Ask Alex! SLG Scotland’s resident Agony Aunt to the rescue

Category: Blog, SLG Scotland

Do you work in a school library in Scotland? Do you have a problem or need advice?

Get in touch with Alex so she can offer her words of wisdom.

(All submissions are anonymous unless you wish a personal reply)

Hi Alex,

Most days I love my library – I don’t insist on silence, and it’s normally a vibrant but quiet enough space with students reading, playing games and socialising… but today it was raining pretty heavily and students that might otherwise be outside letting off energy were looking to do so somewhere dry… They chose the library!

I firmly believe that the library is a space for everyone, but a group of S3/4s came in that I knew were going to cause a disruptive environment. When asked what they were in the library to do they all said “read” and grabbed random books off the shelf… even though we all knew that was unlikely to be the case I felt that I had no choice but to give them a chance. Five minutes later they were creating too much noise, and I asked them to leave while they loudly pointed out that they weren’t the only ones chatting as everyone else was too – whilst their disruption was on another level, they did have a point. How can I handle these situations to avoid the inevitable arguments… Because ultimately my job is about fostering good relationships with students.

Rained Off

Hi Rained Off,

Managing student behaviour in the library over intervals and lunchtimes can be a hard task at the best of times, add in some rain (or worse – snow!) and it becomes a million times harder.

When it comes to noise levels, everyone has their own opinion on what is acceptable in a library and you’ll never be able to please everyone. Maybe try to create a balance across the week of some days with noisier clubs and activities, and some days with a more study-conducive quiet. Students who really need to use the library as a safe space will adapt as necessary, and it allows disruptive students to be redirected to a time that better suits their needs.

Try to keep your approach consistent, so students know what to expect. Use the language of your school’s behaviour policy. Giving students a warning about their behaviour, a clear statement of your expectation and time to correct it can be useful (but tricky in the moment when you just want rid of the problem).  Using the broken record technique when faced with protestations avoids getting drawn into long conversations. An offer for the students to come back and discuss the matter after school shows that you’re acknowledging their grievance but asking to discuss it at a better time.

If staffing allows, you could try being super-interested in the reading choices of that particular group – give them all of your attention! Perhaps a discussion about what led them to choose that particular book, some recommendations of further reading… you might create some new readers, at worst (best?) your attention will cause them to retreat elsewhere…

It can also be useful to consider how many users you can safely manage at a time and consider reducing the number slightly to match the mood of the room. The downside of this is that you effectively spend your time as a bouncer rather than assisting users. It’s far easier with a team of either paid staff, or willing student volunteers to issue books etc. And, of course, you need a library space with actual doors!

Hopefully this helps, but why not come along to SLGS’s next Vent Event, online on Wednesday 28th September from 4–5pm. It’s an informal networking session where you can share your issue with librarian colleagues from across the country and get even more advice. See you there!