Goodbye Chris & Vicky

Remember these two? Chris McClure and Vicky Butcher were our indispensible Senior Pupil Library Assistants in 2008/09. Here they are receiving their leaving presents before they set off into the big wide world. Thanks, you two - you were a great help, and totally reliable! Good luck in whatever you do next.So far for this year, I've just got one Senior Pupil Library Assistant confirmed - Claire Harley - does anyone else want to come and help me?<

My old English teacher passes on...

I read this morning that Stanley Middleton, Booker prize winner in 1974, has died. "Mr Middleton", as we knew him at school, was my English teacher for much of my time at High Pavement Grammar School. I remember him fondly - rather like his books - as quiet, unassuming, but with plenty going on behind the calm exterior. I also remember his enthusiastic playing of the double bass - always with a slightly surprised expression on his face, as if he couldn't quite believe the noise he was making! He was a good musician, and I know both my parents spent time with him in various choirs.

Stanley was an inspirational teacher of English, as long as you wanted to listen. We used to ask him what we thought were complicated questions, and then sit back and observe his long-winded thought processes as he worked out answers. I'm sure he knew what we were doing! One I remember well was "Sir, why is there only one Monopolies Commission?"

God bless, Stanley, and thank you.

Hunt the flag!

There's a new flag of Scotland on display somewhere about the school - a prize for the first one who spots it! (Clue - it's on display along with an English one and a Union flag. Now don't moan - I'm feeling homesick!)

I've seen the future - and it prints!

What is this strange-looking machine, I hear you ask – and why has he got a picture of a 1915 poetry book?

Well, this is one of only 12 “Espresso Book Machines” in the world – I went to see it in Blackwell’s bookshop in London when I visited earlier this week.

These machines are linked to a website www.archive.org – which holds at present over 400,000 out of print books on PDF files. Simply choose which book you want, and this machine will print, bind and cover it for you in about 5 minutes – while you watch. How brilliant is that? OK, the cost is £10 plus 2p per page, but I guess that will come down in the future….

Once they’ve got some copywrite issues sorted out, I can foresee a situation where you can wander in and just ask them to produce any book you fancy. How cool would that be? What a huge saving on printing costs, transport costs, paper – not printing thousands of books that end up being thrown away because no-one wants them?

Even better, if you have an unpublished novel tucked away somewhere – they’ll print it for you (maybe I’ll finish mine off now…)

Even though the machine was temporarily “out of order” when I visited, I was so impressed, I bought a copy of the first book they made on it – a small volume of poetry from Oxford undergraduates in 1915. Nothing too remarkable about that, I hear you say – apart from the fact that included in it are poems by Godfrey Elton (later to become a famous Historian and uncle of Ben Elton), Dorothy L Sayers (author not only of the “Lord Peter Wimsey” novels, but also the Guinness “Toucan” adverts), and JRR Tolkien – already writing about goblins, fairies and leprechauns even at that early age.

This book is now in library stock, under non-fiction 821 OXF. (Don’t ask me why poetry is always classified as non-fiction under Dewey. It just is. Always has. Always will be. Don’t try and give me a headache, now….)

For further information on the Espresso Book Machine, click on the link below and watch the video)

http://bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/jsp/editorial/browse/espresso.jsp;jsessionid=045C028C5DD5D0989948657D707DFAFA.bobcatt1

Fleming honoured in the House of Commons

May 2009 sees the 80th anniversary of the presentation of Sir Alexander Fleming’s ground-breaking paper on the discovery of penicillin. We at K.A. are justly proud of our famous ex-pupil – one of two to hold a Nobel Laureate award – so when our local MP, Rt. Hon. Des Browne, contacted us to discuss this, we felt we should get involved.

That’s why the LRC was closed earlier this week – your intrepid Librarian made the long haul “down south” to meet up with Mr Browne at Westminster.

