After waiting with bated breath at an online ceremony on 22 September, Bedford School were delighted to hear that their school librarian, Lauren Chatley, has been named as one of just three librarians in the hugely prestigious School Librarian of the Year (Secondary) Honours List.
Lauren, who has never been one to blow her own trumpet and is the first to admit that the nomination process has pushed her outside of her comfort zone, put herself ‘out there’ in order to promote her work at Bedford School. Whilst extremely excited to make this esteemed list, which is highly respected in the school librarian world, Lauren is mostly humbled to be recognised for simply doing the job she adores.
It can be argued that school librarians can sometimes be undervalued and underrepresented, and so it has been a main aim of the School Library Association to recognise the excellent work carried out in school libraries every day. Additionally, through the School Librarian of the Year Awards, they are able to highlight the practice of librarians whose work is outstanding.
Lauren explained, “The whole process has been a humbling experience because at each stage I have felt very grateful that people within the school recognise and appreciate what I do. It has also prompted lots of reflection and I have found myself asking, ‘Are we doing things the best way we can?’ and ‘What can we develop further?’”.
Since joining Bedford School two and a half years ago, Lauren’s aim has been to build upon the image of the library to create a more welcoming and inclusive space, which she has achieved through a carefully considered and multi-faceted ‘Reading for Wellbeing’ programme. Working closely with the Head of PSHE, Lauren and her team have ensured that whenever issues are raised during school PSHE lessons or pastoral focus periods, they are well supported by reading lists and displays within the Library. Lauren bolsters reading material with circulars outlining readings, podcasts and websites, and more recently, she has run popular events such as a hugely successful ‘Boardgame Friday’ to provide a place for boys who may not be confident in all areas of school life.
Lauren has also developed topical library book displays to target inclusion aims. There has been a focus on ensuring that displays are enticing, with pupils immediately seeing books from a far more representative field of authors than they have done historically. While the library will always offer traditional texts, more modern texts and graphic novels, such as manga, have been introduced.
A new initiative called the ‘Reading Collective’ was created, where a set of shortlisted books are provided to each class and small book clubs have developed to discuss the texts as part of the boys’ English lessons.
Speaking on the benefits of these initiatives to the boys, Lauren went on to say, “Already, we are seeing the boys really getting into their books, which, when they first took them out, they weren’t expecting to. Conversations are starting to be heard in the Library during their sessions, which has gone long a long way to building a reading culture. While, as a school, we already have a strong academic reading culture, these initiatives encourage our ‘reading for pleasure’ aims.”
Director of Teaching and Learning at Bedford School, Will Montgomery, explained, “Lauren is a true educator, committed to making sure that all pupils benefit from the library, whether as a focused academic, curious teenager, or simply as a pupil looking for somewhere to belong. She is ambitious, because she believes that she is here to make a genuine difference, and from the moment she arrived she has done just that.”