their children can engage in. This year I laid blackboard paper out across one of our tables and wrote a line that I asked them to finish. The line read "A World Without Books is Like..."

We had lots of responses and it was a fun way to get talking about the importance of books and all of the amazing ones that their child can find in the library.

I also had bookmarks printed off that both adults and children could colour in. This was a huge hit!

I printed off a book quiz and had small prizes for those that completed them.

In the past I've had LEGO challenges as well. LEGO is always popular. The challenges are all around creating scenes from their favourite books.

We are also letting people who come through the library draw their own manga character using the the drawing books we have on offer. I simply printed off some comic book panels and laid them out with pencil crayons for them to complete.

I always recruit some Year 9 or 10 student library assistants to hang out in the Library and help out. They will greet people at the door, show them around and explain what we do. These students have been using the Library daily since Year 7 so they know it like the back of their hand.

Parents are always impressed to see students know so much about what's going on in the Library and it's a great way to build confidence in the students.

This is also extremely helpful if you do not have a Library Assistant.

This year, I'm doing something a little different. We have eight students ranging from ages 13 to 18 playing Dungeons and Dragons in the library while parents walk through. The students will stop playing and describe what is happening, explain the rules and generally welcome people to have a try at rolling the dice themselves. I am hoping it will be a lot of fun!

Before Parents Evening I print off postcards with simple info on it. The Library's hours, how many books we have, who I am and my contact information including our social media pages. I also include the services we provide - research skills, info literacy etc. I have the student library assistants ensure everyone that comes in the door gets one. I provide reading lists, "Books to Read Before You Come to Glenthorne" which are broken down by genre. I update this list every year to ensure new, amazing titles are present.

This might seem obvious or impossible based on how many people come into the Library. This year we had so many at one point that I stood on a chair and made a little announcement, thanking them for coming and explaining all of the great things we do.

For many parents an open evening could possibly be an overwhelming and intimidating experience and there's nothing worse than a staff member who doesn't interact or exude the vibe that they don't care. Greeting everyone or doing a big announcement so you don't miss anyone reassures them that you do care. Update: I have been using the chair technique for a few years and it's simply the best way to get the message across. We are going to have over 2,000 people come through, it's impossible to speak to everyone individually.

5. Partner with other Departments

Partnering with the English Dept is a given and this year was no different. We made "Before You Get to Glenthorne" reading lists with lots of books and brief descriptions about them. Every parent that entered was also handed one of these. The Eng Dept and I shared these and they handed them out in their room as well.

This year we did something different, I was approached by the Music Dept and they asked if current students in the Chamber Choir could come and sing in the Library as parents came in. I was v ery excited about this and it was a huge draw as we opened the doors and had the great sounds of the students singing flowing out into the corridors.

This isn't something I would have thought of on my own but I will definitely be approaching them next year for a repeat performance.

If you have any other tips or hints about taking part in an Open Evening contact me on Twitter @lucasjmaxwell

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5 Tips for A Successful Open Evening in the Library

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Open Evenings, or Prospective Parents Evenings can be great ways to promote the Library to potential new students and to existing staff. A...

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30 Books For Those Who Say They Hate Reading

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30 Books For Those Who Say They Hate Reading

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Every school librarian hears the "I hate reading" phrase, probably on a regular basis. For me, this is an opportunity to try and introduce them to something different than they are used to.

Here are 30 books that I use over and over again when I hear "I hate reading." They don't always stick, of course, sometimes you have to keep trying.

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30 Books For Those Who Say They Hate Reading

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Every school librarian hears the "I hate reading" phrase, probably on a regular basis. For me, this is an opportunity to try and introduce ...

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The Benefits of a School Library & Librarian

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The Benefits of a School Library & Librarian

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The Benefits & Impact of a School Library & Librarian

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I made an info graphic that school librarians can share with senior leadership on the impact of a school librarian and library, with source...

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I have launched a reading challenge for staff here at the school.

The idea is simple:

Read for 20 minutes a day, 10 days in a row and record your experience.

What do I mean by "your experience"?

How did reading every day for 20 minutes make you feel?

