Campbell College Librarian

And that’s a wrap on the 2024-25 school year!

Hope that you all have a lovely summer break: have fun, stay safe, be good!

#SchoolLibrary #LibraryStats

Thanks - we break up for summer next week and I needed something quick and easy to put together! Feel free to use - I can send you a pdf if it’s useful.

The image of a reading- based scavenger hunt is displayed on a background that depicts a tropical beach, complete with golden sands and palm trees.

The library’s summer reading challenge is here!

Keep reading over the holidays by taking part in a reading scavenger hunt - how many items from the list can you find and read?

Small prizes, house points and certificates for all who enter; those who read all items will enter a prize draw.

Three photographs on a bright yellow background. The montage is titles, ‘Battle of the books: Class winners!’ The photographs show three groups of pupils standing on a staircase, holding muffins and books.

Congratulations to 8B1, 9W1 and 10B2, who are our Battle of the Books class winners!

Between them, they read and reviewed 106 books over the last three months, and received muffins at break-time today as a reward.

Well done - and keep reading! 📖

#SchoolLibrary #SchoolLibraryLife #HappyReaders

A brown Bengal cat is curled up on a person covered in a brown blanket. A hand holds a copy of ‘Wild’ by Cheryl Strayed.

Saturday: book, blanket, cat. ❤️

Five book covers displayed on a dark blue background, which are being, or have been recently, read: An absolutely remarkable thing by Hank Green Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell Cold Storage by David Koepp Did Not Happen: Misadventures During a Global Pandemic by George Mahood Little Bang by Kelly McCaughrain There is also text on the image, which reads, ‘we also had an eclectic discussion, covering: quantum physics, philosophy, Invincible (Prime series), Stranger Things.’

Lovely senior book group meeting after school this afternoon. We’re an eclectic little bunch, and discussed everything from books we’ve recently read or are reading to quantum physics!

Next meeting: in the new school year, and we’ll discuss what we’ve read over summer.

A photograph of a book, ‘Ocean’ by David Attenborough and Colin Butfield propped up against a ceramic vase, on a wooden windowsill.

Thanks so much to @readingagency.bsky.social and @johnmurrays.bsky.social for generously gifting us a copy of David Attenborough and Colin Butfield’s #Ocean. It’s stunning, and a valuable addition to our collection.

Amazingly Simple Graphic Design Software – Canva Amazingly Simple Graphic Design Software – Canva

Sure, hopefully this’ll work: bit.ly/4kq035b

It’s the basic slide - I just copy it and edit each one with the info as needed, and then play around with colours/fonts/animations.

Look forward to seeing your version!

A little round of up library statistics from the month of May.

#SchoolLibrary #SchoolLibraryLife #LibraryStatistics #TLSky

I will never, ever get tired of seeing a pupil’s delight when they get their hands on the book they’ve been desperate to read.

Best feeling, best job.

#SchoolLibrarian

A montage of three photographs. The image is captioned Library & Digital Tech Collaboration. Top right: a woman wearing a face mask smiles at a pupil who is reading from a sheet of paper. The photo is captioned, ‘a practical exercise in plagiarism.’ Centre left: two photographs side by side showing pupils looking at a presentation displayed on a tv screen. The photo is captioned, ‘learning how to research and reference.’ Bottom right: a pupil talks through a presentation to peers. The photo is captioned, ‘putting new research and referencing skills to use in a presentation and report into ethics in digital technology.’ There is also a quote from feedback received from Year 14 pupils, which reads: “the online research skills I gained were definitely valuable in my view.”

Great to collaborate earlier in the year with Digital Technology to teach research & referencing skills to some of our Year 14.

Their feedback indicates they found it a useful project - hopefully it’ll make the transition to university study a bit easier too!

#SchoolLibrary

A photograph of a section of a run of bookshelves. The shelves are full, and quite untidy.

The same section of bookshelves, having had old, dated, or unborrowed stock removed. They have been tidied, and there is now space to face some books out on the shelves, which looks much more inviting.

What a difference a good weed makes.

Junior fiction looking much fresher and more inviting to use, after a day spent pulling outdated/unborrowed books from the shelves.

With 9 boxes of books removed from this section today, I’m now off home for a lie down!

