The Bonnie Wee School Libraries Across the Pond

Debbie Whitbeck -- School Library Journal, 9/3/2008

When an email crossed my computer last winter about a six-hour graduate class about Scottish Libraries, and conducted through the University of Wisconsin Whitewater ($3000 including tuition and lodging), I did not delete it. Six months later, I can say with assurance that we are doing many things right on this side of the pond. But Scottish libraries have a few things going for them that I wish we could copy.

Scoring for the Yanks, Scottish librarians are not teachers in certification, salary, or standing. Nor do most Scottish primary schools even have a library, much less a librarian. And poor, though they are, our budgets are better. Most Scottish libraries wait for the paperback edition which is more affordable, and then they buy books with no processing. Your living room is probably larger than a normal sized secondary school library. We also pay better attention to Dewey and shelf order than the Scottish libraries I visited. 

But for their tally marks, the United Kingdom has a publisher that caters to busy teens who just want a decent, fast read. Barrington Stoke publications (http://www.barringtonstoke.co.uk/) were created with the dyslexic teen in mind. Published on off-white paper, using preferential spacing and margins, these novels are well written, by popular authors, with engaging plot lines. These titles are reviewed by teens for difficulty, and kept short. These “quick reads” fly off the shelves and are even marketed in book stores under the publisher’s name.

Another publication of note, from Edinburgh, is Teen Titles. This slick magazine reviews books for teens and by teens. Librarians write short summaries, but the critiques are in the words of the targeted readers. There are author interviews (Brian Selznick is in the current issue), feature articles, and write-ins. These journals are well-written and highly respected by authors, publishers, librarians, and kids alike.

And one final score on their side of the tally goes to the way the United Kingdom handles their award winners. They do not cloak the Carnegie or Kate Greenaway Medals in secrecy. They publish the consideration lists. When the announcement is but a month away, they publish the short list! I wish our Newbery and Caldecott Awards were a bit more forthcoming about their consideration lists. I’ve often liked the Honors better than the winners, and I aspire to see more of the top ten.