Are you like me and "doom-scroll" on your phone before bed? Did you replace this activity with reading and if so did it help at all?

Things like that, I simply want their experience recorded.

I want to attract regular readers and also staff who stopped reading or struggle to find a great book.

This comes from knowledge that reading just 30 minutes a week can help with sleep patterns, self esteem, creativity and much more.

I really that staff who engage with this re-kindle their love of reading or discover a new book from the library. Staff are being encouraged to come to the library to have me find them a book to read which in turn will hopefully bring new faces in.

Everyone who enters will get a chance to win a reading journal. I'll update this post in 10 days and let you know how it went!
UPDATE:
I've had some really great feedback from the teachers and staff members, I've had approximately 40 people take part from all different departments. I'm going to share them below!

"I've found that being able to read for 20 minutes each evening has provided a much-needed escape from the pressures of school and everyday life! It has been a source of calm and a time to recompose my mindset and enabled me to continue with the rest of my evening activities with a calmer approach!

" I try to read everyday but lately have found it difficult to do so due to being busy, tired, etc. However, since consciously trying to read every day for this project I have easily found time to read more than 20 minutes normally in the evening and it has led me to feel more relaxed and sleep better with a more consistent routine. It has also encouraged me to seek out audiobooks again for my journeys as I had moved to podcasts for quite a while but again listening to books etc has made the drive more enjoyable and relaxing"

"Taking part in this challenge has definitely helped my brain calm down and as such I haven't felt as tired as I did compared to the Mock exam period."

"I loved it! It made me sit in a quiet room without any interruptions or distractions (no TV, no phone) and just relaxed and read with a nice cuppa."

"It helped to refocus my evenings and gave me the opportunity to set some time aside in a busy work and life schedule to just escape!"

" Carving out time is so difficult but when you find a routine and habit (20 minutes a day) it becomes easier and something I felt entitled to towards the end. This was every night before sleep and really helped me clam down instead of scrolling or worrying about the next day! Thank you so much!"

"It made me feel happier and more at ease, it educed the stress and monotony of each day."

"I found it difficult to find time in the day at the weekend and when I did, was easily distracted by my mobile! However, the evenings were better. Less distractions, easier to focus and a real chance to engage in a book. As the week progressed I found I was checking the time less as I became more engaged in my novel :-) I felt more relaxed and a real sense of positivity as I love reading but always seem to run out of time. Thanks for the challenge!."

"It has helped me sleep and unwind. It made me feel like I am developing and progressing as a person, in a non-work related way!"

" Really helped me to fall asleep more easier and just a nice way to end the day. I was reading a book about the universe and the signs it has for us which was a nice way to deal with everything going on!"

" I read before going to bed rather than watching TV and I found I slept a lot better. :)"

" I have been more relaxed as a result and have reignited my love of reading!"

"S o glad this challenge has got me back into the swing of reading every night!"

"I have really enjoyed the last 10 days and have in fact read today as well! I have enjoyed reading in the morning while I have my morning coffee, getting back into reading regularly."

"

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I have launched a reading challenge for staff here at the school. The idea is simple: Read for 20 minutes a day, 10 days in a row and recor...

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This is a bare-bones but straight-forward weeding policy that we use in the library, click here to access it!

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My amazing colleague in the library has been working hard at creating engaging and fun escape rooms in the library for both students and staff. I have included their step by step guide below. Any questions simply email nsd@glenthorne.sutton.sch.uk!

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A Step By Step Guide on Creating a Library Escape Room

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My amazing colleague in the library has been working hard at creating engaging and fun escape rooms in the library for both students and staff. I have included their step by step guide below. Any questions simply email nsd@glenthorne.sutton.sch.uk!

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I recently ran another comic con in the school library. I haven't done in a while due to Covid restrictions. Therefore I was nervous that it wouldn't work out or that perhaps students wouldn't show up, mainly because I ran it on a Saturday.

I was very excited to see it become a huge success, yes I was exhausted as I ran it entirely on my own but the students had a lot of fun and I was very pleased with how smoothly it all ran.

In case you are deciding on running one, here are the things that helped me the most.

