‘‘ O
N 2 October, the School Libraries Group had the honour of being one of the 10 hosts of the Libraries Change
Lives by Creating Opportunities event at the Houses of Parliament, hosted by Laurence Turner, MP for Birmingham Northfield. We were thrilled to attend, as we know that school libraries are vitally important in creating opportunities for young people.
That is why we have campaigned through Great School Libraries to raise awareness of the value and benefits of school libraries, with the aim of every student having access to a school library with an experienced librarian in post. There can be no better way of ensuring that every child has the opportunity to learn and thrive than by allowing them a place to be, to read and to relax. A place that doesn’t mark their work, teach them to the test or force them to answer questions they don’t know. A place that doesn’t grade them or report back to their parents.
Sanctuary
A school library provides a safe sanctuary where they can escape, sit quietly and recharge – either from the noisy, often overwhelming, world of school or from troubles and worries at home. It also provides a safe place to do their homework in peace, using a range of current and relevant resources and utilising technology to assist their learning, resources and equipment that many do not have at home. One of this government’s five core missions is to break down barriers to opportunity, ensuring that every child, at every stage, can thrive and reach their full potential. School libraries are perfect for this, and the Great School Libraries Equal Futures report finds school libraries are proven to lead to better academic
December 2024
Surely, ensuring that every child has access to a library with a qualified librarian in place, should be a goal of this Government...
attainment and attitudes towards learning.
However, the report also highlighted that children eligible for free school meals are the least likely to have access to a library space, so the poorest children, those most in need of literacy help and support, the ones most likely not to have books at home, are the ones being denied that right in their schools and, often, in a local public library as well. Surely, ensuring that every child has access to a library with a qualified librarian in place, should be a goal of this Government, given their stated core mission. Some things should not be monetised – they are part of our cultural capital, and by getting rid of libraries or not investing in them, we are throwing away years of work in this area.
Knowledge
Libraries have been around for hundreds of years – since Classical times. Even the earliest schools, set up by the Church or grammar schools endowed by wealthy individuals would have had a library of religious or classical texts. Often in the hands of the few, with limited access, these libraries preserved knowledge through the ages until public libraries – in this country anyway – became free institutions in the Victorian era. Since then, access to all this knowledge has been free for anyone in this country – but by closing libraries we are monetising knowledge again and shutting out people – including our poorest children – from this rich cultural capital. We are also putting barriers to literacy, to knowledge and to self-development in place. This is the reason why we took this opportunity to go to Parliament, where we were able to speak to MPs who took time out of their busy schedules to make time for us. Parliamentary host, Laurence Turner MP said that “libraries are truly engines
Caroline Roche (
chair.slg@
cilip.org.uk) Chair, MA, MCLIP Chair CILIP School Libraries Group
www.cilip.org.uk/SLG. Caroline was made an Honorary Fellow of CILIP in October 2022 for her services to school libraries.
of social mobility”. His talk, and love for libraries, was truly inspiring, and his willingness to host the event was a testament to this. He spoke of being a “state school SEND kid” who, with the right support behind him, got to Oxford. This is the difference we can make, and why we continue to fight for this mission. I think that everyone who went to the event found it inspiring, and we want to thank Louis Coiffait-Gunn for setting up this opportunity for all of us to campaign on behalf of the groups we represent, and for libraries in general. IP
INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL DIGITAL 21
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