Adam,
a resource librarian at SLS was one of the organisers of
this day and he's written here his thoughts on the event.
"When
I was doing my A-Levels (or AS levels as they are now called)
at school, which wasn't all that long ago, I never really
seemed to have any time for the reading that I wanted to
do. Although I was a keen reader and enjoyed a number of
different genres, between filling out UCAS forms and making
sure I was doing enough extra-curricular activities to put
on my University application forms whilst also trying to
squeeze in a decent amount of school work (as little as
I could get away with) I found it really hard to sit down
and enjoy a book that I had chosen to read.
I also
found that because I had such a wide-ranging taste in books
any opportunity that did arise for me to read was taken
up with trying to decide which book I should actually read.
Unfortunately this lack of being able to make decisions
in my reading has continued to this day and my bookshelves
remain rammed with books that I will read, albeit after
I have decided what order to read them in.
So when
I started at Herts School Library Service I was delighted
to see that we offered an event where we could help other
students who find themselves in the same situation that
I was at their age. Off The Shelf offers 6th Form students
the chance to read books that are not related to national
curriculum texts but are chosen so above all else they can
be enjoyed. Although we have quite a hard job searching
for a list that we feel meets all our criteria it is an
extremely enjoyable and overall rewarding process.
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main purpose of Off The Shelf is to help students make the transition
from teenage reading to adult reading. We also try to help broaden
students' range of reading by including books they may not have
tried before. This year we included on the list a graphic novel,
biographical books and a collection of contemporary poetry.
We are also deeply aware of how little time many students have
to read in between all their coursework and University applications,
so we also make sure that the books we choose aren't 500+ page
novels. We also make sure that the shortlisted books are in
school for as long a period of time as possible, maximising
the chance for all the students to read the books. |
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this years event the process actually started in December 2004
when we first started to think about what books we would like
to put onto the shortlist. As you can imagine with such a long
list of criteria it took us until late April until we had finalised
the list, ready for the books to be sent into schools in May.
Ten schools took part this year and although only six students
were able to attend the day from each school we had well over
100 6th Form students around Hertfordshire taking part.
Although
most of the work goes on in schools the culmination of the
event is a morning at the Schools Library Service where students
from all the schools come and give their opinions on each
of the books in small groups. This year we invited the poet
Sophie Hannah to talk about her poetry and the types of books
she was reading at this important stage in her life. After
enthusing us about reading Sophie read us some of her poems
along with an explanation behind why she had written them
and what they meant to her.
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the group sessions we all reconvened and listened as Sophie
read out the winner, voted for by the students. Keeping us listening
Sophie read the votes out in reverse order. A big cheer reverberated
around the room as Nick Johnstone's A Head Full of Blue was
announced as the winner. Gaining over 60% of the votes Nick
unabashed story of his life through alcoholism and depression
seemed to strike a nerve with many of the students. One student
commented that what she enjoyed the most about the book was
'His [Nick's] ability to tell the facts and not preach to us
about what we should and shouldn't do.' The fact that in the
story Nick tells things as they happen and doesn't lecture about
alcoholism seemed important to a number of students and along
with Nick's wit they felt his book was clearly the best of a
very strong list. |
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a lot of planning goes in to producing an event such as this,
being able to see the students enjoying the books and formulating
opinions on what they liked or didn't like made all the hard
work worth it. To know that you have had an affect on just one
pupils reading and have introduced them to a book that they
may not have come into contact with surely means that what you
are doing is right and working in a positive way. Even if they
only read one of the books on the list and didn't like they
have formulated an opinion as to why, and they may even know
a little bit more about themselves and their own reading tastes.
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This year Off The Shelf was again another great success and
I would like to thank everyone who helped in whatever way, but
mostly I would like to thank all the students, librarians and
teachers without whom the event would not have happened. Thank
you"
Words
by Adam Lancaster
Pictures by Jill Hamer
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After
the day Beth Barrett and Adam Lancaster went to visit Nick Johnstone
to present him with the 'Off the Shelf' plate.
Nick emailed Adam with this message
"hi adam
quick note to say how nice it was to meet you & beth today and
hear all about the award. think it's great work you're doing &
very flattered to have a head full of blue picked. very interesting
for me to see the pictures of students who liked the book - especially
like the story of the girl who was sick but came in anyway. if you
see her, tell her i say thank you. beyond that, as i said, please
feel free to put my email nick_johnstone@hotmail.com or my website
url www.nickjohnstone.com
in the display or newsletter, in case there is a reader involved in
this process who wants to say hi or who might need some help.
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Schools
Library Service, New Barnfield, Travellers Lane, Hatfield. AL10 8XG
Tel: 01707 281630 Fax: 01707 281611
E-mail: info@herts-sls.org.uk
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