First, the summarised version:

I held it on a Saturday from 10 am - 4 pm (long day, but worth it!)

I had a limit of 50 students (nearly that number attended for the entire day)

I had a guest manga artist

I gave out free comics

I rented a button maker

I brought in board games from home

Now, the detailed version:
Email Parents Early
I created an email group of parents who were interested in having their students sign up. I did this weeks in advance of the event so I could keep them informed. In the letter I included the timings, who was going to be present, all of the activities that were taking place, when it would end and other things like the fact that they did not need to wear their school uniform (most, if not all public schools in the UK have school uniforms, we are not a private school), the fact that they should bring their own lunch but snacks would be provided. Setting up this information early was essential in ensuring everyone was on the same page.
Try it on a Saturday
This won't work for everyone, and not everyone wants to work a day for free but I chose Saturday purely because it's hard to get students out of lessons to attend events and doing it after school would result in having limited numbers and would reduce the length I could run the event. Having it on a Saturday meant I could run the event from 10 am to 4 pm with no interruptions. I was pleased that I had nearly fifty students attend the event on a beautiful sunny Saturday.
Hire a Guest
I was very pleased to have renowned manga artist Chie Kutsuwada (Illustrator of the Carnegie-nominated Tsunami Girl) visit to deliver a manga workshop. Chie was amazing and had all 47 students engaged and drawing for nearly two hours. If your library can afford it, having a special guest is really worth it.
Rent a Button / Badge Maker
I can't stress enough how fun and easy these are. Button makers are ridiculously popular with our students. They love drawing their own and taking their badges home, if you have a party shop nearby, take advantage of this!
Reach Out to a Comic Book Shop
I called a comic book shop near me and told them of my idea, they gave me hundreds of free comics to give away and to use as crafts, which we did. We made comic book bookmarks and keychains. Students cut out comics to use in our button maker, it was a ton of fun. My suggestion is to call your local comic book shop and just ask for free comics, they might say no, but they might surprise you and give you a boat load of comics. My response would be to buy a bunch of comics and manga from them to say thank you!
Bring Food
This is a no brainer, nut free, potato chips, popcorn, anything, they will eat everything.
Break up the Day
I organised the day like this:

10-11: Button Making / Board Games / Crafts / Pictionary / Quizzes: I had stations all around the library where they could take part in all kinds of different activities.

11-1: Guest Speaker. I did not expect ours to go 2 hours, but it was awesome and they loved it.

1 - 1:30: Students went back to badge making and board games while I cleared up from the guest speaker.

1:30 - 4: Was Dungeons & Dragons based. We had D&D card games set up and I ran a one-shot D&D adventure for a large group while the others drew comics, snacked and did quizzes. A lot of our comic book / manga fans are D&D fanatics so this worked out very well.

I think all in all everyone had a really fun time, I know I did. I hope this helps in organising your next library comic con!

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I recently ran another comic con in the school library. I haven't done in a while due to Covid restrictions. Therefore I was nervous that it...

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Bringing an author to your School Library in the upcoming school year?

Here are some things that have helped me create a fun, engaging and worthwhile visit for everyone involved!

In the weeks (and sometimes a few months) leading up to the author's visit, I do the following:

Contact my local bookshop & order 30-40 copies of the book on a sale and return basis. Books that aren't sold simply go back to the bookshop with no extra charge. The bookshop that I work with also provides a great discount on the books we are selling.

Send a letter home to parents of all students meeting the author, explaining that books will be sold in the Library leading up to the event and of course the date, time and location and a brief explanation of the book and who the author is.

Purchase extra copies of the authors' books for the Library to keep and create a display around them.

Create posters that are put up in the Library, staff room, cafeteria & toilets (I use Canva).

Create bookmarks (again, Canva) with the authors image, book cover and Twitter details on them to hand out to students and put with the display.

Speak in the weekly assembly to the year group meeting the author to promote the event.

Speak in briefing so that staff who are free can meet the author when he/she arrives.

Put a notice in the school newsletter & staff bulletin.

Visit the tutor times (homeroom) of the classes meeting the author to promote their book(s).

Promote their visit during library lessons.

