Editorial
Welcome to the November issue of the TeenLibrarian Newsletter! We have had the first dusting of snow and a wonderful Halloween and my new daughter is now two days over a month old, this makes it all the more surprising that I have the newsletter ready to do on time, but I have managed to do so!
This newsletter kicks off with Keanu Reads, an idea for an intergenerational (teens & adults) display featuring Keanu Reeves and the books that many of his movies have been based on.
The UK Great School Libraries National Survey Results are now available! It is the mission of Great School Libraries to bring libraries and librarians back to every school in the UK. It is not just in Britain that School Libraries and Librarians are under threat - it appears to be a global phenomenon a bit like the bees dying out (colony collapse disorder is a serious problem - you can find out about it in your library and online) Now is the time for school library folk around the world to join forces and resources to push for libraries and librarians in every school!
The publishing house Egmont has released a report on reading for pleasure - it is a great resource as are the other projects they are working on including statutory story times - their books are amazing too! Seriously you should check out their resources if you are struggling to convince people you know (managers, head teachers, etc) about the importance of reading for enjoyment.
I also bring you great news about Jeff Smith's Bone graphic novel series - you may have already heard it but if not it will soon be coming to a streaming service near you! Staying with adaptations for a few moments more - this weekend sees the launch of the television adaptation of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials series, by all accounts it is very, very good!
The incredibly smart people at the University of Edinburgh have released a map tracking the more than 3000 Scots women accused of being witches. Eye-opening and heart-breaking in equal measure it puts a human face on on eof the dark parts of our shared history.
You can also find out more about American public broadcasting (radio & television) courtesy of the American Archive of Public Broadcasting.
It came in too late for inclusion in the newsletter but CILIP has launched Libraries, Information and Knowledge Change Lives - their commitment to becoming an activist organisation. Find out more about this move and read the position paper here.
If you would like to contribute an article or if you have any suggestions for future issues of the TLN please feel free to send me an email.
|
|
Keanu Reads
Over the past few years, Keanu Reeves has emerged as one of the most popular and intriguing actors working in Hollywood. He has been the subject of a number of memes, rumours and heart-warming tales from a variety of sources.
A while ago I came up with the idea of Keanu Reads on twitter (I am probably not the only person that thought of that). It was a two second chuckle that refused to leave my brain. Recently I noticed that he has acted in a number of movies that are based on novels (& two that were turned into graphic novels) and the idea of creating a display based on his works was born.
Books made into movies starring Keanu Reeves
- Dangerous Liaisons (Les Liaisons dangereuses) – Pierre Choderlos de Laclos adapted as Dangerous Liaisons
- Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (La tía Julia y el escribidor) – Mario Vargas Llosa adapted as Tune in Tomorrow
- Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, & Henry V – William Shakespeare, the inspiration for My Own Private Idaho
- Much Ado About Nothing – William Shakespeare, adapted as Much Ado About Nothing
- Dracula – Bram Stoker, adapted as Bram Stoker’s Dracula
- Even Cowgirls Get the Blues – Tom Robbins, adapted as Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
- Johnny Mnemonic – William Gibson, adapted as Johnny Mnemonic
- Hardball: a Season in the Projects – Daniel Coyle, adapted as Hardball
- Hellblazer – graphic novel series by various authors & illustrators, adapted as Constantine
- A Scanner Darkly – Philip K. Dick, adapted as A Scanner Darkly
- The Private Lives of Pippa Lee – Rebecca Miller, adapted as The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
Movies starring Keanu Reeves adapted as Graphic Novels
You can download the Keanu Reads image as a poster here: http://teenlibrarian.co.uk/2019/10/16/display-idea-keanu-reads/
|
|
Great School Libraries National Survey Results
Described as one of the most important pieces of evidence in UK school librarianship and an important step in ensuring that schools are maximising the potential of their school library, and in developing and measuring provision. The report should be required reading for anyone working in or with school libraries and for those with an interest in the importance of school libraries in the UK and abroad.
