The (multiple) books of Christmas

Bev Humphrey
Accessit Library trainer, Library consultant, and host of the SLA’s ‘Book Chat with Bev’.

Hi everyone I hope you are enjoying some festive reading at the moment! For me Christmas means family and the hopeful possibility of some bookish gifts and I love it when I can give books as gifts and tie the two together. If you are hoping to do the same here’s some suggestions you might find useful:

For very young children

That’s Not My Reindeer
(978-1409556046)

The latest in this very popular touchy feely series , with different textures to stroke, starring a very cute reindeer and his white mouse friend.

Usborne Slide and See Christmas
(978-1805076759)

Sturdy, brightly coloured board book with charming illustrations and a slider to explore on every page.

For toddlers who like a giggle

Santa Needs a New Bum
(978-0702338779)

The next one in the already very popular New Bum series, this story will have kids in fits of merriment.

Has Santa Been?
(978-0702330957)

Poor Santa enjoys all the lovely drinks that children leave for him but he never has time to spend a penny! The story ends with a patch of suspiciously yellow snow , which is sure to bring laughter.

For ages 9 -12 who love classic children’s books

Charlie and the Christmas Factory and Other Stories
(978-0241618776)

So many fabulous children’s authors have written short stories for this anthology and children will be delighted to meet old friends from Dahl’s books.

Christmas Classics 8 Book Collection
(978-1802634969)

This set of simplified classics works as a great introduction to well know stories , Little Women, The Nutcracker and Christmas Carol for example.

For ages 9 – 12 who like funny books

The Biggest Christmas Secret Ever
(978-1510113053)

This is the second festive themed title from LD Lapinski, the first being Step Father Christmas , and this story has the same blend of humour and feeling that leaves you feeling warm inside.

Sprouts
(978-1526639462)

Imagine it being Christmas every day……all that lovely food! Not so lovely when you end up having sprouts every day though. A fun, magical adventure and I’m sure this will be as popular with young readers as the author’s previous title, Tinsel, is.

Young Adult festive romcoms

Some Like It Cold
(978-1035027842)

I’m told by my friends who are school librarians that this one is just flying off the shelves and I’m not surprised. Cosy small town romance stories are very popular at the moment and when you add Christmas into the mix it just enhances everything.

Stay Another Day
(978-1786541086)

Although not newly published I loved this tale of three siblings going home for the festive season with secrets being revealed and old rivalries resurrected. I love Juno Dawson’s sly humour although be warned, this one does have fruitier language than some.

For Booktokers

Spectacular
(9781399721523)

Following on from the Caravel series this festive themed novella is sure to be on many booktokers wish list and the hardback is indeed a thing of beauty, with gorgeous illustrations by Rosie Fowinkle.

Carrie
(9781399731294)

Obviously not a festive story but this special 50th anniversary edition is just stunning and has pride of place on my bookshelf. It has an introduction by Margaret Attwood and foiling on the cover that seems to just glow.

For book lovers of any age

At Home in a Book
(978-0241665794)

This amazing book allows you to peep into the homes in nine classic stories , introducing them to younger readers and proving nostalgic to those of us who have already roamed the rooms in our imagination.

The Incredible Pop Up Bug
(978-1800784130)

There can be only one word to describe this book and that is ‘WOW’! A large format book packed with intricate, colourful illustrations and pop ups with tons of information. I was blow away by it (and I don’t like bugs!)

I hope you have found some ideas to add to your shopping lists but I did run a webinar for the School Library Association recently with most of these titles featured and many more besides, you can watch it here.

Wishing you all a very bookish, cosy festive season , however you celebrate, I would like to follow the Icelandic tradition of Jolabokaflod and spend Christmas Eve curled up reading but I doubt I will be able to!

What Does Information Literacy Mean to Our Wider School Community?

In the recent webinar “What Exactly Do We Mean by Information Literacy?” we considered this important question in depth and looked at ways to try and resolve the issues it raised. If you missed the webinar there is still time to watch it again and tell us your ideas.

As school librarians, we often face dilemmas being both information specialists and educators. One of our greatest challenges lies not in the complexity of the subject matter we deal with daily, but in the very language we use to describe it. The diversity in terminology surrounding information literacy has become a significant hurdle in our efforts to collaborate effectively with teachers and integrate these crucial skills into the curriculum. Why has this happened? Some say it is because information literacy is not an “examined” topic and therefore has no associated controlled vocabulary, unlike the closely related subject of information technology (Leaning, 2017).

