99 Conference Moments …

Inspired by John Dougherty, Steve Cole & Jo Cotterill at the SLG StoryFest, here are 99 reasons to celebrate the School Library Conference! 

1. Conference provides an experience that is unique to each of us. 
2. There is a power in coming together. 
3. It allows us to see beyond our own library walls and country borders. 
4. Diverse voices, perspectives and the exchange of ideas and experiences, excite and enrich. 
5. Libraries are about people and creating inclusive spaces is our goal. 
6. https://www.justlikeus.org/ offers support and free resources for school clubs and LGBT+ young people. 
7. It is librarians who make libraries into safe spaces. 
8. Barbara Band shared important messages: representation is key so that people find not only themselves in a library collection but others too. 
9. ‘The message students get if they don’t see themselves represented in the school or library is that they don’t matter – young people are desperate to belong.’ 
10. What we do can empower cross-cultural understanding and connection. 
11. Visibility of representation in library spaces both physical and digital, implicitly communicates the values of an organisation. 
12. We all need to feel acknowledged and connected but especially young people! 
13. Inclusion is key to wellbeing and good attendance which leads to better attainment and a much greater chance of self-actualization. 
14. Managing change and development of these themes begins with an audit – where are we now? 
15. Where do we want to be and how can we get there? 
16. What kind of Librarian do we want to be?  What do we want to be known for in our school community? 
17. ‘Acknowledge the power of small brave steps.’ 
18. Re-invent the usual display by involving others to add different voices and excite new interest. 
19. 48% of LGBTQ+ youth reported having no positive messaging about their identities in school – we all know the library can make this change. 
20. Olivia Edwards acknowledges the world is full of divisive views but says that children and young people have the right to feel safe no matter what.  
21. Olivia asks – what protected characteristics do your students have? Knowing this will help us to reflect their lives and broaden those horizons.  
22. ‘It’s about respecting how my students are brought up, but also showing them other sides.’ 
23. Engage students with pop culture references – memes, Tik Tok trends, celebrity news – linked to reading, along with in-your-face visuals and displays. 
24. The PROUD book club is about being proud of who you are – it is the most popular student enrichment activity in Olivia’s school which inspires us all!  
25. Challenges affecting libraries – toxic masculinity, censorship, space in the curriculum, lack of funding, conflicting use of space.  
26. Be proactive, not reactive. 
27. Getting through to governors – ‘students are powerful! Get students to share with governors what they’re doing. Be a dog with a bone!’ 
28. ‘Books are the most powerful form of activism’ – Holly Bourne 
29. Holly Bourne’s new book You Could Be So Pretty is an impactful twist on the traditional dystopia, because the ‘dystopia’ it depicts is already exists. All teenage girls need to read it!  
30. The Ordinary Adventurer: Bex Band is so inspiring and advises us to keep pushing for community help with our projects – expect rejections, always follow up, don’t be disheartened, keep pushing. 
31. ‘Be a librarian with an opinion to share!’ 
32. Pupil Library Assistant Award recognises pupil leadership and raises the profile of what libraries do and will now include primary schools. 
33. https://www.ruralmedia.co.uk/BookFlicks – Post or not to post on social media – download toolkit and advice to assist. 
34. #booktok or Voxpop corner: install a ring light, chair and guidelines to create content with pupils and staff – share those recommendations! 
35. BookTok top tip: Get viewers hooked into a series of your videos by always having a cliffghanger at the end! 
36. Create content that works for you and your pupils to foster connection. 
37. Everyone should have a Storyfest hosted by the formidable Philip Ardagh! 
38. Stranded jellybeans, a doughnut thief and monsters who eat children for lunch in the poetry of Alex Wharton, Children’s Laureate for Wales. 
39. A shy ogre with vampire teeth co-created by the illustrator Ian Morris with the conference audience! 
40. The only thing to do is grab a book and sail away between the pages with John Dougherty, Steve Cole and Jo Cotterell. 
41. How I love you more and more with Mama G, Pantomime Story Dame extraordinaire, adding twinkly stars all the way to the end of day one. 
42. Gary Wilson showed that gender stereotyping is insidious and as harmful to boys as it is for girls, characterising them as lazy and bad. 
43. 86% of children permanently excluded from school are boys – librarians have a role to play in turning this tide and helping to engage and educate boys. 
44. ‘If I stick to it I’ll succeed’ – boys need positive role reading models. 
45. Personal acknowledgement and a positive focus on them to create a low-risk environment; followed by the right book, lots of positive praise for participation and to generate feelings of success for all steps taken. 
46. Filmmaker and now, children’s author, Yaba Badoe sharing valuable insights into her work and the crafting of her story Man-Man and the Tree of Memories. 
47. Yaba Badoe: ‘Children are way ahead of what we imagine them to be…I don’t think there is any Black child in the country who is unaware of the injustice of racism. 
48. ‘Children are open and willing to enter into discussions which they feel might change the world they’re in.’ 
49. ‘What I like about stories is that you can read them at separate levels – children take what they can…the important thing is to appreciate what the child is getting from it and work from that.’ 
50. The idea that multiculturalism has failed is a nonsense – the culture in London is what makes living here a real pleasure…and is a crucial part of my writing.  
51. ‘For any woman to put pen to paper is political act.’ 
52. Imagine an AI tutor who offers Socratic questioning, tailored to you and always there at the press of a button without the hourly fee.  Or becoming a person from the past who can discuss what happened to give an immersive experience! A virtual assistant to recommend books or identify a title based on a few characteristics?  Opportunities, yes, but challenges too: it lacks empathetic understanding, nuance, accuracy, passion and the creative qualities of librarians and educators; it needs ethical and safeguarding guidelines for implementation, child protection and privacy of data, and an assurance of accessibility for all. 
