SLA Guidelines and Case Studies

A series of publications which give practical help to all those responsible for running a school library and build up into a useful reference resource. Most conclude with a case study, a further reading list, and other useful sources of information.

Paperwork Made Easy: Policy Making and Development Planning for the Secondary School Library

by Lynn Winkworth and Geoff Dubber

ISBN 9781903446478 · July 2008

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Putting together and then regularly updating a policy and a development plan is part of the essential work of everyone who runs an effective secondary school library. This updated and revised Guideline Plus gives you all the basics you need to do both jobs. It takes you carefully through the steps needed to produce a realistic and comprehensive policy and again gives you the route to produce a credible and meaningful development plan. The core text of the previous edition has been updated and the authors have included a range of new policies, new opening statements to policies and new development plans.

Further examples of policies and development plans are available exclusively to SLA members on the related page of the SLA's website: http://www.sla.org.uk/paperwork/
Secondary Bundle 1 for National Year of Reading

by Eileen Armstrong, Elspeth Scott and Geoff Dubber

ISBN VARIOUS · May 2008

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A bundle of three publications (two Guidelines Plus and one Riveting Reads), suitable for secondary schools, at a specially discounted price to mark the National Year of Reading.

Included in the bundle:
Brilliant Books: Running a Successful School Library Event by Geoff Dubber and Elspeth Scott (ISBN 9781903446287)
Fully Booked!: Reader Development and the Secondary School LRC by Eileen Armstrong (ISBN 9781903446249)
Riveting Reads 12-16 by Eileen Armstrong (ISBN 9781903446324)
Secondary Bundle 2 for National Year of Reading

by Eileen Armstrong, Geoff Dubber and Oxfordshire Branch of the School Library Association (SLA)

ISBN VARIOUS · May 2008

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A bundle of three publications (two Guidelines Plus and one Riveting Reads Plus), suitable for secondary schools, at a specially discounted price to mark the National Year of Reading.

Included in the bundle:
Brilliant Books: Running a Successful School Library Event by Geoff Dubber and Elspeth Scott (ISBN 9781903446287)
Fully Booked!: Reader Development and the Secondary School LRC by Eileen Armstrong (ISBN 9781903446249)
Riveting Reads Plus: A View of the World by Oxfordshire Branch of the School Library Association (ISBN 9781903446348)
Secondary Bundle 3 for National Year of Reading

by Eileen Armstrong, Geoff Dubber and Chris Brown

ISBN VARIOUS · May 2008

£18.00 (SLA Members £15.00) · Add to Trolley

A bundle of three publications (two Guidelines Plus and one Riveting Reads), suitable for secondary schools, at a specially discounted price to mark the National Year of Reading.

Included in the bundle:
Brilliant Books: Running a Successful School Library Event by Geoff Dubber and Elspeth Scott (ISBN 9781903446287)
Fully Booked!: Reader Development and the Secondary School LRC by Eileen Armstrong (ISBN 9781903446249)
Riveting Reads 15-19: Narrative Information by Chris Brown (ISBN 9781903446263)
A Primary School Information Skills Toolkit

by Geoff Dubber

ISBN 9781903446447 · April 2008

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Many primary school teachers and library staff are keen to develop information literacy skills in a real curriculum context. Here is just the toolkit to help, developed as a companion volume to the SLA's Guideline Cultivating Curiosity: Information Literacy Skills and the Primary School Library. Stuffed with lots of wide ranging practical strategies and pupil-based activities and templates, this pack is freely photocopiable by the purchasing school. As well as an easy to use commentary, you will find ideas to develop and practise all the key target information literacy research skills: planning, locating and gathering, selecting and appraising, organising and recording, communicating and evaluating.
Cultivating Curiosity: Information Literacy Skills and the Primary School Library

by Geoff Dubber

ISBN 9781903446423 · January 2008

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Cultivating curiosity in children in primary schools is one of the most important things that we can do for them. Developing an enthusiasm for learning is at the very heart of human development and a central reason for teaching information literacy, and is a crucial focus for school library work. This updated and revised Guideline, taking account of the 2007 Government literacy teaching objectives, explains the importance of embedding information literacy into a whole school, ICT and curriculum context. It outlines and explains the processes of research for young children and shows ways that teachers and librarians can develop and promote information literacy and related ICT skills through the primary school library and link it to classroom practice. It also includes a very useful and practical case study, some templates and a reading list.
Ideas and Designs: Creating the Environment for the Primary School Library

