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Access to high quality books

Resource to support key area 1.5.1 Access to high quality books

Type: Classroom resources, Training videos
Level: Core, Silver
Audience: Primary, Secondary
Key area: 1.5.1 Access to high quality books

This resource offers practical ideas and suggestions to help make sure your learners have access to a wide variety of exciting and engaging texts.

Watch this short video to find out more about key area 1.5.1 Access to high quality books. This is part of our series of webinar shorts, 5 to 10 minute training videos focusing on each key area of the Reading Schools framework.

Involving and consulting your learners in the process of auditing and renewing your school's book stock will ensure their needs and interests are met, while keeping your bookshelves healthy.

Why it is important

We expect Reading Schools to provide up-to-date reading materials relevant to the needs, interests and experiences of all learners.

Involving learners in the processes of procuring books and reading materials is a hugely important part of this process; by consulting them you will be able to tailor collections of books to inspire and foster a lifelong love of reading.

Without access to a wide range of texts, whether that’s books, magazines, newspapers, ebooks or audiobooks, interest in reading runs the risk of depleting. Ensuring your school and class libraries are stocked with titles to meet the interests of your learners is crucial and this resource offers good practice examples, ideas and guidance to support the development of your book stock.

Core

For core accreditation, schools should make sure that learners have access to contemporary and diverse reading materials relevant to their needs, interests and experiences.

Book audit

As you commence your Reading Schools journey, it would be useful to conduct an audit of your current books stock; how old are the titles? Is there a broad selection of titles for your learners? Do your learners have access to different media, like books, magazines, ebooks and audiobooks?

Conducting an audit early in the process can establish gaps in interest too. You can use our keeping your school library up to date resource to help with this process. It contains a six step process to help you work through a library audit, as well as advice for contacting school library support in your local area.

Why not involve your Reading Leadership Group in activities such as reviewing audited titles or planning your library celebration? Once old or unused stock have been removed, work with pupils to find out what new titles they would like in their library. The Reading Leadership group could consult their fellow learners about their interests and reading habits to steer your procurement process and influence the next step of your reading journey.

Involving your learners, parents and carers

As well as involving your Reading Leadership Group, getting learners across the school involved, together with their families, can ensure everyone's needs are being considered. Encouraging conversations around books at home can help to identify genre links and influence the kinds of titles your school and class libraries would benefit from having. For example: an adult in the household may have read C S Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia when they were young, a contemporary equivalent might well be Abi Elphinstone's Unmapped Chronicles saga, so a link can be created and the family can enjoy that shared interest of fantasy fiction and new selection of titles within that genre.

Rotate your stock

If you have class libraries or book boxes in classrooms, make sure the selection or titles are rotated regularly to ensure your learners have access to a breadth of stories and titles. Learners can play a key role in this process, assuming the role of class librarians and treating the books in class like those you would find at the public library.

A refresh of book stock, together with exciting displays and learner-led recommendations can really transform attitudes to reading and cement reading as a really exciting activity, from the process of choosing a title to peer recommendations.

Your local library provision

Creating links with your local public library service is a great way to access books that the school may not have, as well as establishing positive reading habits outwith school. If you have a school librarian, they can be a great ally in connecting the school library with the local public library, ensuring learners and their families can access the kinds of books that really interest them.

As well as actual books and physical media, library services often provide access to ebooks and audiobooks, which can be a great hook for reluctant readers. Setting up a school or class account with an e-reading service can ensure all of your learners can access these titles. There are also a number of 'free to use' ebook and audiobook services available to use, such as Librivox.

Non-fiction texts, such as magazines, newspapers and reference books, can sometimes be hard to secure, especially for a younger audience, however your local library service can offer advice and support around age-appropriate current affairs publications and subscriptions.

Funding opportunities

Procuring new book stock can be expensive for any setting, but there are funding opportunities and avenues of book donation to explore.

School Fundraising Events can be a great way to promote your reading activities and raise funds to buy books and reading materials. If you regularly fundraise, or have a Parent Council and Parent Teacher Association, why not get them onboard with the school’s Reading Schools journey and have the procurement of books a focus of fundraising activity.

Some schools have utilised some of the Pupil Equity Fund to buy books for their setting, especially where attainment and literacy are priorities.

There are a number of organisations that offer either funding for the purchasing of books, or book donations themselves such as major funders like Children in Need and the Big Lottery Fund. There are more bespoke funders that offer book and literacy focussed funding opportunities, this list is not exhaustive and all links are external and independent from Scottish Book Trust:

  • If you have an established school library, the Scottish Library and Information Council's School Library Improvement Fund can provide strategy-based funding for your setting.
  • The Siobhan Dowd Trust is a charitable organisation that offers funding to enable children and young people to access books and stories.
  • LoveReading4Kids provide a rolling grant scheme for state-funded schools across the UK to support reading for pleasure.
  • The Children's Book Project is a UK-wide charity that supplies donated books to schools across the county.
  • Better World Books has a base in Fife and offers donations of ex-library stock and donated books from the public.

Book shopping

Some of the larger online retailers offer competitive discounts on popular children's titles, but they can still be expensive. We are seeing a number of schools creating public wish lists on these retailer websites; members of the public can access the wish list and purchase books for the school directly, with the titles going straight to the school, complimenting schools' fundraising activities.

There are book retailers catering exclusively for the education sector, such as Browns Books for Students where deep discounts can be enjoyed by education providers. You will also be able to find curated book bundles based on such areas as genre and even writing style, allowing you to tailor titles to meet the interests and needs of your learners.

Book sellers are also a great resource in finding out about new, exciting titles for your learners. Linking with your local book shop is a great way to keep up to date with contemporary publications as well as the classics.

Our Book Discovery Guides and book lists

Book Discovery Guides

Scottish Book Trust's Book Discovery Guides, produced bi-annually, are full of book recommendations for primary and secondary school pupils, including:

  • New highlights from Scottish publishers

  • Guest recommendations from booksellers, librarians and more

  • Themed booklists

  • Top picks from Scottish Book Trust staff

You can also attend Book Discovery CLPL sessions throughout the year.

Book lists

Browse Scottish Book Trust's carefully selected book lists to find something new for your classroom, learners and their families.

Silver

As well as sustaining your core level activity, silver level schools should detail how they are providing all learners with the opportunity to join the local public library for access to books, ebooks and audiobooks.

Library membership

Learners are only at school for 39 weeks of the year, and for just 6 hours each day. It's important that accessing local public library services is normalised and celebrated if our children and young people are to enjoy a lifelong love of reading beyond their school years.

Library services have seen significant challenges over recent years, with many forced to close due to a lack of funding, but what they offer is invaluable within communities and we should all play a part in their safeguarding.

Linking your school, or school library, with your local public library (or authority-wide library service/community entrusted library service) can really enhance your Reading Schools journey, by offering a direct route for learners and their families to become library members and having a unity around a shared passion for reading for pleasure. Library services can also be a great place to go for book recommendations, your local librarians can offer advice on current book lists and popular titles.

Why not involve your local library in your Reading Schools activities too; you could jointly host an author event, or use library spaces for your reading celebrations.

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