Issue 27 Autumn1999 Making NYR international Anthony Tilke Librarian, Harrow International School, Bangkok, Thailand	Collections under which this       article appears:       Reading       Libraries Related Articles or Resources Other Articles by Author

I well remember, in the run-up to the National Year of Reading, hearing Liz Attenborough, National Project Director for the Year, say that every year is a year of reading for libraries. She nevertheless and rightly went on to exhort us all to help make it a truly national year of reading. However, for some libraries more than others it has been THE year, perhaps because libraries will have been created during the Year, making NYR poignant and of particular relevance for those concerned.

This is certainly true in our case at Harrow International School (HIS), Bangkok. As a new school was created, built and opened, so too its library. Librarians who have been responsible for developing libraries from scratch will know what is involved and will agree that, once opened, a library will not necessarily create its own readership - that clientele must be developed. What better timing therefore than to have a year of reading to hand.

National? In Thailand? It may be the British NYR, but it is often called the Year of Reading, which makes it universally applicable. In any case, our raison d'être is to be a British international school, teaching and learning through the medium of the English language, and following the (English) National Curriculum. HIS is not, though, a 'little bit of Blighty' but reflects many traditions and cultures: after all, our pupils come from Belgium to Vietnam, not just the UK and Thailand. Nevertheless the English language is the common thread.

The development of our library followed recommended paths: liaison with architects, working with firms supplying furniture and fittings, ordering stock, attention to layout, systems and procedures, initiating policy, creating a climate for library use, Inset, looking for sources of support and development. Throughout all this we had to keep in mind that we were developing a library for children to use in which they should find reading enjoyable.

As any good library (whether public, school or special) will reflect its community's needs, we wanted to make sure that all our users felt at home in the library, from the three year olds in the kindergarten to the young adults studying A levels. This is both a challenge and an opportunity: picture books could be stocked and used creatively, the enthusiasm of the newly independent reader be developed and encouraged and the established (including the reluctant) reader made to feel comfortable and hopefully motivated.

In any children's or school library, flexibility of the floor area is a key advantage for group activities and display. Such flexibility was created in the library at HIS. In addition, our wall space is virtually clear of shelving, enabling us to pin-board virtually all available walls for display purposes. As a result, the library environment offers colour, variety and stimulation. It welcomes pupils in and creates a different environment within a school.

This has been achieved in standard ways: face-forward book displays, themed displays (e.g. football, fashion, art, music), posters, story-times, a regular slot in the school newsletter and so on. Nothing out of the ordinary though as we reserved most of our energy for World Book Day, which started for us - as far as the children were concerned - in March. In the run-up to WBD, pupils wrote to a number of famous people inquiring about the books they most enjoyed reading as children. They contacted a host of authors: Richard Adams, Anne Fine, Jill Paton Walsh, Shirley Hughes, James Mayhew and Tony Bradman, all of whom sent wonderful and helpful replies. Roger McGough replied not only with a book from childhood but with a poem of his own. Pupils also wrote to Prince William of Wales, the President of the United States, the British Prime Minister, footballer Michael Owen and their favourite pop group The Back Street Boys.

The Queen Mother said she enjoyed reading A Midsummer Night's Dream whilst the Empress of Japan sent the text of the speech she gave to the 1998 Congress of the International Board for Books for Young People, in both video and book format. Dr. Brian Lang, Chief Executive of the British Library, said he most enjoyed reading Alice in Wonderland, and indicated that the British Library is proud to have manuscripts of Alice in its collections.

This project involved pupils finding out addresses of famous people, and used a range of reference sources, including the Internet. The value of current information was demonstrated as Madonna's site contained an out-of-date address, so the letter to her was returned "destination unknown"!

A highlight of the day was a celebrity lecture by Tom Claytor, a 35 year old American aviator who has been travelling the remote corners of the world for seven years and has been writing his experiences for a book to be published by National Geographic. As the school's head girl, Pip Kelly, from Australia, said, "Tom gave us an insight into the writing process, which made us think again just how much goes into the finished book".

