Anne Johnston’s Library Blog

The scene: a busy issue desk this lunchtime. Enter student with question : “Miss were you in Orkney this summer?”  Turns out I was spotted on Stromness main street in July. The student didn’t come and say hello at the time because she wasn’t sure if it was me. Fooled by my waterproof ensemble no doubt. And I thought I had got away from it all! Still an opportunity to show some holiday snaps.

This was taken by Anne  Zarinnia at a lunch in Gracemount High School for the student librarians from Wisconsin who visited the Lothians in June this year. They were placed in various schools in the area, including Dunbar Grammar, to gain experience of school libraries in Scotland. I am with Chris Morrison, Librarian at Linlithgow Academy, a friend and former fellow Field Officer with Lothian Region. I thought it was time to show the face behind the name

I mentioned in my previous post that there was a School of Ambition event at the end of term. It was called “Around the World in 80 minutes”. The audience journeyed round the school to various performance areas which represented each of the continents, culminating in the Polar Lands. For the Library I wanted to have something to represent the whole world,not just one area, and had an idea about a big floor jigsaw of the world. I talked to Phil Robertson and Danny Gillan - our PTs of CDT and Art - and the result was a GIGANTIC jigsaw. During our Activities week this year, Phil and Callum, the CDT Technician, cut out the countries and students and staff (me included) painted them up. The end result is very impressive.

At this time of year I am getting the Library organised and ready for the coming school year. Part of this process involves me reviewing what has taken place in the previous year. Last session seemed very hectic towards the end of the year with the School of Ambition event and a visiting student from the United States as well as the usual rush to issue textbooks and start courses when the timetable changed. So it is good to be able to reflect later on the successes and areas for improvement after a gap of a few weeks (and a very enjoyable if damp holiday in the Northern Isles).

Loved Doctor Who on Saturday - a whole new level to the power of storytelling.

 The high spot for me yesterday - definitely the short time I spent after work practising part of a tai chi form. The small gym hall in school is a great place to practice. My house just isn’t big enough for some of the forms.

Learning tai chi chuan has given me all the health benefits I had hoped for but a lot more besides. In school we tell students to keep trying even though they are finding something difficult. As adults though we are prone to forget how you feel in that situation. I often find myself having to keep working at something in a tai chi class when other people are clearly finding it easier to turn or keep balanced and am still surprised when suddenly one day something changes and a movement feels right instead of awkward. To be regularly in a learning situation where I am unsure of what I am doing helps me to empathise with students who are struggling with a task.
As you will have gathered today’s practice was one of these breakthroughs - a welcome lift for what had not been one of my most enjoyable days at work.

Have also had a good giggle, though I understand and sympathise with Alan, whilst writing this post. I was having a look at Alan Cody’s musical blog and checked out his post for 3rd May, Come back Quasimodo, all is forgiven.

I was driving to work this morning enjoying the view from Whitekirk across Binning Woods to the Lammermuirs and musing about yesterday’s 4ureaders local editorial group meeting. Our group has an abundance of ideas for content for the site and BIll Plain at Knox Academy has a student editorial group which contributes regularly. There is a mix of staff from both the public library service and school libraries and we share the work amongst the group, with Bill as the keystone. He attends the national editorial group meetings and co-ordinates our ideas and contributions. It came as a surprise to realise that not all other authorities work in this way but that sometimes one person has to collect ideas from a group of staff and try to do all the work on his/her own. This collaborative approach is typical of our Library Service. As a result our students and staff now have access to a whole range of resources, in print and electronic/digital format, over and above those held in our individual schools. Our students gradually learn to appreciate that all of the libraries in East Lothian are linked and that they can borrow items from and return them to any library. We can also teach them how to search large databases of information effectively, simply by showing them how to use the online catalogue to check their borrowing record and reserve books. This is always a popular part of my course introducing the library to first year students. The catalogue is sometimes known as Elvis. Have a look and see why.

The view from the Library to the garden. Just wanted to share it before the blossom fell.

Two firsts last week. I had the chance to make tartan and try speed-dating for the first time - not at the same time. The 3-18 Learning and Teaching Group took an in depth look at how to put policy into practice leading to Don creating the East Lothian Tartan Approach. The speed-dating happened during our PTs Away Day at the National Museum in Edinburgh - a great venue for working on our school development plan. At lunchtime I enjoyed sitting outside to eat. It was a bit chily on the roof of the building but Edinburgh looked glorious, with trees either in blossom or with new leaves and St Giles glistening in the sun. The speed-dating? an unusual way of introducing us to the detail of How Good Is Our School - The Journey to Excellence  What these meetings had in common was some much-appreciated time to reflect on what we are trying to achieve in schools. It is too easy to get caught up in the need to get “paperwork” completed and lose sight of the importance of keeping our focus on our students.

Glowing successfully at home, having logged on to the new portal. Now to find some victims - sorry interested colleagues and students - to try out the new Glow tools.

Also on the trail of Extreme Learners interested in developing a virtual librarian.