On Monday evening, Mr Browne gave a speech in the House of Commons entitled “Sir Alexander Fleming and the Discovery of Penicillin 80 years on” – and I was lucky enough to be in the Stranger’s Gallery to see the event. Mr Browne was kind enough to sign the original copy of his speech and pass it on to me – another item for the school archives! He also bought me a meal in one of the Parliamentary restaurants – maybe the receipt will appear in the newspapers one day….

As part of his speech, Mr Browne announced that the Society of General Microbiology will be sponsoring new Science Prizes at both Kilmarnock and Loudoun Academies. Fleming was elected the Society’s first President in 1945.

Earlier that day, I visited St. Paul’s Cathedral, where Fleming’s ashes are interred near to such luminaries as Nelson and the Duke of Wellington. Not bad for a lad from Darvel!

Next morning, I visited the Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum, at St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington – the site of his famous discovery. They have his original laboratory laid out just as it was in 1928, with a copy of the culture dish that changed the world of medicine (the original now being held in the British Museum). I also obtained some interesting pictures and other mementoes of my visit – which will soon be on display in the main reception area. The curator of the Museum, Kevin Brown, has inscribed a copy of his new Fleming biography to the school, and this has been catalogued into library stock.

So what did I learn from my trip – apart from a better knowledge of the London Underground, and how much a decent pint costs nowadays? Well, I know a bit more about the workings of Parliament, a lot more about Fleming and his legacy – and I also know that it costs £11 to enter St. Paul’s Cathedral. Well worth it, though!

For more photos of my trip, please go to http://www.kilmarnockacademy.co.uk/

Book Review - Good old fashioned heroic tales!

From time to time, I get emails from publishers highlighting new books being produced. When I heard that Neil Oliver (the long-haired Historian from the BBC TV "Coast" programme) I just had to get a copy - and I'm glad I did.

Oliver has taken the dramatic, sad and ultimately futile story of Captain Robert Falcon Scott (of the Antarctic) and woven around it other tales of good old-fashioned, mainly British "stiff upper lips" - from Trafalgar,the Charge of the Light Brigade, the Battle of Britain, the South African Zulu Wars, and the SAS. In case he's accused of concentrating solely on the British breed of "manly men", he includes the fateful Apollo 13 story and the Demons of Camerone as well (no, I didn't know about this one either - but it sounds as it would make a good spaghetti western with Mel Gibson in the starring role, as long as his French accent is better than his Scottish one!)

Many - although not all - of Oliver's stories are based on military exploits. However, as he makes clear, "..this is not about wanting to fight or kill or die...it's about wanting to value an upright and noble way of living."

The notions of self-sacrifice and wanting to "do the right thing" might seem a world, and an age away from us now. However, I defy you to read the final extracts of Scott's journal from the Antarctic - when he knew he was dying- as he pleads with his wife to bring their son up "...interested in Natural History...keep him in the open air" without a tear in the eye and a lump in the throat. The boy, of course, grew up to be Sir Peter Scott, conservationist, wildlife painter and co-founder of the Worldwide Fund for Nature.

This book is full of little gems. In the chapter on the ancient Greeks (I know, sounds really boring, but it isn't!) Oliver tells of the message sent to the city of Sparta by the leader of an invading force: "...submit without delay, for if I bring my army into your land I will destroy your farms, slay your people and raze (flatten) your city." The Spartans replied with one word which made the invaders think again: "IF"

This book is not for the faint-hearted - and it is gloriously non "PC" (it explains where the term "women and children first" came from) - but shoulders back, chest out, keep the back ramrod straight, and swash those buckles! Be a manly man!

Available from the LRC, non-fiction section, Dewey number 904.

Wot? No Harry?

The five authors who have held the title "Children's Laureate" have recently chosen their favourite children's books of all time (seven each - giving a total list of 35 books) - and - guess what - not a Harry Potter, Narnia or Dark Materials amongst them!

