Friday 24 November 2017

Save our School Libraries

A campaign to halt the continuing decline in school library provision and the number of professionally qualified librarians in state-funded schools and colleges in England has been launched by CILIP, the professional body for Library and Information Professionals. 

150 authors, including Neil Gaiman, Philip Pulman, Malorie Blackman and Chris Riddell have co-signed an open letter to Justin Greening, the Secretary of State for Education, written by Dawn Finch, past President of CILIP, urging the Government to take urgent action to “counter the loss of school and college libraries before we consign a generation to a lifetime of low attainment and mobility”.  Caroline Roche, Chair of the School Libraries Group, has written an excellent piece on her blog, The Heart of the School, about the campaign, which has also been covered by the Guardian newspaper.


In an article in The Bookseller, Jo McCrum from the Society of Authors highlights the effects that cuts to libraries have on children 'who have limited or no access to books at home or through public libraries' and the importance, in an age of 'fake news', of teaching them how to 'question, to research and seek out well-documented evidence to support assertions'.  As she puts it, "guidance from a trained librarian and access to books is vital to their learning of these skills as well as general wellbeing, mental health and, ultimately, economic success".

We are fortunate at TRS that we currently have two excellent Libraries, which are well resourced and staffed by three professionally qualified librarians who are passionate about encouraging reading for pleasure and equipping students with information literacy skills.

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