WORLD BOOK DAY COSTUME COMPETITION!

Our World Book Day costume competition! The quality of entries was outstanding this year so thank you to everyone who donned a costume, rummaged through their dressing up box, recycled, up-cycled and raided the charity shop.

A Tale of Two Banned Books

Every year, a large number of books are banned throughout the world. There are many different reasons why individuals, organisations or institutions may seek to do this. For example, fantasy novels featuring magic and otherworldly beings can be deemed anti-religious, while more realistic novels might feature language and themes which can offend. Whatever the reason, books are usually challenged before they are banned and are not considered banned until made inaccessible by an institution or removed from a curriculum. The last book to be banned outright in the UK was Lord Horror by David Britton, back in 1991. However, some books such as Going Clear by Lawrence Wright have been not published in this country due to concerns about  potential litigation.  In 2017, the American Library Association recorded 416 challenges or bans to library, school or university materials. Amongst the top ten complained about books were a recurring favourite, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and a new entry, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.

Spring Time: Newly Designed Fiction Collections!

"The Medium is the Message"...? 

A phrase originally coined by Marshall McLuhan in his book, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man in 1964, the suggestion is that the medium embeds itself in any message that it is created to convey: thus, the medium influences how the message is perceived.

In our case, the Library is looking at the power of the book cover to deliver the story within to the reader.

We have four new collections of books with beautifully designed covers that may well demonstrate this theory, what do you think...? 

Penguin Drop Caps Collection:

This series celebrates typography and the ancient art of the 'drop cap'. 

A drop cap is an ornate design for the first initial of a passage or chapter that is deemed particularly significant in a manuscript. 'Dropped' into the beginning of a paragraph, they are intended to stand out, draw in the reader and signify the plot ahead.

Black History Month!

Black History Month is raising awareness of and celebrating Black heritage all October!  

Mrs Osafo has made a shelf-top display with an emphasis on British Black History. 

It shows off fiction, non-fiction and DVDs that discuss individual experiences of the country's diverse and rich cultural, racial and ethnic past. 

Imperative reading on struggles for equality and justice, so come in and grab one of these great books:

Banned Books Week!

Banned Books Week 

 24th - 30th September 2017

Come and celebrate your right to read in the Library by getting stuck into one of the many previously banned books that we have on display.

Censorship has been exercised for millennia and when ideas are written down and circulated, they are even more dangerous to the establishment. Some of the most subversive books have become classics over time after being publicly banned from libraries, shops and schools.

From The Bible to Where’s Wally?, no book seems safe from dispute; be it for political, moral, religious or ethical reasons or for just being too risque to be 'safe'!

New Year, New Read!

New Year, New Reads!

Welcome back to the Library, we hope you all had a great Summer break! What have you been reading over the holidays? Come and tell us what you enjoyed and what you didn’t and why! For inspiration, the Librarians have listed their own favourite Summer reads:

Hilliard’s Year 7 Library Activity

It has been a fun few weeks with Hilliard’s, involving lots of enthusiasm and discussion. Notably, during week one there was a very lively debate about book covers and whether e-books are better than print books. We also found out that Y7 students in Hilliard’s are fans of classic writers such as Shakespeare, Dumas, Hugo, and Verne.  We looked at non-fiction in week two and students found some useful books for their different scenarios using the Library catalogue. There were some very imaginative choices! The Dewey quiz was keenly taken, with plenty of running round the library to find the answers.

Edwards’ Library Activity

The last few weeks we’ve had Year 7 Edwards join us in the library. The first week we had a fun and lively discussion about fiction. On the second week we had lots of questions about the British Library, it’s a good thing that we’d done our research beforehand!

World Book Day shennanigans

Although we did not dress up in the Senior School this year (we are saving that joy for Shakespeare Day on 21st April), World Book Day still went with a bang. The fiendishly difficult Library quiz had students scratching their heads as usual, but in the end, Lottie and Nadin won in the Y7-9 category and Katie triumphed in the Y10 category. This is what they won!

Catchpole’s Year 7 Library Activity

The last few weeks we’ve had Catchpoles visiting us for library activity. Before Christmas we very enthusiastically discussed our favourite fiction books, and everyone chose a book from the library that they thought they might like to read. In week 2 we did a treasure hunt and the Dewey quiz.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

That's all folks - see you in 2016!

Mrs Osafo, Mrs Godden, Miss Frude and Miss Rose