by Michael Dewe

ISBN 9781903446393 · October 2007

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We need flexible and stimulating spaces for exciting learning and never more so than with a new build or refurbished school library. Written by Mike Dewe, an authority on library design, this new Guideline takes us easily through the thinking and design process, offering clear advice at all stages and making reference to primary school libraries that he has recently visited.
With a list of useful publications and websites, it also provides two very useful and relevant case studies of schools planning and building new libraries.
Blogs and Bytes: ICT and the Secondary School Library

by Marianne Bradnock

ISBN 9781903446416 · June 2007

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ICT is assuming an increasingly important role in the work of the school librarian, totally changing our working lives in the last decade. It is essential then that the place of the library in a school's ICT strategy is well defined and that the librarian has the vision and knowledge to maintain a high profile in this rapidly developing area of work. This comprehensive new guideline provides detailed information and inspiration to practitioners new and experienced, covering issues such as supporting professional practice, using ICT to find information, supporting learners, ICT for reader development, Healthy & Safety issues and ICT and the law.
Visionary Spaces: Designing and Planning a Secondary School Library

by Geoff Dubber and Kathy Lemaire

ISBN 9781903446386 · June 2007

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Since the spring of 2003 and for the next dozen or so years, secondary schools will be transformed as our national vision for education for the early 21st century is translated into innovative, exciting and flexible learning spaces and practices. As part of this fundamental rethink about schools, their design and buildings, and the way education, its management and learning may be delivered now and in coming decades, the library needs to take centre stage in the school's thinking. It must be integral to the earliest stage of planning and design.
We hope that this updated Guideline will provide inspiration and information to school librarians, indeed everyone in and beyond school, who is considering or directly involved with a new build or refurbished library development programme.
Practical Paperwork: Policy Making and Development Planning for the Primary School Library

by Kay Harrison and Tricia Adams

ISBN 9781903446379 · February 2007

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The creation, implementation and regular updating of a library policy and development plan allows a school to maximise the impact of its library and learning resource provision, and is an essential task for anyone concerned to develop the library as a whole-school resource and focus for learning.

This revised and updated Guideline considers Accommodation, Learning Resources, Management and Staffing, and Library and Curriculum Support, and sets out "Ten Steps to Success". Three appendices give sample library policies from three primary schools, and there are four sample development plans.

Achieving a successful school library is a bit like gardening: "little and often, with regular input to obtain healthy growth and year-round interest". This Guideline, like the first edition, features "gardening tips", as well as "targets for best practice" and some useful recent OFSTED guidance.
Sixth Sense: The Sixth Form and the LRC

by various authors; ed. Geoff Dubber

ISBN 9781903446331 · April 2006

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The LRC, its services and staff should be an integral part of the life of all 16 to 18-year-old students. This first publication in an exciting new 'case studies' series focuses on exactly this issue. Practising librarians from around the UK and further afield show the very wide range of ways in which the LRC can impact on the lives of our 16+ students. Case studies look at work with information literacy, use of online resources, working with specific departments and establishing a successful reading group. Another librarian writes about her work with the International Baccalaureate Diploma programme, yet another looks at using the LRC for sixth form private study, and two more write about involving sixth formers in working for the LRC as opposed to working in it.
Crossing the Divide: Induction and Transition in the Secondary School LRC

by Geoff Dubber

ISBN 9781903446294 · 2nd Edition · May 2005

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Clear and supportive induction and transition arrangements are crucial to the well-being of all secondary schools and will help to develop self confidence and positive attitudes in newcomers to the school and a focused working environment for everyone else. This updated Guideline Plus looks at induction for the new intake year.
Brilliant Books: Running a Successful School Library Book Event

by Geoff Dubber and Elspeth Scott

ISBN 9781903446287 · 2nd Edition · April 2005

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Book events feature in the annual calendar of many primary and secondary schools and can be important highlights in the year for the children, the school library and the school itself. Organising and managing a successful event is always stimulating, but is also time consuming and often challenging. This valuable publication looks at a range of the key issues involved, including funding, planning and publicity, and finding authors and other guests; and it stresses the importance of feedback and reflection. There are case studies from primary and secondary schools throughout the British Isles, and four appendices including a Book Event Checklist, a Book Event Budget Sheet, and a list of useful addresses with websites.
Information Matters: Developing Information Literacy Skills Through the Secondary School LRC

