An award for me!

At the recent New Zealand School Library Conference held n Wellington, I was thrilled to be awarded a  Merit Award for the Promotion of Literacy and Enjoyment of Reading.

I knew I had been nominated by several colleagues and students but it was still a surprise to hear my name called out ! (hence no photos as it all happened ver fast!)

I am absolutely stoked and very happy! I put a lot into my job and love my school and students. I think I arguably have one of the best school libraries! I have an amazing up to date stock and let the students buy books right there and then ( e- mailing the order to Time Out Book store in Mt Eden or through the Book Depository). It is a library with books the students will read.

School libraries can be very under funded - or NOT funded at all. There is no government mandate that says a school in NZ has to even have a library or that the person running it has to qualified. Many schools have a mum or teacher aide who quite often or not has no idea at all how to run a library (that is not to say that some don't do a great job, but I have seen many libraries where my students would riot and really would have nothing to read in it.)

I am one of the few qualified and professionally registered librarians working in a primary school round New Zealand! 

My library has been had a huge improvement since I arrived at this school four years ago and there are always things to do / improve on.

Please ask your school board re funding / status of your librarian ; if your school does not have a library, demand one and ask the board to put aside funding for a staff member next year!

There are many grants out there ; community boards; Lions; Rotart; school mufti days; sausage sizzles (the Mad Butcher/ Huttons will donate sausages to schools usually) to get funds for books. Schools can never have enough more resources.

School librarians also appreciate any help from anyone! 

We really are very under paid and also seen at the bottom of the pile in the library profession, but I love my job and at this stage could not go back to a council job (where I was once a branch library manager ).