#Weeknotes - 21/01/2025

What's been happening?

This week sees the launch of ASCEL's Arts Council funded School Library Services Research Report.

In January 2024, we commissioned Leeds University to conduct research into the provision of School Library Services (SLSs) to understand the service breadth, gaps in provision, different business models, funding arrangements and health of the service across the country.

The purpose of this report was to provide a baseline, giving the sector insight into where SLSs are located, how they operate and where there are geographic 'gaps'. To give some context; no data has been collected on SLSs for twenty years, so this research is especially valuable.

Key findings include:

• Of the 39 SLSs that responded, 24 are part of the library service in their area.?

• The ratio of SLS staff to number of schools ranges from 1:7 to 1:43.?

• Book loans are the most common service, followed by advice and consultation, book awards and artefact loans.?

• 100% of respondents agreed that their SLS contributed positively to teaching and learning.?

• Just 9% said their SLS was financially secure in the long-term.?

I attended the national ASCEL SLS meeting recently and it was clear there was real appetite for this research to be taken further. We'll be examining SLS provision in our upcoming strategic development and I'm excited about the direction we're moving in.

Yesterday marked another key milestone for ASCEL - the first Children's Promise Alliance meeting in London. We met with national partners including Arts Council England, Libraries Connected, National Literacy Trust, World Book Day, The Reading Agency and BookTrust, to start exploring how we can work together to support libraries with their provision for children and young people, with an initial focus on the early years.

Also, this morning we had our second Youth Engagement Network session. Representatives from participating libraries not only enjoyed a session from our independent evaluator Marge Ainsley, but also a two hour interactive training session with Participation People, who brought along two young people to lead the group and answer questions. It was so positive to all be in the same space together (albeit virtual) and work together in this way. I'm looking forward to progressing this over the year.

What's next?

I've got a variety of meetings on the horizon, including a session with another Youth Engagement group, led by Mighty Creatives. This is a great opportunity to meet other organisations involved in this work and to learn from them. We've also got our National Committee meeting, which is always a great experience.

Outside of work

It's been quiet outside of work. I can't believe it's still January (this month always feels like three long cold months rolled into one). I've managed to get a lot of reading done though. I finished Myrrh by Polly Hall, which was a dark, twisted and powerful read, though I should issue some trigger-warnings here for the content. It was an exploration into the impact of adoption, families and motherhood, which made me think about these things in a very different way.

I've also just finished reading Lonely Planet's Hidden Libraries. A good friend bought me this for my birthday (she knows my obsessions well) and I pored over all the different libraries around the world; from ancient buildings hidden on sacred mountains, to book-laden camels traipsing across deserts to reach isolated communities. The strangest library has to be the one on the space station, orbiting Earth!