#LibrariesAreEssential to innovative and inspirational publishing

Category: #LibrariesAreEssential, #LibrariesAreEssential - Scotland's Stories, Blog

Facet Publishing is the leading publisher of books for library, information and heritage professionals worldwide, with a comprehensive catalogue that reflects the diverse array of ways in which #LibrariesAreEssential to inspiration, imagination and lifelong learning.

Here are just some of their most recent titles, sharing stories about why #LibrariesAreEssential now more than ever. And remember, CILIP members receive an incredible 35% discount on all print books!

#LibrariesAreEssential for Media Literacy

Media Smart by Joanna Burkhardt, March 2022, pp.65: 

‘Librarians have taught evaluation of information for decades. They have developed numerous evaluation practices with associated catchy acronyms to help students remember what they need to do when evaluating information. We have long recommended that readers investigate the author’s credentials and what else has been published by that author. We recommend students look at the publisher and determine what kind of organization is publishing the information. The content of the writing – what the facts are and whether they can be verified in other publications – is also a central concern in the evaluation of information. The date of publication, the relevance to the question, the purpose served by publishing the information and the audience are also areas of concern.’

School #LibrariesAreEssential

School Libraries Supporting Literacy and Wellbeing by Margaret K. Merga, February 2022, pp. 88

‘Students could expressly use the escape of reading to deal with specific situational stressors, while at the same time enabling a learning experience […] Students’ decisions to use books and reading in this manner may to some extent be the result of intentional interventions from school library professionals. For example, LM (Library Manager) Anne explicitly encouraged students to use books to relieve stress, noting that ‘the evidence is showing that you can reduce your anxiety and stress by just removing yourself from a situation and quietly reading a book’. This involved ‘taking yourself into another space, being able to breathe, think about the situation, or just put that into perspective’. She explained that ‘all of those things, we talk about that all the time’.

#LibrariesAreEssential for Promoting Multiple Stories and Storytellers

Narrative Expansions, edited by Jess Crilly & Regina Everitt, December 2021, pp. 253

‘With more storytellers come more stories from different perspectives evidencing different experiences. As libraries are not neutral spaces, librarians will need to document their curatorial decisions and signpost users to collections that offer different perspectives. Librarians have the responsibility to guide users beyond the single story and help them to experience a multidimensional world.’

Public #LibrariesAreEssential

Bold Minds, edited by Margaret Weaver & Leo Appleton, November 2020, pp. 95

‘The public library is not just shelves of books, but an extraordinary place that makes extraordinary people. It is a magic place where serendipity enables innovation, ideas, creativity, collaboration and play, and it is more important than ever that our role is seen in this way.’

#LibrariesAreEssential for Mental Health

Bibliotherapy, edited by Liz Brewster and Sarah McNicol, August 2018, pp.102

‘Library staff are an excellent source of referrals, using their relationships with customers to identify those who would benefit from bibliotherapy work. Awareness of the bibliotherapy groups among less experienced library staff, in turn, raises awareness of the diverse range of mental health issues people face… The regular use of the public library setting to support people in the community living with dementia confirms the significance of using the public library space to deliver the Reading Well Books on Prescription scheme for people with dementia. Evidence that shows the library space is comforting, calming and empowering (Brewster, 2014), all of which is indicative to positive experiences for people with dementia.’

#LibrariesAreEssential to Reading for Pleasure

Reading by Right, edited by Joy Court, June 2017, pp. 49

‘In the library, everyone is a reader, and, as such, entitled to read what they want, to have their own opinions about books and to be treated as equals by fellow students… It is vitally important that every child has access to a world of stories and words and we must, as library professionals, do all we can to welcome them into this world.’

Thank you to Facet Publishing for sharing so many thought-provoking and powerful quotes from their list, demonstrating why #LibrariesAreEssential to quite literally every facet of society.

Click here to find out more about Facet Publishing or discover our #LibrariesAreEssential evidence banks.