Promote the visit heavily on social media (Twitter & Instagram especially). If you don't have a social media presence for your library I suggest you get involved unless your administration doesn't allow it. If you do have a Twitter account follow the author, their agent, their publisher and promote your display pics, getting set up for the event, the space they will be performing in, whatever. It will generate a buzz that will carry you until the actual visit.

Have our Student Library Assistants read the book so they too can promote it to their friends

It's a lot of work but it pays off!

It might seem obvious but knowing the author's work will not only allow you to promote it better, it will ensure you are aiming it at the right audience. You might not have time to read all 15 books in a series, but get the gist of them at least so you can do #1 on this list with authority.

It will also allow you to discuss the books with the author when they arrive, it lets them know that you care about them visiting and have taken the time to get to know their work.

As mentioned above, I also try to get our Student Library Assistants to read it and provide synopsis' for other students and myself if I haven't had time to read the whole book. There's nothing worse than having an author visiting and you are standing there in front of 250 students and you can't think of a single thing to say about their book because you haven't read it. I've done it before and I vowed to never do it again.

I've recently seen a high amount of authors on social media relaying their frustrations regarding schools not paying them. Ensure that you have checked with your Finance department that the invoice has gone through. You should never expect an author to visit you for free. This seems obvious but based on the high number of horror stories I've read over the past few weeks it apparently isn't to some people.

Ideally, I ask for the cost of the visit before the actual visit. This is just how my Finance dept works, they want to know how much upcoming visits will be. I don't need an invoice at this point, I just fill out an internal form so Finance knows how much to take from my budget.

Then, after the visit, I apply the authors' invoice to the internal form. Get to know your Finance dept and how they operate, find out the best approach to ensure a smooth transition between visit and payment. No authors should be stuck waiting for payment.

Again, this might seem like I'm spouting the obvious, but here are the things I do in the weeks leading up to the author's visit to ensure I'm not caught by surprise.

Contact the author 3 weeks and also 1 week before the visit to work out how they are getting to the school - do they need a parking space etc;

I always provide the author with my phone number so they can text me if they come across any trouble getting to the school. It's always a tough situation when you're sitting in a room with 250 students and the author isn't there and all you've got is their email address and you're nowhere near a computer.

Ask the author if they have any electronic requirements and have that figured out way, way in advance. Have mics, projectors, screens and speakers all booked and ready to go. If they are bringing a computer, is it PC or Mac?

Ask the author if they'll be bringing a publicist along with them, sometimes you'll be in direct contact with the publicist and not the author but it's always good to know exactly who is coming.

Ensure you have enough time set aside for book signings.

Inform the author of the size and age of the group they are meeting with and describe the venue.

Ensure your venue can hold the number of students you plan on bringing in to meet the author (I had a pretty embarrassing moment when Darren Shan visited a few years ago!)

Tell the author approximately how many of the students are going to be familiar with their work

Tell the author if you are planning on selling books at the event and ask if it's okay if they will sign them after the event

Have plenty of bottles of water available - I have tea and coffee ready too.

Alert reception to the event so that they are aware of the visit and can set aside a parking space for the author (if applicable).

Ask the author if they have any dietary requirements if you go the extra mile and offer them something to eat.

If I have an author visiting with an entire year group (over 250 students) I always try to time it so their visit ends when our lunchtime starts. That way I can ask him or her if they would mind going to the Library to sign books or just hang out with some students. This pays off 99% of the time unless the author has a "hard out" and simply can't stay, which is fine.

As an example, myself, some student library assistants and author Eve Ainsworth spent time after her visit playing "5 Second Rule" a game where you have 5 seconds to name 3 related things. One question might be, "Name 3 things you see in an airport." It sounds easy, but it's not when you're under the gun. It also happens to be a lot fun and I'm very lucky that Eve took the time to play with us.

Also, our students are running an amazing podcast called Booklings Chat where they interview authors about their work and many other things, it's a lot of fun and makes the visit more memorable. I'm not saying you have to have these things in place, but getting them some more "one on one" time with smaller groups of students will really pay off.

