Library Newsletter 8: Winter 2018
New Titles As always, it’s been a busy first term in the library, and this newsletter gives an overview of what we’ve been up to. We’ve celebrated Roald Dahl day, Libraries Week and National Poetry Day, held a successful book fair, and set up a staff book group. There’s plenty to look forward to in the new year too, with the return of pupil book groups, an exciting author visit planned for Year 8 and World Book Day in March. I hope you have a lovely break, and look forward to seeing you again in the new year. Miss Skipper.
Excelsior Award! The library has registered to take part in the Excelsior Award, the only nationwide book award for graphic novels and manga where YOU decide the winner by rating each book as you read it! The shortlists for the award will be available in the library after Christmas, and anyone is welcome to read the books and review them. You can find more information on the award, and the shortlists at the following site: http://www.excelsioraward.co.uk/
Staff Book v Group
Christmasv TV Guide
Staff book is open to all members of staff at the college, meeting after school in the library on the first Wednesday of every month.
The annual Christmas TV guide has been produced by Helen Smith, the Librarian at Eckington School in England.
We’ve read and discussed two books so far – Conclave by Robert Harris, and Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks – both of which generated strong views!
This handy guide is packed full of great films that all have a book as their inspiration, so you can watch them knowing that they’re all librarian approved!
The next book to be discussed is Our House by Louise Candlish, which promises to be an exciting thriller:
Pick up your guide from the library, or alternatively, find it on Firefly under the library pages.
On a bright morning in the London suburbs, a family moves into the house they’ve just bought on Trinity Avenue. Nothing strange about that. Except it's your house. And you didn’t sell it.
We Recommend… You Are Awesome, by Matthew Syed. This book aims to show that anyone can be successful with hard work, determination and self-belief. Using examples of successful people, humour and practical tips and advice to encourage a growth mindset, this book is essential reading!
National Poetry Day National Poetry Day took place on the 4th October, and to celebrate, the library held an impromptu lunchtime poetry reading featuring our very own English teachers, Ms McCaul and Mr McKee. Ms McCaul read Yeats’ ‘The Lake Isle of Innisfree’, while Mr McKee treated us to a reading of ‘Fosterage’, by Seamus Heaney.
The theme of this year’s poetry day was change, and staff across the school were challenged to write their own poem using 30 words taken at random from Danny Abse’s poem ‘Mysteries’ as their inspiration. We had some fantastic and creative entries, as you can see below! Pupils were also challenged to create their own versions, based on words from rhymes that might be a little more familiar!
Roald Dahl Day
Libraries Week
To celebrate Roald Dahl day on the 13th September at the college, the library organised a themed lunch in the dining room, featuring such delicacies as Mrs Twit’s Bird Pie and Fresh Mudburgers.
The second national Libraries Week, organised by the professional body for librarians, CILIP, took place from the 8-13th October.
The library also created a display of the Roald Dahl books that staff chose as their favourites, which generated plenty of interest among staff and pupils alike!
The theme for this year’s celebration of libraries and the services they offer was wellbeing, and the library organised a range of activities throughout the week to support this. Most popular were a session on stress-busting with Ron, our Strength and Conditioning coach, and ‘board game break time’ – which has continued to run every Friday.
Online Resources The library provides access to some online resources that you might not have discovered yet. Details of how to access these resources can be found on the Online Resources section of the library’s Firefly pages. Churchill Archive We have access to the Churchill Archive, a digital library containing more than 800,000 pages of original documents from 1874-1965, until 31 December 2020. Financial Times Staff and students over 16 have free access to www.ft.com. Exact Editions Le Monde Diplomatique (English edition), Prospect, The Spectator and The World Today can all be accessed through Exact Editions for free until the 3rd June 2019.
Book Fair Thank you to everyone who supported the book fair this year both in school and at the Christmas Fair. We raised almost £300 in commission, which will help us buy new copies of popular titles for the library here. We have also used some of the commission to make a donation of books to the Clark Clinic at the Royal Hospital, via the Children’s Heartbeat Trust.
Librarian: Cath Skipper Campbell College Library Belmont Road Belfast BT4 2ND Tweet: @ccb_library