by Geoff Dubber

ISBN 9781903446270 · 2nd Edition · March 2005

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The information revolution is advancing at an ever-increasing speed. Access to computer information is easier than ever but our information needs have become more sophisticated. The range of resources has widened and students are required to be ever more skilled in handling information and library staff at supporting them. This updated Guideline goes beyond the traditional ‘library lesson’ and puts information literacy skills learning and teaching firmly into its curriculum context. Geoff Dubber examines the library management issues essential for information literacy and provides updated sections on recent curriculum initiatives and models of ways to deliver the skills. Furthermore, he has added a new section on ‘e-learning’. The Guideline also includes an interesting case study of work being done in a Shropshire school that uses the ‘EXIT’ model in an exciting and innovative way.
Shelf Life, Shelf Matters: Managing Resources in the School Library

by Kathy Lemaire

ISBN 9781903446256 · 2nd Edition · October 2004

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A library is only as good as the material it contains and the access it provides for its users, so efficient stock management is essential for effective resource provision. This updated Guideline will assist school library staff with the practical aspects of running a library, including stock editing, book selection, funding and purchase, shelving and security. There are five appendices including a Data Collection Sheet for a Superficial Stock Audit, examples of simplified library catalogue cards, and a list of library and library equipment suppliers.
Fully Booked! Reader Development and the Secondary School LRC

by Eileen Armstrong

ISBN 9781903446249 · May 2004

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‘Reader development is about making connections between readers, opening up new reading horizons, taking reading off the page, out of the library and into the lives of readers. It is a new buzzword for an old idea — enthusing people about reading and opening up opportunities to talk about what they read.’ So writes author Eileen Armstrong. This super-sized Guideline provides a wealth of ideas for school librarians wishing to take books and reading out into the school. Eileen outlines the curriculum context and then cleverly relates the concept of reader development to a ‘reading restaurant’. There are a number of invaluable appendices including Library Make Over Ideas, Raising the Profile of Reading, Reading Group Activities and Trigger Questions for Book Talking, and a Reading Year. As a real bonus it also includes a foreword and a poignant original short story by Michael Morpurgo, Children’s Laureate.
Open All Hours: Out of Hours Learning and the Secondary School LRC

by Fiona Devoy

ISBN 9781903446232 · May 2004

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In recent years the field of out of hours learning activities has expanded rapidly to embrace a wide range of exciting and challenging learning experiences going far beyond traditional homework and study clubs. This Guideline aims to put the range of possibilities into perspective for the school librarian and highlight the potential role of Library Resource Centre staff in this kaleidoscope of activities. Some of the theory behind the out of hours movement is explained and there are practical pointers for school library involvement. Added value, not added burden, is the ideal, and this Guideline highlights ways for the school librarian to have access to new resources, new ways of working and greater professional and personal satisfaction.
Keep it Legal: Copyright Guidance for School Library Staff

by Graham P. Cornish

ISBN 9781903446218 · August 2003

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Copyright is not everyone’s cup of tea but it is something that we meet every day in our ordinary lives. It is the mechanism that has been invented by society to protect what authors create in many different forms. These guidelines are intended to make life easier for anyone working in a school library. Graham Cornish defines copyright, explains authors’ rights and owners’ rights, describes ‘fair dealing’, educational copying, ‘library privilege’, and licences, as well as discussing the pitfalls of Internet use. The Guideline ends with a list of publications and websites to consult.
Going Online: Developing LRC Web Pages

by Richard Murphy

ISBN 9781903446201 · May 2003

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The 21st century LRC needs to be at the forefront of curriculum innovation and ICT development if it is to act as the school’s natural information centre and place of reference. Creating and maintaining a series of interesting, eye-catching and user- friendly web pages to inform users, promote the LRC’s policies and practices, and help to raise attainment is an essential part of this drive. This Guideline does not explain the technicalities of web page design but concentrates on the benefits of creating up-to-date LRC web pages, suggests the information that can usefully be included, and outlines some principles of web page design. It includes examples of interesting and developing school LRC web pages, as well as a case study of a successful and effective LRC website.
Taking Note: Supporting Music through the Secondary School LRC

by Anthony Tilke

ISBN 9781903446188 · February 2003

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The aim of this new Guideline is to identify and develop the role of the secondary school LRC with regard to the music curriculum and the wider school musical experience. It will help library staff to evaluate the services they offer, highlighting successful library services already provided and offering ideas for further development. The Guideline looks at links with the music department and considers how to support and promote music throughout the school. A detailed section on music resources highlights reference works, textbooks, music scores, magazines, videos and websites. Appendices give suggestions for starting or developing a sound recording collection, and list recommended music series.
Balancing the Books: Managing the Secondary School LRC Budget