Key findings include:
- 9 in 10 schools in England that participated in the research have access to a designated library space, falling to 67% in Wales and 57% in Northern Ireland, however;
- Schools with a higher proportion of children on free school meals are more than twice as likely not to have access to a designated library space;
- Employment terms for librarians and library staff fall below national standards, with low pay and little investment in professional development and training.
You can download the full report here: https://www.greatschoollibraries.org.uk/news
|
|
Children in Care Publish a Book of Short Stories
Leicestershire County Council has published Superheroes, a book of short stories written by young people in care. Children in care are youngsters who've been in the care of their local authority for more than 24 hours, often living in either a foster home or a residential children's home.
Superheroes! is the first of its kind published by a local authority in the UK and features stories written by 48 children aged between 4 and 15-years-old. The book is th elatest project run by the Leicestershire Virtual School, a program run by the local authority and exists to improve the education of children in care by supporting children, schools, carers and social workers to help young people to do their best.
You can find out more about the book and how to buy it online here:
https://resources.leicestershire.gov.uk/news/superheroes-book-launch
|
|
Reading for Pleasure Research from Egmont
Why does reading for pleasure matter?
Children’s reading for pleasure matters commercially and it matters socially. For the publishing industry it is business-critical (without a desire to read there is no sustainable driver for consumers to buy books and magazines). Beyond the commercial imperative there is something far more significant: reading is important to children’s life chances, as well as their well-being, happiness and much more.
Reading for pleasure is not properly understood and is often confused or conflated with literacy. Reading for pleasure is reading for enjoyment, done of free choice, whereas literacy is the ability to read and write. Reading for pleasure feeds literacy because it is challenging to learn something if you don’t enjoy it!
Read the full report here: https://www.egmont.co.uk/reading-for-pleasure-research/
You can read more of the work they are doing in this area, including their push for statutory story-times for all primary school children here: https://www.egmont.co.uk/research/
|
|
News: Bone by Jeff Smith
Netflix has secured the rights to Bone by Jeff Smith! I cannot tell you how excited I am by this news, Bone is one of the best graphic novel series I have ever read! Read about the deal here: https://deadline.com/2019/10/bone-netflix-will-animate-jeff-smith-acclaimed-comic-book-epic-1202761594/
If you have never read Bone, then now is the time - ask at your local library, if they don't have copies on the shelf then they can almost certainly request it from another branch for you! I can with 100% certainty say that you will not be disappointed!
Find out more about Bone and Jeff Smith here: http://www.boneville.com/
|
|
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
His Dark Materials episode 1 will be shown in the UK on BBC One, Sunday 3rd November at 8pm (UK time)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000b1v2/broadcasts/upcoming
In the USA it will be shown on HBO, Monday October 4th at 8pm (Central Time): https://www.hbo.com/his-dark-materials
|
|
Map of Scots women Accused of Witchcraft
A map that tracks more than 3,000 Scots women who were accused of being witches in the 16th and 17th Century has been published by the University of Edinburgh. This map builds on work done through the Survey of Scottish Witchcraft.
Users can move through a map of Scotland to see where the accused witches lived as well as the towns and villages where they were detained, punished and executed.
https://witches.is.ed.ac.uk/
|
|
Discover historic programs of publicly funded radio and television across America
The American Archive of Public Broadcasting is a joint project between The Library of Congress and WGBH in Boston focusing on preserving the most significant public television and radio programs of the past 60 years.
The project currently has over 50 000 historic programs available online.
The archive can be viewed online here: https://americanarchive.org/
|
|
Tes & Top Trumps Competition
|
|
Library of Congress Chrome Browser Extension
Explore free to use images from the Library of Congress anytime you open a new tab! https://labs.loc.gov/experiments/free-to-use-browser-extension/
|
|
Coda
The clocks went back in the UK this past weekend, and the similar will occur in the US this Sunday morning, the nights may be getting dark and cold but inside our libraries pepole can still find warmth, light and welcome. The work we do is important and valued by our patrons, it is easy to forget this in the uncertain times in which we live but you are doing a great job - thank you!
|
|
|
|
|
