Book Week Scotland

For the first time I have been part of this through the public Library, I have been out to the primary schools in my catchment and I have had the joy of reading picture books to the primary ones! they are five years old and occasionally six, full of wonder and wide eyes. I got welcomed to every classroom, and listened too so well I could have kept reading for hours. Most were sad to see me go and I got hugs and cuddles, smiles and gasps, and despite being under the weather I would not have changed it for the world.
I was promoting the Scottish Children's Book Awards, I read a winner from a previous year (one time robot rumpus another the day Louis got eaten) and one of the current awards if the teacher wanted, or I read both previous ones :-). I do the book awards for the older groups in the school but have never had much to do with the youngest ages, this was changed this year with 7 different classes of P1's which varied form 5 at the smallest group (part of a composite class of P1-3's) up to 23 which was half of the larger schools classes of P1's.
I have plans to go back in the new year to follow up on this week and maybe to get more reading time in :-) I do love reading to small folk.

My next week is now taken up sorting the 'Grand Opening' out for the Newly refurbished Thurso Library. I hope to have photos for my next blog.
The catering is fluid until we get all our replies in and then we may have to juggle a bit. I have a cake to sort out and projector, and just so much in my brain it is leaking out my ears today, not helped by still not being totally well and by the nurse this morning deciding I could get my pneumonia job today because I was there! And to top off my day I forgot my glasses so I am holding my head back to 'see' the keys better and not typing in a good sitting position for health and safety. Very wrong and not my normal solution.

Saw this in my feed and thought this was a fab idea, not very useful for our Scottish weather but for a more southern city or big town I adore this idea, I would love to see this in Kew Gardens and the like! showing children how structures with books in them are not fixed or limited. much fun.

Finally have my Mentor and we are planning our first meeting in the next few weeks, a face to face one to start us off, which I am thrilled about.So I aim to put a bit about my Fellowship journey into my blog as I post to help show its development and to show others that it isn't as hard as we thought (or so I hope).

One final comment from my week of travels and reading, I took this picture in Canisbay Primary Car Park, looking towards John O Groats and the Orkney's with a grey sky and bright sunshine, and joy of joys a most bright rainbow.

Hope your week also have rainbows with any grey sky!

Big Step Forwards

Greetings and welcome back, I know I stopped worrying about if I missed the odd week, but this now more the odd 3 months! I did start three posts in that time but none got finished to my own satisfaction, and so I have been missing. I haven't really, work has been busy as normal, life has continued as normal and nothing but everything has changed, as normal. Daughter came home for 6 whole days then I took her to University, and I am still washing the piles of clothes she rooted out and left and finding lost towels I had forgotten even existed.

Work has been frantic as it always is the first months back, the first years, the leavers, the classes moved and changed the whole new staff, and new groups. No matter how I plan ahead there is always something that changes it all, like a campaign of war that never survives the first sortie! I have been following the outside world and the wider library world, but I am needing to put more time in to my own desk to get sorted and organised!

Work gets closer and ground is cut for the new build in the town that will house a community library, which will be my new home come July 2016. The other end of the county has a currently vacant library which is starting work soon to be reopened next spring, again a large project I am helping on. I spent a while acting up this last winter and spring, which ended in the June, despite saying never again I am currently planning to trying again soon.

The Head of the School moved on this summer and we currently have an acting Head who is very good. The changes this is bringing to the school though are still happening and you never know what is coming next. Quite exiting to a certain extent, but exhausting as well. My other half got head hunted so has work for the whole year, which has meant less hassle worrying but he is about as far as you can get while still in the council area! But its not as far as Epsom which was last years base.

My craft world has been thrown for a loop as I am trying to get the quilt promised to daughter finished! it is pinned and ready to sew but getting time and space has been hellish! mind you I did see this rope basket how to and get some rope to play with, made a start with wool but had to take it out after an hour or so as the wool was too flexible :-) next try will be with dish cloth cotton! I shall take a picture of the finished quilt (one day).