by Delvene Barnett and Geoff Dubber

ISBN 9781903446171 · 2nd Edition · 2002

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Efficient accounting is essential for all school LRCs. Decisions about what, when and how to spend need to be carefully planned and systematically operated. Knowing and being able to justify your figures, working to a budget cycle, discussing and preparing your bid in plenty of time, and keeping colleagues in touch with your thinking and planning are all vital elements of this work. This expanded and updated Guideline looks at LRC budgets across a broad spectrum of state and independent schools, considers the annual budget plan and gives views on budget presentation. Helpful tables and two contrasting case studies are included, and there is a brief list of further reading.
Supporting Special Educational Needs in the Secondary School LRC

by Frances Ball

ISBN 9781903446126 · 2nd Edition · 2002

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Pupils with special needs are important users of most mainstream secondary school libraries, but it is easy to overlook their requirements in the buzz of daily library activity. In this revised and updated Guideline Frances Ball examines some of the ways in which school library staff can identify and meet the curriculum and leisure needs of pupils with learning difficulties by creating a supportive library setting, giving help with accessing appropriate resources, and working closely with support staff, parents and pupil librarians. A case study describes a three-week Intensive Study project, ‘Dare to Read’, and there is a list of further reading and suggested websites. Essential reading for all who wish to gain a clear understanding of the difficulties of this important user group.
The Internet, The Primary School Library and the Independent Learner

by various authors; ed. Geoff Dubber

ISBN 9781903446133 · 2002

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The introduction of the Internet and its associated information handling/literacy skills, is quickly becoming a key development in the effective use of primary school libraries. Many schools are realising the potential of the Internet as an exciting and dynamic curriculum resource for raising pupil attainment, developing a pupil awareness of ICT for a real purpose, and promoting literacy. This series of introductory case studies, gathered over the past two years, offers an exciting range of work from schools across the British Isles. It shows children, and adults too, with differing amounts of ICT confidence and varied technical equipment, and in a range of curriculum subjects. These case studies are essential reading for anyone who wants to develop the Internet as a key information source in the school library.
Issue Systems for the Primary School Library

by Kathy Lemaire

ISBN 9781903446096 · 2nd Edition · 2001

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Every school library that actively supports the curriculum and the school’s learning policy will have an issue system that is easy to use, provides effective access to the resources, and helps to ensure confident library use among children and staff. This revised Guideline, while retaining information about older ways of recording loans and statistics, provides more information about computerised issue systems. Two case studies of primary schools introducing such systems have been included, and there is a brief list of suppliers of stationery and equipment.
Measuring Success: How Effective is your School Library Resource Centre?

by Elspeth Scott

ISBN 9781903446058 · 2001

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Improving standards and attainment is a current government priority, and schools are constantly being asked to focus on performance measurement as a key objective. Measuring the success of the primary or secondary school library is a real opportunity to judge success and devise practical strategies to bring about further improvements. This Guideline shows ways to gather evidence and to measure quality as well as quantity, and provides a case study of how the author went about measuring the success of her own library resource centre.
Setting the Scene: Local Studies Resources in the School Library

by Dianne Southcombe

ISBN 9780900641923 · 1999

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A well-resourced school library plays a key part in assisting learning across the school and is essential to support the wealth of opportunities for studying the locality. An accessible, attractively presented collection of local materials that includes a range of formats will enhance effective learning and raise the status of the library within the school and beyond. This Guideline suggests what to include in a school collection and how to manage the different resources, as well as indicating sources of support outside the school. Appendices describe copyright made simple and an artefact purchase policy. The Select Reading List is in three sections: primary, secondary and teacher resources; and there is a lengthy list of Useful Contacts.
Organising Voluntary Help in the School Library

by Geoff Dubber

ISBN 9780900641763 · 1996

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Running an effective school library is a time-consuming and often exhausting task. Few schools can pay more than one person to work in the library on a full-time or part- time basis, so in order to provide sufficient time and staffing it is often educationally and professionally beneficial to make use of adult and pupil helpers. This Guideline provides ideas on selecting and training pupil librarians, organising induction, and working with adult helpers — essential reading for all who wish to get the best from willing volunteers and create an effective library team.