In addition, see if the author provides writing workshops or anything extra that they can bring along as this will make the visit more memorable. It might cost you more in the end, but it's worth it.

After the visit, this is what I do:

Keep book sales going for another week (I have the author sign a few more and try really, really hard to ensure they sell)

Email the author, publicist etc and thank them profusely

Write a blog post about the visit, tagging the author, publicist and publishing company on Twiiter / Instagram.

Keep promoting the book in Library Lessons, reminding the students how awesome their visit was and how their books are available to borrow in the Library and are still on sale.

Booking an author can be stressful, especially if things don't go exactly to plan but in my experience you just need to roll with it and laugh about it later. I've had some pretty big mess-ups on my part in the past but I've tried to learn from them.

If you approach the visit with a relaxed yet enthusiastic attitude and embrace things as they come, everyone involved will get much more out of the experience.

In my experience using the juice that the author generates after they visit and creating read-alike displays and promoting them with enthusiasm will keep the momentum going until the next author visit.

If you'd like to save some money, a virtual visit can often be a cheaper alternative but all author visits should be compensated.

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Tips for a Successful Author Visit to Your School Library

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Bringing an author to your School Library in the upcoming school year? Here are some things that have helped me create a fun, engaging an...

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I've been running a book award for two years now and it's a lot of fun. It does make for a lot of work but it can involve a lot of students, staff and of course authors which makes it worthwhile.

The rules of the award are that the books must be current. For instance, the books chosen for the 2019 Bookling will have to have been published in 2018 or '19.

The longlist is made up in Oct or Nov and consists of approximately 24 books. From there I narrow it down to 6 books. I narrow it down through borrowing stats, student reviews and input. This award is student led (as you'll see below) so their input is crucial. The only thing I do to interfere is that I don't really want a book that everyone knows about. I want a book that is really popular within the school but maybe hasn't got the recognition it deserves.

I try to make the book award a bigger and better event each year. Here are some things that I've learned along the way that have made ours fun and engaging for everyone involved.

1. Create a Name

Instead of simply calling it The Glenthorne High School Book Award (and there's nothing wrong with that, really) I wanted to give it a name that stuck.

I was lucky because in one of my first book club meetings four years ago I asked the students who were then in Year 8 to come up with a name for the group. One student suggested "The Booklings" and it stuck.

It made sense, then, to call our book award "The Bookling" as it had a nice ring to it and carried some weight. I wanted authors to feel like they were winning The Carnegie or an Oscar but on a much smaller level.

2. Promote It

This goes without saying but I've come up with a few ways that have helped spread the word:

Have a coffee morning for staff - Every year I have coffee and doughnuts in the Library either after school or just before where staff can come in, have a snack and a coffee or tea and hear me book talk the shortlisted books. Staff can then borrow the books and provide feedback at a later date.

Create a hashtag for social media & tag the authors - every time I tweet or use Instagram and it relates to the book award, I use #TheBookling so others can follow. All of the authors of the shortlist are tagged on Twitter and Instagram as are their publishers. This is an excellent way to spread the word.

Students also make bookmarks using Canva, posters, alternate covers and book-talk the books during the tutor times (homeroom) of other year groups.

The shortlist is placed in the staff bulletin and advertised on the television screens in the school's Hub.

During Library Lessons, I get to promote the books to over 500 students over a period of two weeks. I also visit year group and House assemblies to bring attention to them.

I hold review-writing contests based on the books and create windowsill displays with each of the books.

One year I made 6-word book reviews of the books and printed them on A3 paper to help promote them around the school.

3. Get Feedback
I know that I'm not going to get every student in the school to read these books, but it doesn't stop me from trying. To gather input I create a Survey Monkey every year that all Year 7 and 8 students take part in.

In the survey I provide the book covers, the blurb and the first page of each book (in separate questions). I get the students to pick their favourites and to provide feedback on which blurbs or first pages grabbed them the most and which ones they'd like to read.

This is an amazing way to get a better picture of the most popular book outside of borrowing stats.