Instead, Quentin Blake, Anne Fine, Michael Morpurgo, Jacqueline Wilson and Michael Rosen (the current Laureate) have each chosen, in the main, books they enjoyed reading when they were young. So given that they are all really old (even older than me!) you might not recognize too many of their choices. There are a few I've never heard of! But there are also some really good ones - including Treasure Island, Stuart Little, The Just So Stories, Sword in the Stone, and Anne Frank's Diary.

You can see the full list through this link:

http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/navigate.do?pPageID=200000979

So, what's your favourite book of all time? Anyone fancy making a list up? By the way, I have to choose The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as mine - every time I look at those illustrations they take me back to being 9 years old!

~Tidy and ready to go!

Well, what can I say about the last couple of weeks? Obviously. it's been nice and quiet in the library, especially with the cancellation of the study lessons. We were interrupted by a visit from the local Fire Brigade earlier in the week - but I guess that's what happens when you let people make toast in the kitchens!
You might (if you look real hard) see some changes when you visit - the teenage and senior fiction sections have been moved around and re-labelled, as have the talking books. I got some good stuff done with the archives, and the issue desk has been tidied up a bit. See you all soon!

Giving blood for the cause...

So what did I get up to last night? I had a nice easy lie down for 90 minutes on a bed in Glasgow. And why, I hear you ask? We all thought you were really busy?

Well, once a month I go up to the Blood Donor Centre in Glasgow to give platelets. Platelet donations are really important - unlike whole blood, they can only be stored for about a week, so the Blood Transfusion Service really need a regular supply. Platelets are used to treat a number of different illnesses and diseases - prematurely born babies often need a platelet boost, they are used to treat different types of cancer, and people with a condition called Haemophilia need platelets.

Platelets are the part of the blood that helps it clot and form a scab when you cut yourself. Without platelets, you would just bleed and bleed and bleed. So they are really important!

Not everyone can become a platelet donor - you have to be fit and healthy (so why they accepted me I have no idea!), aged at least 17, have a higher than average platelet count, have a particular type of blood group, and be prepared to commit to donating at least once per month. As a consequence of this, there are only about 1000 platelet donors in the whole of Scotland - so I feel quite proud! But perhaps there is a member of staff somewhere who could think about it - or one of the 6th years who will be studying in Glasgow next year?

Of course, far more people donate whole blood - which you can do three times a year from the age of 17 (come on, senior pupils - where are you?) - and you always get free tea, coffee, or juice, and a good selection of biccies (last night I had a Tunnock's Teacake, a taxi chocolate bar, and a packet of TUC cheesy biscuits). Whole blood donation is just as important as platelet donations - you might have seen the recent TV advert campaigns. So make a commitment to look at this after your 17th birthday - but remember, if you've had a piercing or a tattoo within the last year, that's you out for a while! I am informed that we recently had a talk from the Scottish Blood Transfusion Service on this, and last weekend 27 17 year olds gave blood in the Kilmarnock area when the mobile donation vehicle was here. Were any of them from KA? For more information, look at this website: http://www.scotblood.co.uk/

OK, I hear you ask - why is all this blood stuff on a School Librarian's blog? Well, the lie down I talked about earlier on is a great chance to catch up on reading - last night I got through some more of KM Grant's book "The Blue Flame" - because myself, Ms Fullerton & 20 eager S1 pupils are off to see her this afternoon at Stewarton Academy!

Keep in touch

SK

Lots of new books...

So what's new in the LRC? New books catalogued in February include:

• Sam Stern's Get Cooking - Apparently he's better looking than Jamie Oliver, and much younger!
• Lots of new Catherine MacPhail, Catherine Forde, Jasper Cooper and K.M. Grant books, to tie in with various author visits
• A whole range of graphic novels - Superman, X Men, Marvel Masters, Star Wars, Spiderman, and a new set of CSI related graphics
• Two new Terry Deary books (the guy who writes the Horrible Histories) - Flight of the Fire Thief & Fire Thief Strikes Back
• Two spooky Victorian crime books by Eleanor Updale - Montmorency & Montmorency on the Rocks - think Jekyll and Hyde with attitude!
• TWOC by Graham Joyce - highlighting what can happen if you start joyriding
• A new set of "Issues" resources - looking at current debates on subjects such as AIDS, Marriage and Cohabitation, Animal Rights, Bullying, Privacy and Human Rights

Ask me if you want to find any of these new books - or to place a reservation if someone's beaten you to it!

