A new international community for school librarians
Sal Flint and Rob George have news of the British and International Schools Library Network, being launched in September 2024.
Library memories and expectations
Pretty much everyone working in education will have a memory of using a library at school or at uni. Some memories will be warm and fuzzy – a favourite place of retreat, perhaps. Some might be less so – too many rules, unnatural ideas about silence and those discouraging looks over horn-rimmed spectacles!
Whatever our memories, most teachers and school leaders will agree that libraries are ‘important’. However, it is less common to find this importance reflected in wider discussion in school communities, with outcomes distilled and explicitly built into a school’s values statement or development plan. This can be a problem, because expectations for classroom support and service from school libraries are high at a time when library budgets are often under pressure. Many school libraries are also run by co-opted teachers and volunteers – committed people who have a love of books and are drawn to an important centre of the community and learning, but who often lack formal training and experience.
Sharing
If teachers are instinctive sharers, librarians are super-sharers, not only within their own school community, but also with each other. Without local and regional self-help library groups, school libraries would simply not be what they are. Experienced and highly qualified library specialists (often once volunteers themselves) are particularly generous with their time because they know that libraries are central to learning in every school.
Pressures
Neither of us started out on our educational careers as librarians but we have come to love the librarian’s craft and what libraries can offer their communities. We also know that libraries are becoming even more important digitally, even though most people still seem to love reading physical books, especially fiction! Libraries are also under pressure: subscription management, 24/7 access to collections, safeguarding, censorship and media literacy are now on everyone’s agenda. A school is seldom big enough to support a faculty-style library team, comparable to Science, Maths or Language teams in high school or a grade team in primary. And yet, Librarians have to do the same kind of job as a faculty or grade leader, cultivating the School Head’s support, lobbying school constituencies, constructing budgets and managing every nuance of communication.
A need identified
In 2022- 23, we were asked by the Council of British International Schools (COBIS) and FOBISIA (Federation of British International Schools in Asia) to conduct a series of webinars for school library staff in their member schools. There was a feeling that creating opportunities for mutual support and networking on a wider scale was important.
Producing the webinars was great fun and it also confirmed that Librarians were willing to share their expertise generously for the greater good of all school libraries. Colleagues were very grateful for this!
In 2023- 24 we went a step further and organised a pilot series of free webinars in different time zones looking at a wide range of topics – from author visits to subscription management and the role libraries can play in wellbeing. We had a positive response and our community grew – we have over 130 librarian subscribers, some of whom attended our live webinars and discussion groups and many more of whom downloaded and viewed our recordings and resources.
A global community for school librarians
We have decided to take the next step and launch a new international community for librarians on a subscription basis. This is a big step, but we are committed and we are going to give it a go because we think there is a real need.
Our aim is to complement and support individuals, existing self-help groups and regional networks by bringing together librarians and people who support librarians wherever they are. Schools will be able to join and have unlimited access to our recordings, live events and other resources for an annual subscription. Suppliers and supporting organisations will also be able to join as affiliates, with opportunities to attend our events and sponsor our newsletters.
Term 1 Agenda
Term 1 plans for 2024/25 are now in place, with discussion groups and presentations arranged for two different time zones (East and West Hemispheres) as follows:
Week beginning: October 7 Planning a Library Year
Week beginning: November 11 Library Design: working with architects and suppliers
Week beginning: December 2 Budgeting, saving and sharing
If you are not already on our mailing list and would like to receive our newsletter and join us this year, please click here.
We will be in touch very soon with information about how you can be3come part of BISLN.
Looking forward to seeing you soon, please watch out for our launch, and good luck for the stary of the new school year!
All best wishes,
Sal Flint and Rob George
Your hosts at
BISLN – British and International Schools Library Network.
FEATURE IMAGE: by Natalia Misintseva on iStock
Support Images: by Rabie Madaci on Unsplash, Unsplash+In collaboration with Curated Lifestyle, Unsplash+ In collaboration with Andrej Lišakov