Karen Bhatti was Very Highly Commended in the School Librarian of the Year Awards 2008.

Presumably the school library can’t house enough books to cover four classes per year group? How do you cope with the demands of time and space?

Our school library is not huge but it is well-equipped. It houses over 8,000 books. Tall books are kept in the classrooms. There are tables and chairs to comfortably seat 12-15 children, along with a carpet area that can seat a small group of children.

In our full library stock, we currently we have about 10,000 books. All 16 classes have class book corners that have recently been revamped with up to 100 new books per class. We have 480 children attending Yeading Junior School.

I produced a school library timetable which allocates time for every class to spend at least one hour a week to change library books or research information. There is a Teaching Assistant in each class, who comes with the children during their library visit. She helps me with changing the children’s library books and with their reading scheme.

When you started, the library was outdated and not well used. What did you do to transform the library into a more central part of the school?

Our school library is the central hub for researching information from books and 12 laptops and it is the first protocol for information by children and adults. I always try to keep the school library interesting and up to date through choosing most recently published books that will stimulate our children and motivate them to enjoy reading. I try to create a calm, pleasant atmosphere but most importantly a safe, friendly environment where the children feel welcome.

How has the library evolved since you’ve been there? Have any innovations been particularly successful?

Since I have been running the library, I have observed a gradually growing interest in reading amongst boys and girls. I have found the following innovations to be most effective:

  • Allowing children to take some responsibility for their learning through providing opportunities for them to research independently.
  • Children and adults helping to choose books and resources bought for the school library by adding their preferences to a wish list.
  • Buying newly published books by established children’s authors; new authors’ books are also bought into the library.

What have been your greatest challenges?

  • To reorganise the classification of the library books in aid to make it easier for the children to find the books they need.
  • Setting up the new reading scheme.
  • Responsibility of buying new books for book corners in all 16 classes.
  • To stay ahead of the latest developments in ICT and keep the library facilities up-to-date.
  • Setting up the library section of the school website.

As a librarian, I will always be challenged in trying to keep children interested in reading. As a parent of two children, I find children’s present lifestyle to be full of distraction; a choice of hundreds of satellite programmes, console games and internet surfing. I don’t totally discard these forms of leisure because we can gain lots of general knowledge through watching the right TV programmes and the reading and strategic thinking involved in console games is good for enhancing our children’s cognitive skills. Being computer literate and the requirement to use computer programs competently is a life- long skill needed in almost every employment sector. Therefore, I encourage the children to keep a balance and make time for everything. This requires good organisational skills, and if children can adapt to these at an early age they should benefit greatly at a later stage when their school, college or university workload is much greater.

I will continue to promote reading for pleasure across the whole school and keep trying to hook every child into reading. Early intervention in a child’s reading means that we can lay the foundation of key skills that the children will need as they continue their education.

What hours is the library open? Do you try to encourage the students and community to feel ownership of the library?

The school library is open from 8:30am to 4:00pm. Reading groups use the library before school starts in the morning and again after school in the afternoon.

During the school day the library is in continuous use; it is also open during break time and lunchtimes. During lunchtimes, there are various clubs that are managed and run by the children themselves. I provide adult supervision or any other help the children might need at the time.

During their class library visit, children enjoy returning and issuing their own library books using the computerised library system (with adult supervision). I have library monitors who help during lunchtimes with tidying the library, issuing books and returning books and helping other children with reading or research. Children also come to the library when they want to be quiet or to have someone to talk to. They may sit and read or we read together, or sometimes simply talk. I think these are the key features that make our school library so popular with the children. They know it as a safe secure environment where they can develop confidence, self-reliance and self-esteem.

Do you have any evidence that children are enjoying reading for pleasure? Do you think this has increased as a result of the way the library is run?

Recently we were very fortunate to be visited by the Minister of State for Schools and Learners. He was launching the Boys into Books Project and chose to visit our school and talk to 13 boys who had been reading books from his recommended list of books for boys. All of the boys were able to discuss and give their own opinion about the books that they had been reading. I will continue with my Boys into Books Reading Club to encourage more boys to be ‘into books’.

Have you done anything to try to encourage reading and library use in the home?

I believe that every parent wants their child to receive a good education so that they have a secure and stable future. Some parents are unable to support their children at home, perhaps due to a language barrier, or they don’t have the time because they are busy working parents or they might not have access to relevant resources. To overcome these barriers we, as a school, arrange visits to our local community library for children and parents. We invite community librarians to talk about activities taking place in their libraries. During the Summer Fair and Parents Evenings, we set up stalls to encourage parents to join local libraries. The school has subscribed to Heinemann World Book Online and Heinemann Explore Online which can be accessed at home.

This resource has been proved to be very valuable in helping children to complete their homework, do revision and any other research that the children might be interested in. Most importantly, it is a resource that is funded by the school, it is safe for the children to explore and it is regularly updated and is in line with the National Curriculum. For the children that don’t have a computer at home, provision is made for them to use a computer at school.

How would you encourage school librarians who perhaps don’t have as much support from their headteacher as you have from yours?

My message to school librarians is to continue to raise the profile of the library through keeping the children interested in reading and work closely with your Headteacher to discuss new innovations, the impacts and the possible outcomes. Put your ideas into practise through providing opportunities and let the children make a difference through progression in learning.

Can you give some tips to schools on how to make the most of their library?

Running a school library does not necessarily have to be expensive. Books may be borrowed from the School Library Service. The School Library Association (look online) publishes lists of recommended books. Publishing companies are always keen to give you discounts and you can have Book Fairs from which a substantial percentage of the profits are returned to the school.

Money can be raised in different ways from parents’ contributions eg sponsored reads, Summer Fair etc. Look out for brochures from book companies selling books at a discount.

Could you talk about the CILIP qualification you are working towards? What is it and why are you doing it?

The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals provides schemes with guidelines and provides mentors for those wishing to gain a recognised qualification in library work. Currently, I am working through the CILIP Certification Scheme, eventually; I shall be able to study to achieve my dream of becoming a chartered librarian.