For those of you wondering why I'm still showing "Top Lends" for Dec / Jan - I've decided to run this as a two monthly feature, to get a better feel of which books are popular. So it will be next updated at the end of March (or whenever I get around to it!)

SK

Guess who's coming to dinner

Our garden in rural Darvel seems to be a haven for all types of wildlife. We've got a regular foxy night-time visitor - nicknamed "Domino", because he's always so well fed (think jazz musicians). The local hedgehog is very unimaginatively called "Spike". We quite often get grey squirrels on the bird-table - always known as "Nemo" or "Mrs Nemo" - our 2 year old insists, despite them not looking anything like clown fish. Once or twice we have seen a pheasant strutting his stuff - he is known as "Tommy" - after Tommy Cooper, who always wore a Fez!

There are plenty of fieldmice running around - too many to name - and a variety of cats. A rat appeared once, but because we don't like them we didn't give him a name, so he's never turned up again...


However, we had a real treat at about 11pm last night - one of our security lights came on, to reveal a badger snuffling about in our back yard. I've never seen a real live one before, only roadkill, so it was a real thrill. S/he only stayed for about 20 seconds before disappearing through the gate into next door's garden, leaving Barbara & myself saying to each other "Did we really just see that!?" Quite what food we put out for him (or her) I've no idea - I think their main food is worms, and I'm not going hunting for those!

Anyway, the badger has been named "40 quid" in the hope that we get return visits. (Yes, I know we have really strange names for our animals. In this case, think the cost of a Black and White TV licence).

Finally in this blog, a big shout out and massive up & nuf respect to my sister Hilary, down in sunny Norwich (or "Strawhead land", as we call it). Now because she's not so young and trendy as me (Quiet at the back! No sniggering!) she won't have an idea what that means. Anyway, with a new wean in the family - Katie Elizabeth, born last week - I think it's important that she tries to keep up with yoof kulture - and I think it's great that someone so young and good looking can admit to being a surrogate grandma. Well, at least I might get a good birthday present from her now!

SK

Ryan hits the Jackpot

Does anyone remember visiting the Edinburgh Book Festival? Does anyone remember entering a competition to win a signed book by MG Harris? Well, Ryan McCulloch (2P1) does - because he's won it!
The picture shows Ryan looking incredibly smug, with his prize, an uncorrected proof copy of the 2nd part of The Joshua Files series, "Ice Shock" - signed by the author. This means that Ryan will be able to read it before anyone else, as it hasn't actually been published yet. However, because it's an uncorrected proof copy, there may be some speeling errors in it - so it won't help Ryan with his homework!
Well done, Ryan

Welcome to two new Library Assistants

Here's our newest recruit to the Library staff - Toby. Toby will be a lot more strict than me when it comes to overdue books, carrying on, etc - however he can be bribed with cheese and onion sandwiches and jaffa cakes!

Seriously though, I first met Toby when, as a very junior part-time Library Assistant in Nottingham, I went on the "Rattle, Rhyme and Roll" course to learn how to run story and song events for the under 2-year-olds. These skills have, like Toby, followed me around from job to job. I don't plan on running any R, R & R sessions here (unless there is a real demand for them), but Toby told me he has not been happy sitting in the boot of my car since last October - so he now lives in the LRC! He has always been banished from home, as my wife doesn't like him (I don't know why, he's very friendly really).

Perhaps more importantly, Jamie McIver (2P5) has also been appointed as a new Library Assistant. Jamie is nowhere near as handsome as Toby, but will probably be better at shelving books. For a Library Assistant, Toby's knowledge of the alphabet is terrible. I once found him putting "The Hobbit" by JRR Tolkein back on the shelves under "F" - he said it was because the book is about Furry animals!

