11 ways to engage your pupil librarians

1. Make your pupil librarians feel valued from the beginning of the process

2. Give pupils some recognition of their role

For example, you could give them a 'Librarian' badge and a certificate. At the end of a successful year, they could also be given a reward, such as a book-themed thank you party in the library!  

3. Give them structured tasks

Use a rota so that everyone knows what they should be doing, and when. Some jobs, such as reshelving, are less popular than using the library management system, so this helps to make sure that all librarians have a turn at the different roles. 

4. Emphasise the importance of book displays and reshelving

Reshelving allows your librarians to get to know where the books in the library are, and which books are popular when they come to make books for topics recommendations to others!

However, it's important that it's done properly as books can get lost if they're not put back in the right place.

Children can improve their reshelving skills using this fun game - Shelve-it!

5. Put your pupil librarians in charge of a rotating display area

Have a planning session at the beginning of a term to come up with a calendar of events to base their displays on. You could select key dates such as Roald Dahl Day, Windrush Day or Pride Month, or create themed displays – funny fiction, graphic novels, or spooky stories for Halloween!

6. Build up book talk

We all know the importance of book blether for building reading communities and peer to peer recommendations are often a valuable tool for engaging readers. (The Reading Framework page 98).

Give pupil librarians the opportunity to write reviews to help with developmental reading and writing, and engage in book talk with other pupils. Don't miss our Book Talk Cards for discussion ideas! 

7. Try a secret book initiative

Get your librarians to wrap their favourite book in brown paper, and write their own blurb or mini-review on the outside to encourage other pupils to read it. This gives them the chance to do some creative writing and share the books they love with others.

8. Involve pupil librarians in new book decisions

Show pupils Peters' recommended reads and new books pages, and let them decide what they'd most like to read! This will help develop reading for pleasure among students. 

9. Host open evenings and author events

Open evenings and family reading sessions in the library are a great chance for the pupil librarians to show off their libraries and demonstrate how helpful they are. 

If you're arranging an author event, you could discuss the different authors who may be able to attend and let the librarians have a vote. They are also useful for greeting the authors, and for running and fetching on the day!

10. Conduct pupil surveys

Ask your pupil librarians to ask their peers questions about reading and what they'd like to see in the library.

Produce a questionnaire with tickboxes so that data can be gathered in an easy but formal way. This can help with deciding on what the library should offer, raise the profile of the library and perhaps even help with budget requests!

11. Promote the library

As the librarians will no doubt be very proud of their library, they are in the best position to promote it to their peers.

They could produce posters/bookmarks to distribute around classrooms and may even be happy to make a video for the school website about all that the library can offer.