4. Involve the Authors
We interact with the authors in some way or another. If I can get an author to visit, it's the best way to promote the award. Sure, it might sway the students' minds somewhat but at the end of the day we're trying to get the students to fall in love with reading so I'm okay with it. If we can't get the author in we Skype or conduct a Twitter chat with them over a lunch hour.

One way or another we involve the authors as much as possible to spread the word and to get the students to meet them either in person or virtually.

5. Create an Event Around the Award
Every year I invite the authors, either in person or via Skype or Twitter to take part in our Awards Ceremony.

This event is run by our Student Library Assistants. We have food, games, quizzes and of course the awards. Every year we award best cover and then The Bookling itself. I live-Tweet the event as we're doing it.

Every year I spend around £10 and buy a trophy with the details of the award engraved on it. We send this out to the authors, it makes it real and cements their status as a Bookling winner.

I hope you've found these tips helpful. If you run an award I'd love to hear about it as I'm always trying to make The Bookling a bigger and better event!

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5 Tips on Starting a Book Award in Your School Library

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I've been running a book award for two years now and it's a lot of fun. It does make for a lot of work but it can involve a lot of students,...

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Our Year 10 students were very fortunate to have a fantastic virtual visit with best-selling author and award-winning bookseller Gráinne O'Brien in the library. It was a great experience because on a base level, Year 10s simply do not get to engage as much in the library as Year 7-9, they have less author visits and less time to come in with their English teachers, so I was really able to promote this special event for them in a fun way and to ensure that they understood this was a unique event for them. However, This was not a typical author visit in that my primary goal was to have the students meet someone to discuss their career path and essentially how they ended up where they did. The reason I run these programmes, which I call the "Professional Zoom Series" is that there is research to prove that exposure to career paths enriches their school experience and developed more positive attitudes towards the utility of school in general. Career counsellors and fairs a

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It's the time of year when I run reports and look at borrowing statistics for the school. I want to stress that the info I provide on this topic is not meant to act as a competition or to brag about borrowing numbers. I'm also not saying that if you don't do the things I list you won't have good borrowing stats. I'm just trying to put together reasons why I think our borrowing stats are the way they are.

I am genuinely trying, as all school librarians are, to increase the number of books I put into the hands of the students on a daily basis. I'm also looking at what books are the most popular and why.

I presented some of my findings to our board of governors which focused on a lot of positive things like:

We average 750 visits to the library per day.

Our clubs were run over 370 times during the school year (an average of 2 clubs per day) with a total attendance of 6,303 students.

In Sept the National Literacy Trust published a report stating that 43.4% of children and young people aged 8-18 said they enjoyed reading in their free time. This is the lowest level since a survey like this was completed back in 2005.

I ran a survey of my own for ages 11-13 (close to 900 students) within the school. I adapted the surveys provided by The Open University.

I also ran my own borrowing reports using our online catalogye through AccessIT, which I highly recommend if anyone is looking for a new cataloguing system.

My surveyed showed that 60% of students in the school aged 11-13 said they either "liked" or "loved" reading for pleasure on their own time.

10% said they did not like reading at all. I took this as a huge win with the caveat that I would target that 10% in the new school year.

30% said they had no opinion about reading one way or another. However, it was interesting to see that of this 30% who were "meh" about reading, a large number of them (70%) said they preferred audiobooks or said things like "I enjoy reading when it's the right book" or "I have to be in the right mood to read" or "I like to read I just can't sit still long enough to do it."

This is very interesting to me because I would place those students in the "I like reading" category due to the asteriks' after their choice.

Of the 10% who said they did not like to read, 95% said the reason was that it was "boring" although a few did say it was because they could not find any good books which is mind blowing to me as I know how much work I put in to promoting books for everyone. It was still a wake up call that I needed to do more.

I need to find out why they think it's boring, and try hard to find books that will catch their attention. I've had success in the past by creating displays that focus on video games and sports, books like The Crossover, Long Way Down and Kick are all good examples of books that have broken through the "boring" barrier.

We had a lot of books borrowed in the school year, close to 11,000, which is great for us. Of the top 10 most popular books, 9 of them are from our internal book award, The Bookling, which highlights great books that are "under the radar" and not ones you'll find on the shelves at Tesco.

