"My Day in the Library" from School Librarian and Writer Laura Tapper

By Laura Tapper | Interview, Libraries, Guest Blog, Alumni

Take a peek inside Laura's day as she explains what a typical day for a Librarian may look like

An atmosphere of focused concentration greets me when I arrive at Cromer Junior School every morning because maths lessons are already underway. Although my official start time is ten o’clock, I like to get there early to indulge in the next instalment of my current read, which sits on my desk so the children can ask me about it. This week it’s ‘Kidnap on the California Comet’ by M. G. Leonard and I imagine it will disappear from the shelves as soon as I’m done: if there’s one thing that’s guaranteed to be popular at CJS, it’s a mystery story!

With around 250 on the school roll, my days are varied and the library is a busy place. As well as all the children popping in to borrow and return books, there are missing library cards, book repairs, reservations, and general tidying to do. Thankfully, I have an enthusiastic team of library assistants from Years Five and Six to help me during break and lunchtimes – they make a huge difference. I also manage a small book-buying budget and an important part of my job is to make a little bit go a long way, to cater for everyone’s needs. This includes improving the diversity of the book stock, supporting those with specific learning needs and those with English as an additional language, as well as ensuring we have titles to inspire all readers at all levels. It’s a tall order! Luckily, we occasionally get generous donations of books and that really helps to make the budget stretch a bit further.

The children often ask me for recommendations and are amazed at how familiar I am with what’s on the shelves. “Have you read every book in the library?” is a question I’m frequently asked. “Not quite…yet!” is my usual response. An extensive knowledge of our library stock comes in handy, though, when the teachers need me to suggest a book to share with their class or to help teach a particular topic. I usually source the books for our head teacher to read aloud in assembly, too.

Over the lunchtime, when I'm not supporting the library assistants, I might be putting book packs together for children who are self-isolating or leading our new ‘Reading Friends’ groups. I also coordinate our school’s entries for the Young Writers competitions, so it’s a good opportunity to talk to the pupils taking part.

By two o’clock, my stomach is telling me that it’s time to go home for something to eat. Then I’m ready to crack on with my own writing, but that’s another story and I tweet about it @LauraTapper93.