53. The future of AI is one of collaboration where librarians are freed from routine tasks to engage more deeply with pupils.  Now is the time to proactively explore what is the role of librarian, AI governance and the nature of accountability for it within schools. 
54. Jon Howard left us with a glowing image of a pupil who begins their education journey now and in 2035 will have a profound understanding of information literacy and a passion for learning amplified by their AI tuition.   
55. Concerns were raised about data sources, copyright, verification… all suggesting there is a need for more sessions on AI issues. 
56. Coaching CPD adds another set of skills to the librarian repertoire and insights were shared by Carol Webb and Charlotte Martin. 
57. Coaching helps us to visualise where we are now and where we would like to be in the future: ‘I keep saying ‘Yes’ to so many things’ – a problem many librarians will relate to!   
58. ‘The greatest service a coach can do is to withhold themselves and hold the space for the coachee.’ 
59. A very powerful recommendation for coaching: Coaching makes you hear yourself. 
60. We all agree that ‘to some extent we are always coaching pupils in the school library’. A powerful recommendation for the library as a safe space!  
61. D&D – character creation, teamwork, story-telling and positive memories which through the theatre of the mind builds empathy and wellbeing: Lucas Maxwell: @lucasjmaxwell  
62. The pupils become self-directed and organised, teaching the skills to each other and to teachers. 
63. D&D is a social game which supports friendship-making for those who might otherwise struggle to do so; it is used as a CPD activity for staff.  
64. ‘I know the students think about Dungeons and Dragons every single day.’ 
65. Author Grainne O’Malley hugely endorses the positive benefits of D&D by wondering what her career as a writer would have looked like, if she had experienced a school library, with Dungeons and Dragons as a young person. 
66. ‘It is the duty of librarians to oppose censorship’ – Ethics and Censorship with Simon James Green and Alice Leggatt 
67. ‘Never underestimate the power of a book about someone going through what you too are experiencing… it can be a life saver.’ 
68. CILIP/SLA free webinars on censorship are still available. 
69. Empathy Lab and Graham Fairweather – aiming for a whole school ethos on empathy by encouraging all curriculum areas to participate in high profile promotion across one week. 
70. MFL: Qs to promote discussion – ‘If your biggest fear is behind that door, what do you think is behind that door?’  Differentiated across year groups from short translations to full-blown discussions amongst sixth formers. 
71. Empathy Resolution Stations and Emotion Maps helped Graham share the idea of empathy with students and led to the creation of the epic ‘Narwhal of Narcissism’! 
72. ‘I can’t say the whole school is more empathetic but what I can say is that it has left an impact on my library – students see it as a welcoming and empathetic space, and they see me as a compassionate and empathetic person.’ 
73. A timely reminder for us all that ‘no teenager is having an easy time.’ 
74. We all agree that librarians can and should be the ‘King/Queen of Empathy!’ 
75. IFLA promotes library services for children and young people around the world and there are many opportunities to get involved in their projects. 
76. IFLA Sister Libraries benefit both public and school libraries, helping to build connections and community. 
77. IFLA’s Safer Internet Day aims to raise awareness of emerging online issues and current concerns. Librarians have a huge role to play in creating a safe online world for young people. 
78. World Through Picture Books is an annotated list of picture books from around the world recommended by librarians. 
79. A passionate explorer of children’s literature, Dr Helen Limon shared her work in Lampedusa which showed the ability of story experiences to create community amongst young people whose childhoods have been disrupted by war.  
80. ‘From the testimony of survivors, we know that for some of these mobile citizens, reading can provide comfort and reassurance.’ 
81. Marina Warner refers to stories as ‘alternative places to find refuge’. 
82. Traditional stories can offer sanctuary as they present a hopeful vision of the world. 
83. Publisher Highlights are dangerously addictive for the list of book wishes they create is so deliciously long! 
84. Publishing for Diversity and Inclusion – we need to be aware of work that is tokenistic; we want and need books that are authentic representations of lived experience. 
85. Publishers are trying to lead the way – there is a need for more time and money to coach authors and illustrators from underrepresented backgrounds. 
86. The Boy From Baghdad is inspired by Miriam Halahmy’s Iraqi Jewish family – many people will not know the story of Iraqi Jews, it takes place in Israel, when the state was only three years old.  
87. Annie Everall recommends the book as a fascinating perspective on diversity and inclusivity in the Jewish community   
88. Matt Goodfellow – The Final Year is unashamedly a love letter to David Almond. The book is written in a Manchester dialect – ‘I wanted Nate’s identity to be clear… I wanted him to be proud of his voice.’ 
89. Nate is immediately present, real and a lively narrator: ‘See that tall skinny kid with the ball in his hands saying ‘See ya later’ to his mate? That’s me, Nathan Wilder, Nate. Ten years old and a week away from the end of Year Five.’ 
90. ‘I didn’t want to do any reading for a while just to irritate people’ – laughter from us all, we know this kid!  
91. Matt Goodfellow: ‘Libraries and books became a refuge…the notion of being able to articulate your life and your experience and do it in your voice became very important to me.’ 
92. Librarians want the government to change their policies and start to fund school libraries properly and the Great School Libraries campaign is doing brilliant work on this issue. 
93. We now have a complete collection of T-shirts we want conference slogans on! 
94. ‘99 reasons to be happy… a book to read whenever you are in need…there’s someone we’d like to thank 

Always bright and sunny, somebody kind, keeping us all on track and so with that in mind, we have all got 99 reasons to thank Annie, 

Our Conference organiser, for a top event! 

95. A perfect way to end our conference: ‘There was only the library…libraries were the heart of the family’ (Miriam Halahmy) 

96. We invite you to complete our 99 moments by sharing your own conference memory, thought or inspiration with us @CILIP_SLG 
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