On WBD itself, the timetable was suspended for the whole day, which meant there had to be book-related sessions to fill 45 separate slots during the day. For instance, the Science Department produced a series of "whodunnits" requiring pupils to find out facts and information from books in order to solve - forensically - a 'murder'. Murder on the Orient Express was used as the title in an art activity to design a new cover. With recent attention on Shakespeare through the film Shakespeare in Love, naturally the English Department offered workshops about the bard. Teenage culture was not forgotten as a session for older pupils was given entitled "Urban Myths".

The following sessions were offered: history of books (using the BBC website), poetry, children making their own books, market research into sports books by the PE Department and tricky book quizzes prepared by the Business Studies and Mathematics Departments. This meant that all parts of school life were involved in World Book Day, not least younger pupils who followed a day of learning activities featuring books. They followed their studies during the day entirely in costume. Pupils were invited to dress up for the day as their favourite book character, which in the event, ranged from Peter Pan to Where's Wally.

The school continued to link internationally by an exchange letter project with a school in the UK. Pupils at each school were invited to write to pupils in the other school recommending books to read. Library clubs at two other British schools also e-mailed pupils at HIS with their 'best reads'.

The headteacher, in the press release detailing the whole event, said that learning should be fun and "...what better way to lead students to the gateway to good learning than through books". Naturally, the day could not have been undertaken without the support and involvement of the adults of the school, the staff. This is a useful link back to one of the aims of the Year, that it should not simply be about reading for children, but about the importance of reading for all.

With regard to the National Literacy Strategy, reading is given a high profile in our prep school and the library plays a part in this. For instance, I take a group of good readers of 9-11 year-olds each week and we have looked at publishing (using the Puffin pack) and written new versions of Goldilocks, having looked in detail at the Penelope Lively version for Macdonald.

This reading group has also taken part in shadowing the Kate Greenaway Award. Some of the pupils recorded their thoughts in the school newsletter:

Billion: "In the library we are doing reading and writing about the Kate Greenaway Children's Book Award. The books are fun, the pictures excellent. The pictures in Voices in the Park are nice."

Ploy: "We are doing a Greenaway children's book award at the moment. We have to choose which book can be on the shortlist of three titles. And my favourite book so far is Pumpkin Soup. The storyline and the illustrations are EXCELLENT! Everything is good about the book. The other books are good too!!!"

So, Liz Attenborough is naturally absolutely right, it is another year of reading for librarians. Nevertheless, as we end the year, and look to what can be done post-NYR, it has been a special year. This is not least because it has been in partnership with a range of agencies and groups, and because the everyday and continuing role of libraries has been appreciated at government level. After all, it was not common for librarians to be included in government advisory groups, so it was noticeable that The Library Association was invited to be represented on the advisory group for NYR by the Department for Education and Employment.

This and other signs of an appreciation of the contribution of libraries to society make it a special year for libraries and a relationship that should be encouraged and developed.

Bibliography
Blanshard, C. Managing library services for children and young people: a practical handbook. London: Library Association Publishing, 1998.
Dewe, M. Planning and designing libraries for children and young people. London: Library Association Publishing, 1996.
Elkin, J. and Lonsdale, R. (ed.) Focus on the child: libraries, literacy and learning. London: Library Association Publishing, 1996.
Eyre, G. (ed.) Making quality happen. London: Library Association: Youth Libraries Group, 1994.
Tilke, A (ed). Library Association guidelines for secondary school libraries. London: Library Association Publishing, 1998.
Tilke, A. On-the-job sourcebook for school librarians. London: Library Association Publishing, 1998.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Anthony Tilke is Librarian and Head of Politics at the new Harrow International School, Bangkok, Thailand.
Previously he was Professional Adviser, Youth and School Libraries with The Library Association, and represented the Association on the Department for Education and Employment's Advisory Group for the National Year of Reading.