I was lucky enough to be part of this campaign and got to read to a group of 7 to 11 years old's one Saturday morning. I meant to read for a short while chat to them then read a bit more, I looked up to faces paying rapt attention and kept going, as my voice gave out I found I had read for just over half an hour non stop (having never read the book first, bad me) and we had hit a natural stop point! I enjoyed it so much I may read to kids more often. :-)

The title of the blog today and the impetus to get back on here is that I finally jumped and I am starting my Fellowship, the re-validation was just the pat on the back that I needed and that I am heading in the right direction and all was well, I am happy and fulfilled at work and am finally getting more done outside work as extra support. I feel I am fulfilling all the criteria for the fellowship and now the time is right to jump. I wont say I haven't had a few odd sleepless nights, but I had more when I decided not yet in the past, so that's okay :-), watch this space for further posts about how this is going and how I am approaching this.
Bring on the challenge!

Happy new term (late) and happy autumn (even if the sun today is shining very brightly) and only 86 days to Christmas! :-) but for me only 2 weeks to going to Glasgow to stay with my daughter!

Strange Days

Went to a meeting many miles south of me, timed my arrival to have some wiggle room so arrived early, had a good meeting mostly on track :-) though I did work out if I had a pound every time the chair called us back on track I would have eaten well last night, with friends, at a decent restaurant! As normal the interesting bits were the other things that got slotted in the gaps, the email me and I will send you things bits, the did you hear about a new mentor! and so on. The main chat after was between myself and one of my mentees and then between myself and a fellowship candidate!

I have come to realise as I get my revalidation paperwork together that there are 2 levels to my work, one aspect is what I do at my desk, issuing books helping kids choose books, keeping track of new books, old books and all the space in between  Then there is what I do in my head, on my work computer, at home and well quite frankly anywhere! But to bring back the reason why I am mentioning this was what has become clear to me is a way of thinking about what goes in the portfolio and what doesn't. How I now look at it is what could be done by an assistant in my seat, and what needs my professional touch. Would you need another librarian to fill that post, if not then the items is possibly part of a bigger picture but is not 'professional' you can use it as an evaluation or a reflection but not a single focus. Some of my stuff is more linked to my own skill set, these I will have to evaluate to make sure they are relevant, some could be covered by someone else but not necessarily a librarian again part of the wider picture but not really a focus. The change is job or profession in my mind, my job can be issuing books but my profession is linked to my CPD and my skill sets. I realise that is simplistic, and you would need to find your own line to draw, but the portfolio is about your own skill set, your own competency, not your job or even all your work.

My second chat that made an impression was the chat about fellowship, I looked at this when my friend started hers and ran screaming to hide form the scary words! :-) after chatting to her and getting her focused again (and I have a nasty suspicion I will have to do it with her to get her finished) I realised I wasn't sure now what the criteria and aims were for this. I went and checked and found like the chartership that I am already part way there!

I then had to move some books once back at work, so borrowed a trolley and went book moving, when taking back the trolley I went in the lift here, I hate small spaces and lifts most of all, and yes it broke, stranding me in the lift after hours. I didn't spend long as someone saw me use it knowing it sticking! so I was rescued after 10 minutes. But as weeks go that was strange.

This morning I arrived to hear that the 6th year had 'decorated' and we had 'mudbloods beware' and the 'chamber of secrets is open, mudbloods beware' etc written on windows, then post it notes saying 'where's Bridgit?' and finally toilet paper over whole rooms and halls, though I later found Vasaline on door handles and banisters! which has been messy to clean up.

I also had Elvis at my desk and Gandalf at my door barring entry, TP over the shelves and glitter on my desk. One of the English staff has full size standees in his room. My Favorite bit was small sparkly stars all over my desk. Now before you think I nuts, yes yes I know not hard, I should explain why I like this. I have had to cultivate quite a tough exterior to be able to keep discipline and to make sure that while I am not a teacher the kids still have some respect for me. This has meant the silly and jokey side of me has to hide at work. Individuals over the years who have got to know me, know I have a funny side and love a good joke, but most think I am scary so to have them break in an 'decorate' my room is a win.