#SchoolLibrary #TLSky #LibrarySky

A montage of photographs showing an axis cube being repaired on a yellow background. The top left photograph shows the cube with one piece dislodged. The top right photograph shows the cube disassembled. The bottom left photograph shows a woman wearing a green jumper and a facemask reassembling the cube. The bottom right photograph shows a successfully reassembled cube. Not shown, the number of times the pieces skidded out all over the desk as another was being put in…

In another episode of “things they don’t prepare you for as a school librarian…”

Thank you YouTube…

#JackOfAllTrades #SchoolLibrarian #SchoolLibrarianLife #TLSky #LibrarySky

Set in 2018, when abortion here was still illegal, this novel explores viewpoints around this topic with nuance & care. Kelly’s writing is warm, realistic, and incredibly moving. A must-read, thought-provoking book for older readers - find it in the senior fiction section.
5/5

‘Little Bang’ by Kelly McCaughrain is a sensitively told story of a teenage couple in Northern Ireland whose lives are turned upside down by an unexpected pregnancy and the thorny decision of what to do next.
4/5

Highly recommended for older readers, you can find it in our senior fiction section. (It’s also one of our next parents’ book group titles, and I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it!)
3/5

‘James’ by Percival Everett: brilliant, at times harrowing, retelling of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim. Compellingly told with wit & intelligence, the novel tackles racism, injustice, freedom and respect, & has deservedly won 2025’s Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
2/5

A photograph taken outside on a sunny day. Two books are on a picnic bench next to a muffin, a travel cup of coffee, and a bottle of water. The books are ‘James’ by Percival Everett and ‘Little Bang’ by Kelly McCaughrain.

It’s been a two five-star book weekend, thanks to beautiful weather and a boarding shift!

Reviews below.

#SchoolLibrarian #AmReading #MiniBookReview #RecommendedReading #TLSky #LibrarySky #BookSky

1/5

A timely quote from Dr. Carla Hayden: “Libraries are a cornerstone of democracy—where information is free and equally available to everyone. People tend to take that for granted, and they don’t realize what is at stake when that is put at risk.”

Thank you!

A photograph of a stack of notices for pupils alerting them to overdue books on their accounts. Some have already been folded ready for distribution.

The life of a school librarian… half our time spent convincing you to borrow our books, and the other half desperately pleading with you to bring them back!

#SchoolLibrary #SchoolLibraryLife #SchoolLibrarian #Overdues #TLSky

An assortment of brand new non-fiction heading out onto the shelves this week!

#SchoolLibrary #SchoolLibraryBooks #NonFictionBooks #NonFiction #ReadForInformation #ReadForKnowledge #ReadForPleasure #TLSky

April’s #LibraryStats are here! (Only 12 days counted this month due to Easter.)

We’ve received 115 ‘Battle of the Books’ competition reviews, Year 8 & Dobbin’s top their respective leaderboards, & borrowing from the library has saved you £2932.63 between January-April.

#SchoolLibrary #TLSky

We can't control what happens, but we can choose our response. Join us for Meaningful May and focus on the things that matter
actionforhappiness.org/meaningful-may #MeaningfulMay

A landscape photograph. The image is taken from the top of a hill, looking over the surrounding countryside. The foreground is dotted with large rocks, grass, gorse in flower, and small shrubs. The eye is led to a tower in the distance, which is situated on a rocky outcrop above a town which is situated at the edge of a lough shore. In the far distance, the outlines of the Mourne Mountains are silhouetted against the horizon. The sky is blue, and the white clouds shine in the sunlight.

A landscape photograph. An uneven stony path bordered by flowering gorse and small trees leads towards an old stone windmill stack. Beyond this is a modern wind turbine.

Two photos taken on a beautiful walk from Whitespots Country Park to Bangor (and back again!).

#Hiking #NorthernIreland #LandscapePhotography #Outdoors #OffDutyLibrarian

Librarians are dangerous. A public service announcement

Every librarian should read this incredible post called "Librarians Are Dangerous" by @bradmontague.bsky.social today. It truly made my heart sing today. Thank you, Brad! ❤️ (And thank you to Julie W. for sharing it with me this morning.) bradmontague.substack.com/p/librarians... #TLSky #Skybrarian

“It’s vital that libraries feel able to provide access to a wide range of perspectives if they are to facilitate the free exchange of ideas.”

Reading widely develops empathy and broadens worldviews. So, no surprise that some would prefer you didn’t…

A landscape photograph. The foreground is made up of undulating farmland covered in long grass and gorse, broken up in places by small copses of conifers. A lone windmill is just visible in the far distance before the hills in the background rise to gently roll along the horizon, illuminated in part by sunshine breaking through the large fluffy while clouds in the blue sky overhead.

A scene from a lovely hike along the Dungonnell Way with a brilliant group of friends - the perfect way to start the holidays. 🥾💚

#Hiking #NorthernIreland #LandscapePhotography #OffDutyLibrarian

A brown Bengal cat is curled up on a blue blanket next to a copy of ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ by Bonnie Garmus.

Well, if the cat suggests I should start the holidays by curling up and reading, who am I to argue?!

#NationalPetDay #BooksAndCats #SchoolLibrarian