Also, 5 of the 10 most popular books are from authors who visited the school which is a testament to the power of author visits. I wrote more about the impact author visits have here.

Looking at borrowing stats, 7 of the top 10 borrowers are boys, which is a new phenomenon.

Boys are also borrowing 10% more than girls in 2023/24. This is also completely new, at Glenthorne, boys typically borrow 3-4% more than girls but never 10%.

The negative is that there is a massive drop-off in borrowing between Year 9 and 10. Year 9 are borrowing "ok-ish" but when they hit Year 10 it plummets off a cliff. I need to work on this more in the new year and my goal is to bring Year 10s in once a half-term for a library lesson and to borrow books.

Here are the reasons why the statistics look the way they do in our school (in my opinion):
We have a dedicated library space and a librarian.
The Great School Libraries research campaign shows that libraries and librarians in secondary schools are dropping. The fact that we are open every day of the week, ten hours per day, means a lot. We average around 750 visits a day and offer a wide range of activities. This helps massively in creating a lifelong love of reading because to put it plainly, the students at the school are immersed in it every day.

We have a collection of books that reflects the student population.

Using the very simple anaolgy that books can act as mirrors and windows, I've built a collection where (hopefully) every student can put themselves in the experience of others and of course see themselves as the heroes in the stories they read. This means we have built a massive comic book and manga collection, non-fiction and quicker reads using great providers like Barrington Stoke and Badger Learning.

Have a student that loves minecraft? I've got a series of comic books that combines Minecraft and Dungeons & Dragons-esque adventures. I also have a student that loves flags, is obsessed with them, so I bought a bunch of flag books. Simple, except it isn't if you don't have a librarian with a healthy budget and somewhere to put said books.

In my opinion, teachers cannot do the job of a librarian, and they shouldn't be asked to. We know that 1/3 of teachers in the UK are experiencing burnout, over 50% say they are losing sleep and four in five are stressed ( source). The job of the librarian is to have these kinds of conversations with students so they can create a collection around their likes, hobbies and future goals.

We get the entire school involved.

All teachers are invited to our library programmes, teachers take part in reading challenges over the half-term breaks, I put books into the hands of teachers over the summer, we run reading based competitions, the list goes on. This is how we create a culture of reading - through enthusiastically promoting amazing books every single day but again, no one in the school has time to do this other than the librarian in my opinion.
We try new things constantly
We run a lot of clubs, and even better, the older students run a lot of clubs on their own. We also do a fair number of events and activities on Saturdays through Mock Trial, Debate, Model UN, Dungeons and Dragons, ComiCons and more. This means we area bringing in new faces all the time, students who wouldn't traditionally use the library but might come in if they find out one of their friends is singing in the Open Mic at lunch or if they realise we paint Warhammer figures after school on a Wednesday.

Most of these programmes are suggested by the students, I try to start programmes that are relevant to their interests and quite selfishly, things that 11 year old me would want to do if I'd had a good library in my school growing up.
We have bi-weekly library lessons
This should have been at the top, really. These lessons, aimed at ages 11-13, are absolutely crucial in establishing a culture of reading in the school.

It means that on some days I am running five lessons, reaching 150 students where I can read aloud, promote library events and activities and have the students spend time browsing and borrowing. This translates to a huge increase in engagement in all areas of the library. In these lessons we read our own book together silently for 15-20 minutes while students in small groups browse for new books one table at a time. After that, I run an activities, a whole range of these activities can be found here.

Reading aloud has been huge, as has been ensuring boys keep reading. Boys usually drop off the reading for pleasure cliff around year 8 or 9 but I've been able to keep them on board with our Manga Club and Manga collection. You can find a list of Manga Club activities here.

Yes it's a lot of work but I feel that these are the reasons why we have such a positive attitude towards reading. It's an friendly yet persistent approach to getting books into the hands of students and getting them to come back for more with engaging and fun activities with the whole school in mind.

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It's the time of year when I run reports and look at borrowing statistics for the school. I want to stress that the info I provide on this t...

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I made a quick Canva template all staff will receive in Sept to introduce (or re-introduce) them to the library! Click here for an editabl…