Creating a Magical Library Bus

Creating a Magical Library Bus

‘Children who enjoy reading learn to think creatively, engage with ideas, encounter new worlds.’

Booktrust

Kate Gorely was devastated when her children’s school lost its library. This is the story about how creative thinking and a lot of hard work sorted the problem out - and includes practical tips of how other schools can build their own magical library bus

Rosendale Primary School in south London lost its original school library when the school took on a bulge year and the former library space became a classroom. The books had since been kept in cramped corridors. They were neglected and unused. As someone who is passionate about children’s literature and a strong supporter of the importance of school libraries, I set about researching positive library models and visiting other school libraries to see how we could improve the space. I knew the design would have to be cost-effective and wanted to create something that was bold, inviting, exciting and totally child centred in its design and use.

It was clear that central to the success of a school library would be the Head Teacher. It was when the new executive Head Teacher Dr Neil Hopkin joined the school in 2010 his first assembly saw him, to the children’s delight, perform a stage dive to demonstrate a ‘leap of faith’. It was then I knew I had a Head that I could approach with my vision for a library.

The main hurdle was that of space. There were no vacant school buildings and no budget to build. The parents and children were very protective of the playground space and any further building that may limit it. After some creative thought, I found our solution, a Library Double Decker Bus. Last July, I set off with Rosendale School’s Literacy Coordinator, Flora Kisby, with a cheque book to buy a red double decker London bus. It was the first of many adventures to come.

The Library Bus totally caught the children’s imagination and when they all dressed in red to celebrate its arrival in the playground the enthusiasm spread amongst staff, parents, carers and grandparents alike. It was always important to the success of the bus that it would be a school community project to promote a sense of achievement, ownership and value to the library and now we had over 100 parent volunteers supporting it and offering their time and help in creating it.

From this point I worked as Project Coordinator to create the library. The volunteers gave details of the skills they could offer which became an invaluable pool of knowledge and labour. I added contacts from local businesses, bus depots and organisations. For each problem to be solved there was someone to turn to for help and advice.

The iconic presence of the red London bus and a documented, clear, detailed vision for the design and use of the library really drew people in. There was an immediate understanding of what we were aiming to achieve and it would spark off dialogue about books, childhood memories of libraries and an innate love of old buses. What was overriding in working with such a broad spectrum of the community was everyone’s enthusiasm for the project, their recognition of the value of the library and the boost it would give to the school and the school community who use it.

Working closely with and listening to volunteers, allowing them to have ownership and input into the project has really elevated what we have been able to achieve. The bus design by volunteer architect James Smith, with its clever use of space and the surrounding reading garden, by parent garden designer Rachel Bannerman are a huge success. Both James and Rachel adapted their design in accordance to research I conducted with the children during the design process. When asked where they would like to read a book, no child answered ‘sitting on a chair at a desk’ but rather ‘lying on the floor with my feet on the sofa’ or ‘circulating the world in an astronaut’s pocket’. We knew the design would have to be special and imaginative; it would also have to be flexible in terms of the many uses of the space whilst holding a large number of books without appearing cluttered.

The children now spend their break times sitting on logs in the dappled shade of the trees or lying on the grass reading playground books. Lots of children gather by the bus, and not just confident readers. There are children there who have never shown an interest in picking up a book before. They come for story tellers, to share a book with friends or just a quiet moment alone.

Importantly the children’s input has not stopped with design. They created an imaginative mural on the exterior of the bus based on their own picture book adventures. They were also consulted via online questionnaires about what books,

publications and technology they wanted in the library. They were able to contact me via the library bus email allowing them to add requests and suggestions for new books, sometimes as part of class time projects. This list was essential when spending the limited budget that we had for books. There have been very little funds available for the project (see practical guide to making the library bus below) but by prioritising how these funds were to be spent for the most impact has meant we have managed to stay just under our original budget whilst stocking an exciting selection of books that have really grabbed the children’s attention. We were ruthless in sorting through the existing non-fiction stock, recycling old books and only selecting relevant and interesting books for the library bus. The children donated books they had recently enjoyed and we had generous donations from publishers.

There have been some challenging moments, such as fitting the mains electrics in the January freeze and coordinating volunteers working with donated and recycled materials to a innovative design. It has, however, been a phenomenal experience. I have had the pleasure of working with people with tremendous skill who have often gone way above and beyond the call of duty. As with all successful community projects a lot of tea has been drank and friendships made. Saying thank you has been integral to the project.

I organised a grand opening and invited Michael Morpurgo to come and open the library very early on in the project. I knew he was a great supporter of school libraries; he is also an inspirational speaker on children’s rights and a fantastic author enjoyed by children and adults alike. I was hugely honoured that he agreed to come. He had been excited and inspired by the project and told me that the day after he received my letter he sat down and wrote a story about a school library created from a double decker bus. This story is being animated and will be shown as part of the lead up to the London 2012 Olympics this September. This is a wonderful launch for the Rosendale Library Bus.

The Rosendale Library Bus has been very well received by the School Library Association and has been short listed for the SLA Design Awards. We are also beginning to make links with a book bus in Zambia for shared learning.

The grand opening in July was an important and exciting event, showing the school how much we value and care about the new school library bus. I invited press and BBC Newsround made a special report which you can view here: www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/14213869. It was a time to thank people, inspire the children and to emphasise to them that the opening is only the beginning; the library belongs to them and holds many possibilities for the future.

The Rosendale Library Bus is a stunning and successful new library. It has taken creative thought, dedication, planning and the guidance of many volunteers and businesses to make it what it is. It was born out of a passion and a belief that all children have the right to learn, to have access to books and to experience reading for pleasure. It is testament to what can be done with thought and directive use of minimal funds, whilst making full use of the recourses, skills and knowledge available to us.

Not all schools will be able to park a double decker bus in their play ground but all schools do have the potential to have a library that is fun, accessible and a joyful place to be. Through careful evaluation we will begin to get an idea of the effect this will have on every child’s future.

Contact for further information

Kate Gorely

Project and Design Coordinator

Practical Guide to Creating a Library Bus

· Many red London buses are shipped over to America or converted for corporate use. Our bus cost us its scrap value of £3500.

· It cost us a further £1000 to have it connected to mains electricity and rewired for lighting, plug sockets etc.

· Make friends with your local bus garage. Their engineering expertise will be invaluable and they will be able to advise on the upkeep of your bus.

· Be visible and approachable in terms of recruiting volunteers.

· Approach local businesses for donations of materials with a clear vision of what you plan to achieve and how it will benefit the school. Offer publicity within the school and make sure thanks to the businesses goes out in newsletters etc

· Once you have an available skills and materials list you can identify the areas where your budget will be most effectively spent. We only spent a further £600 on the interior of the bus.

· It is definitely worth getting several quotes for any work done as some companies find the prospect of work on the bus more challenging than others.

· Liaise with your local council buildings department. The bus will require a planning certificate for a small fee and a safety check on completion.

· Explore corporate sponsorship, charitable trusts and links with businesses working in the community for additional funds and labour.

· A good dose of resourcefulness and lateral thinking will save you valuable funds on your project.