Fame at last.....

So now, thanks to Mr McIlvanney, my mug-shots are on the KA website - so everyone can see me - if that doesn't reduce visitor numbers, nothing will...

The Staff Book Group went OK today - most people had something to say about "The Bluest Eye", even if they didn't all enjoy it (apart from Mrs Dunsmuir, who admitted that she had only read 60 pages. Must do better next time - have a punnie!)

Watch this space for news next week of a new Library Assistant - unlike any you've ever seen before!

Have a good weekend, don't get hit by too many snowballs

SK

Just another day....

Just another day....
So what's been happening in the LRC for the last day or so? Well, not a huge amount, to be honest. I'm busy cataloguing new stock, making plans for the Spring Read events (Catherine MacPhail is visiting us next month), planning for World Book Day on 5th March, organizing items for the LRC Committee Meeting next Thursday, trying to answer some archive queries, trying to sort out a communication problem between my PC & Alice (they don't seem to want to talk to each other at the moment - maybe they've had an argument), chasing up magazine subscriptions (where is the February issue of Four Four Two? Answers on a postcard please!), trying unsuccessfully to get the laptop back from Mr Elliot - etc - etc - etc. Oh yes, and making encouraging noises towards the 5th & 6th years who are going through the pain of prelims. Feeding ailing Library Assistants cup-a-soup, trying to sort out the printer, arranging new stocks of bookmarks. And busy reading "The Bluest Eye" for tomorrow lunchtime.

Good job I'm not "snowed under" with work!

Is anybody reading this? Please let me know!

SK

The Transfer Window is Now Closed!

Overheard in the Staff Room this morning:

"You can tell all those football managers are men. Why do they leave all their football transfers until the last minute?"

SK

New K/K site to check out

Want to see some pics of Kilmarnock & the surrounding area? Check out this site:

www.urstv.com

OK, I admit it - it's run by my sister-in-law. But I'm not on commission, honest!


SK

A nice cosy Friday out of the gales

Well, that's my first week back almost finished. I thought someone was being really kind to me and had laid on nice fresh coffee this morning - until I realized that it was just the remains of yesterdays Head Teacher's meeting refreshments. Thanks and a PPP point each to Connor McLintock & Jamie McIver for helping me tidy up.
Quite a lot of this morning was taken up with arranging a Staff Reading Group meeting for next Friday - we will be discussing "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison (I guess I'd better read it soon!) - and I've put a note out for suggestions for next month's book.
Apart from normal admin stuff (why do I get THREE of Mr McIlvanney's English classes on a Friday?) I've also started to work on our Spring Read promotion. HOT NEWS - Catherine MacPhail (Nemesis, Roxy's Baby, Missing, etc) will be visiting us on 18th March to give a talk. Start saving up now if you want to buy one of her books so she can sign it for you!
Catch y'all next week....
SK

Back at last!

Well, I'm just finding my feet again after being off for 5 weeks (including 2 for Christmas) after my hand operation. How can I forget so much in 5 weeks? And the work has really piled up - will take a bit of time to get straight. Nice how everyone's been pleased to see me back though.

The LRC is closed today because we've got the Head Teacher's meeting on today - all 9 heads from the 9 East Ayrshire Secondary schools. So, best behaviour! I'm off out this afternoon to the new Grange Academy to meet up with the other 8 School Librarians (well, 7 actually, because the Cumnock post is vacant at present) for our once - per - term meeting. Hopefully we'll be discussing the Spring Read promotion and find out which authors will be coming to talk to us.

A bit of a strange day today really, what with the LRC being closed, me being out in the afternoon, then early evening I'm off to Loudoun Academy for the S4 Parent's evening (I've two children in S4). Then later in the evening to Darvel Library for my monthly Book Group meeting (this month we've been reading No Time to Say Goodbye by Linwood Barclay - really good!)

So unfortunately I won't be able to attend this Evening's Burns Night Dinner - shame really, I would have liked that!

That's all for now folks, catch you later

SK