I was recently involved with the BRIDGEInfolit project (BRIDGE, 2024) funded by Erasmus and our research found that while librarians speak of “information literacy”, teachers might refer to the same concepts as “study skills” or “digital literacy”. This discrepancy in language isn’t just a matter of semantics; it can significantly impact our ability to co-design teaching strategies and assessment methods. When librarians and teachers aren’t speaking the same language, creating cohesive, integrated information literacy instruction becomes an uphill battle.

The webinar explored how it is necessary to prioritise building a shared vocabulary, beginning by initiating discussions about terminology. By engaging in open dialogue with teachers, we can co-create agreed-upon terms that resonate with both parties. These conversations shouldn’t happen in isolation; involving students in developing this canon ensures that it remains accessible and relevant to all. By aligning our terminology with widely recognised information literacy frameworks such as Alberta, Informed Learning, Guided Inquiry Design, FOSIL etc we can also create a more universal approach. Once established, we can collaborate with teachers to co-design lesson plans that incorporate these skills, reinforcing their cross curricular importance.

The webinar also demonstrates how we can draw insights from Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory (Bandura, Ross & Ross, 1961). He suggests that people learn from one another through observation, imitation, and modelling. For example, if teachers and librarians model effective information seeking and evaluation strategies, students are more likely to copy these behaviours. So maybe when we are teaching concepts of misinformation and disinformation, rather than promoting what is “bad” we should be modelling best practice and encouraging students to follow this pathway.

Bandura’s theory also emphasises the role of self-efficacy in learning. Hence if we integrate information literacy skills into various subjects and projects, we can provide students with multiple opportunities to practice and master these skills. Each successful application of an information literacy competency builds students’ confidence in their abilities, increasing their likelihood of using these skills in future situations.

Our Library Management System (LMS) can be a powerful ally in this endeavour. We might develop an area within the LMS as a resource hub for teachers, including lesson plans and terminology guides related to information literacy. We could create a centralised space for sharing knowledge and best practices. This not only supports teachers in incorporating information literacy into their lessons but also reinforces our shared vocabulary. For students we could devise dashboards for different projects incorporating guides, exemplar work, “how to” videos of research databases and use tracking data to show how students access and use this resource when completing their project work. Furthermore, we can ensure that the terminology we wish to use is prominent during library induction sessions and explanations are given within the LMS too to make searching easier and finding the required information more exact. For example, by using features such as “see also” or the citation tab, we can reinforce information literacy concepts in a practical, hands-on manner.

Engaging parents and the wider community is equally important. By hosting information sessions that explain the importance of information literacy, we create a support network that extends beyond school walls. This aligns with Bandura’s emphasis on the social context of learning, recognising that students’ understanding and valuation of information literacy skills are influenced by their entire environment, not just their experiences at school. We might initiate a newsletter that highlights success stories in information literacy instruction. By showcasing real-world applications and achievements, we reinforce the practical value of these skills to all stakeholders in the educational community.

Remember, establishing a shared understanding is not a one-time effort but an ongoing process. We must regularly review and adjust our strategies to ensure they remain relevant and effective. By doing so, we can help our students develop the critical thinking and information skills they’ll need for success in school and beyond. Why not watch or listen again to the webinar and see how you might underpin an understanding of information literacy in your wider school community.

Refrences

Bandura, A., Ross, D. & Ross, S.A. (1961) Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, 575-82. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0045925

BRIDGE Partners (2024) Information and digital literacy at school. A bridge to support critical thinking and equality values for primary education using children’s literature and transmedia. Available at: https://bridgeinfoliteracy.eu/

Leaning, M. (2017) Media and information literacy: An integrated approach for
the 21st century. Cambridge: Chandos Publishing.

Substitution Rules Don’t Have To Be Scary

Hallowe’en often turns our thoughts to things that frighten us the most. Librarians aren’t the type to scare easy, but there are still parts of our management system that makes the spine tingle.

Substitution Rules is definitely one of these.

Fear of the unknown is a powerful beast, and Substitution Rules are often a misunderstood and underappreciated feature: far easier to keep the trapdoor shut than find out what’s underneath!

In Accessit, Substitution Rules don’t have to be that scary. Rather than some terrifying monster causing chaos in your catalogue, they can actually be a friendly ghost making positive, forceful changes for your borrowers.

