INSIGHT ‘‘ F
This is why school libraries are essential. They plug the ever-widening gap between home and the public library by providing a collection aimed at the reading, intellectual and interest needs of the student body. – Barbara Band
Ian Orton Senior Library Professional and Chair of CILIP RPG (for those outside full time work) –
chair.rpg@cilip.org.uk
OLLOWING on from our previous column on school libraries, Barbara Band, School Library Consultant, and co-author of Creating
a School Library with Impact commented on the importance of libraries in schools.
Barbara writes: “Reading is a life skill; necessary for study, employment and participating as a member of society and reading for pleasure, whether you escape into a story about far flung planets populated by aliens or delve into the history of distant lands, brings many benefits including improved mental health and wellbeing, increased self-esteem and empathy, and better sleep patterns. “Like any skill, it needs to be practiced regularly. However, in order to learn to read and to continue doing so, there must be books available. Many children and young people have few books at home and, if they do not have a local public library available where they can borrow books, their only source of reading material – for whatever purpose – is via their school library. This is why school libraries are essential. They plug the ever-widening gap between home and the public library by providing a collection aimed at the reading, intellectual and interest needs of the student body.”
Great School Libraries Campaign The Great School Libraries (GSL) Campaign launched to gather evidence
about the provision of school libraries. The latest phase of the campaign is engaging policy and decision-makers, both in government and in schools. You can find out more on the website at www.
greatschoollibraries.org.uk.
Barbara organised a Mass Lobby in support of School Libraries that led to the commissioning of an APPG Libraries report, The Beating Heart of the School (
https://tinyurl.com/BeatingHeart2025). The report recommended including school libraries as part of the annual data submission from schools and Ofsted to embed the school library into their inspection framework. The recommendations have not been taken up. Barbara notes that if Ofsted included school libraries in their framework, this would ensure that Heads, Governors, School Trusts, etc. invested in their libraries as they would form part of an Ofsted inspection. However, in order to do this, there would have to be some sort of agreement regarding what constituted an outstanding, good or poor school library – in terms of space, resources and staffing and many schools, particularly smaller ones, would not have the funding or space to put a library in place. Thus, this edict would need to be accompanied by funding – something that is in short supply in education.
CILIP RPG Member Profile Our latest profile has been provided by Binni Brynolf who last year became self-employed as a “digital library consultant”, taking on projects such as data migration, data clean-up, and digital asset management.
Binni writes: “At the start of my career I worked short term and part time contracts but for the most part since then, I’ve been employed on permanent contracts as a systems librarian in academic and special libraries. “Self-employment is both a challenge
Spring 2025 Binni Brynolf.
CILIP RPG (for those outside full time work) welcomes feedback and questions from across CILIP and beyond. You can find us at:
https://tinyurl.com/CILIPRPG – or email us at:
chair.rpg@cilip.org.uk. IP
INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 49
and a learning opportunity. I enjoy the flexibility and autonomy, but it can be somewhat isolating and potentially precarious. This is when networks became especially important. I was able to find work before leaving my last workplace through a network contact, and interactions I might previously have had with workplace colleagues are now found through other groups.” We asked Binni why she joined CILIP RPG: “I appreciate the value of networking with people in similar situations and I am looking forward to taking part in discussions and events. I’m keen to hear more about all possible varieties of work and activities outside of full-time employment, and also to share knowledge and advice.”
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