Library
Isabella Scollard
86
By Catherine Sherwood (Academic Librarian) and Isabella Scollard (Library Adviser)
In the summer, we were delighted to welcome a group of visiting librarians to Augustine House Library – or potential librarians, as these visitors were all pupils from nearby Canterbury Academy who enjoy helping in their school library. Aged from 11 to 13, they were very enthusiastic to explore a university library and find out exactly what university librarians get up to all day.
On arrival…
We welcomed the group to the library and outlined the plan for the day, which started with an activity to get them thinking about what they would expect to find in a university library. The pupils worked in pairs in the ground-floor creative area, using text and artwork to express their ideas, which fed into an animated discussion about different spaces students like to work in and the types of resources that they might need for their studies.
They were impressed with the small study booths next to us, and we spent some time testing out if they were soundproof or not…
Picture of student doodling and ideas for “what is in a university library?”
The pupils then experienced “A day in the life of an academic librarian” to consider the variety of work that a librarian might do. The tasks included answering enquiries from academic staff, teaching groups of students, helping individual students, reviewing resources and attending meetings. Using fictitious emails as prompts, we discussed several issues including how books are organised on the shelves (was this the same as their school library?); a policy for accepting library donations (we don’t say yes to everything); ways to promote the library; and why we have reading lists for our students.
They came up with lots of excellent suggestions of resources to recommend to a lecturer starting a new course on climate change, and ways that we could help a student keep track of the books that they have read.
Using the library catalogue to find books
We then looked at some library resources and considered if they would help university students in their studies or not. For example, a book about nursing could potentially be useful for a student studying the subject, but if published in 1980 (and in America) then it would not reflect UK current practice.
We also applied some evaluation criteria to webpages, comparing research from an official organisation with a blog post – the sort of information literacy activity that we also do with our students to encourage them to use academic sources in assignments.
A Library Tour
Following this, we gave the pupils a tour of the library. The tours are always a good opportunity to show all the different facilities that you may not associate straight away with a library space, like the sensory room and Stressless area. Sometimes the idea of a university library can conjure images of a very serious and dark study space, so it’s nice to show how open and inviting the facilities really are here.
Photo of the sensory room.
The pupils were very intrigued by the behind-the-scenes of the returns room and where the books disappear to after travelling through the chute. Then explored amongst the bookshelves, where they were particularly excited by the moving shelves and beeping buttons; apparently it felt like Harry Potter!
We also had a look at LibrarySearch, our CCCU catalogue, to search for book titles. A favourite was Skandar and the Unicorn Thief, which is a book in our new ‘Read and Relax Collection on the ground floor. This is full of award-winning, popular, and requested book titles, ranging across fiction and non-fiction, that students can enjoy reading beyond the course reading lists!
The LibrarySearch Catalogue
Exploring our teaching resources
After the tour and lunch, we did an activity based in the Curriculum Resources area of the library. This is a special collection of teaching resources on Floor 2 for trainee teachers to browse and borrow from. The pupils searched for children’s fiction and non-fiction books and compared these with resources in the main collection (academic books), looking at differences in content, format, language, etc. They discovered interesting equipment and artefacts in the collection, including an archaeological kit and a WW2 gas mask, and thought about how CCCU students might use these in their teacher training, and what resources were in their own school library.
Stressless Activity
Here at Augustine House Library, we hold monthly sessions called ‘Stressless’ with the aim to support student’s mental health by offering a break from their studies to socialise and recharge the mind with arts and crafts. For this school visit, we decided to run a Stressless inspired journalling session to give some insight into the type of creative sessions we run here. In the spirit of mindfulness, students scrapbooked and designed their own personal journals to use for daily writing, gratitude, tracking reads, or whatever desire they see fit!
Photo of students starting the creative journalling activity
To match the theme of student librarians, we printed out some reading logs, reading shelves, and mindfulness worksheets. With lots of resources like coloured card, stickers, magazines and graphic novels to collage, the students were encouraged to run rampant with their ideas and create freely.
The students really enjoyed the session, saying it reminded them of primary school with how they felt less restrictions on what they could produce and have fun creatively. This was lovely to hear as it epitomises what Stressless wants to achieve – to give students a chance to alleviate the pressures of study and invoke that childhood imagination and flair for original thinking through art.
Activity resources
Stressless is all about community and building connection, and there was definitely a high level of chatter and engagement. We were also lucky enough to have the help of three Year 10 and 12 pupils who were participating in a Work Experience week at the library, plus a CCCU Student Ambassador, and it was great seeing the different ages interact and collaborate on their journal projects.
Photo of some handmade journals
We aimed to make the pupils’ visit fun and informative and to give them an insight into the many elements that make up a modern university library and the experiences of those who work here. We have run a few similar sessions before and try to include different activities, such as investigating some of our library archive materials and thinking about how we organise information by assigning keywords to images. Welcoming visitors from outside CCCU is always a great opportunity for us to reflect on what we do in the library and to acknowledge the breadth of our roles in supporting all learners to discover information.
The pupils seemed very happy when they left (hopefully not just because they got free pens and post-its to take away!) Chloe Kingsland, Canterbury Academy’s Librarian, reported that…
“our students really enjoyed it, and it made many of them think about being a librarian as a real career…They found it engaging and loved being involved in the University”.
Photo of some handmade journals
In closing
It was enjoyable working with the students on this school visit as the constant enthusiasm and interest reinforces why we love working in this field. Supporting students and encouraging curious minds are at the heart of the library, and it’s exciting to see a new generation following behind. It felt like they left the day with a real buzz, and hopefully it heightened their excitement for their own school library and the important impact it has.
Featured image: Photo of ‘A Day in the Life of a Librarian’ PowerPoint slide.