Maybe you want catalogued records to say ‘football’ rather than ‘soccer’ in their Subject fields?  Our Substitution Rules can do that for you.

Or perhaps you’d like your Classification field trimmed down to two Dewey numbers after the decimal point? They can do that too. How about no decimal numbers at all? The more you use Substitution Rules in Accessit, the less scary they become.

In fact, you only need to set a rule up once for it to stay working forever – whether that’s for adding new resources or making retrospective changes to exorcise past cataloguing demons.

Don’t be afraid to open that trapdoor and let Accessit’s Substitution Rules work their magic, saving you valuable time to face those other library fears.

Any questions?

Let us know via support@accessitlibrary.com and we’ll be happy to help.

Insights From Our Customers

With the help of Accessit Library managing your school library becomes a seamless, efficient, and an integrated experience. With Accessit taking care of the heavy lifting, you can effortlessly extend and embed the library as a whole school resource. Let’s dive into some best practice tips from top users, showcasing how you can get your entire school utilising the library from anywhere.

1. Quick lists

Bridget Hamlet describes Accessit’s Quick Lists function as a “game changer.” At Rushey Mead, they have a reward system where students earn passport points for reading books from specific lists. Bridget has collaborated with various departments across the school to create easily accessible reading lists for students.

“The History department are very good at creating historical fiction reading lists and rewarding pupils with badges and other goodies. I’ve trained the teachers on how to create a list on the library website and then use the ‘Send to Librarian’ function. When I receive a notification, I can quickly create the list making it accessible on the library website. When a student comes in with some recommendations from their history teacher I can say, yes, those books are on Mrs Henson’s list, and they can then see the list of books and the availability of each item on the library website.”

Bridget also appreciates the simplicity and time-saving features of Accessit, allowing her to focus more on important tasks. For instance, creating a dedicated space in the library for students new to the English language.

“Students were coming into the library, and I was going to lots of different places to look for specific books, so I thought let’s put them all in the same area. Using the Quick Scan function, alongside Global replace I was able to change the classification of the books quickly. I was then able to append new keywords to each of the titles and the whole process was so fast and convenient.”

2. Visual Search

Lesley Martin at St. George’s Munich has taken Accessit’s Visual Search feature and customised it to support a Year 7 independent research project led by the Science Faculty.

“I’ve renamed Visual Search ‘Subject Resources’ and have added subjects for each year group across the school, alongside the topics that they study. Because of the flexibility of Accessit I’ve been able to include books, YouTube videos, websites, and PDFs – anything I can find to support the topic. It’s a simple way of students being able to find the information relevant to that topic easily.”

This is just one way that Accessit’s Visual Search can be customised to better fit your school. See more examples here.

3. Automation & Tracking

At a different St. George’s School in Edinburgh, Librarian Chloe Elder utilizes Accessit to manage overdue reminders without being the “bad guy.”

“We use the Automated Overdues function on Accessit, so I don’t feel like I’m personally chasing students with overdue reminders. They get an automated email every week and we have also set up that their registration teacher gets an automated email every Monday morning at 8:00 am. It means I don’t need to be in school at 8:00 am to send the notice but it means registration teachers can remind students first thing.”

Chloe also uses Accessit’s Reporting features to track the impact of new library initiatives.

“We like to track our circulation when we add a new initiative or change something around in one of our libraries. I can compare year on year on whether there was in increase in circulation because of the change.We also use specific reports to track individual students who are not borrowing books and are not engaging in library lessons. We can then track the success or failure of the targeted support we have provided those students.”

4. Reporting

Accessit’s reporting capabilities allow Nikki Heath to make impactful personalised reading recommendations.

“I make personalised reading recommendations for our Year 7s. I wanted to know how effective these were, so I ran a report on the ‘Most Popular list’ before and after the initiative started. The report allowed me to see that there was a much broader range and variety of books being read because of the recommendations.

The report also allowed me to see how many students are borrowing our reading challenge books. Even if not all students complete the challenge, we can still see how often the books are going out on loan.”

From creating collaborative reading lists to streamlining overdue reminders and utilizing detailed reporting features, Accessit Library supports librarians in saving time and engaging students more effectively. By integrating these best practices, you can transform your library into a valuable resource for the entire school. For more information on Accessit Library and how it can benefit your institution, feel free to reach out to us.