Swatch, the Glasgow School Libraries eMagazine
Category: Blog, Branches and Groups, News, Professional Development, SLG Scotland
SLG Scotland regularly showcase an activity or project that furthers the strategic aims of Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools (VLTS): A National Strategy for School Libraries 2018 – 2023. Here, school librarians Markie DeLeavey and Kaitlin Sferrazzo introduce the impact of Swatch: the Glasgow School Libraries eMagazine.
VLTS Strategic Aims:
- Curriculum, Learner Journey and Developing the Young Workforce
- Information, Digital Literacy and Digital Creativity
- Literacy, Numeracy and Family Learning
- Health and Wellbeing
Outline:
Swatch is a digital magazine created by Glasgow School Librarians and circulated quarterly within the Glasgow Secondary Schools network. We came up with the idea during lockdown to keep the library connected with our school communities, to signpost resources and promote reading for pleasure.
We asked our colleagues who’d like to be involved in creating content, which helped inform which sections would be featured in the magazine. We then worked closely as a team to design each section. Initially, content was sent in various formats (Word, PowerPoint, Publisher files) but we’ve now created a variety of templates which are uploaded to our Swatch tile on Teams, so that colleagues can complete and return. After the layout is designed and content is inserted, a copy is sent to our Principal Librarian for a final edit before circulation.
We used to upload the file to a flipbook generator and share the link, but the past few issues have been saved as a PDF and uploaded on to our School Teams. The PDF enables us to embed links which makes it a more interactive experience for the reader and helps signpost resources more efficiently. This also means we can reduce the text required on each page, as the reader can now simply tap on an image to be taken to a website to learn more. Flipbook generators have this function with a paid subscription, but due to the very sensitive firewall of the schools, we cannot guarantee it will always be accessible.
So far, we’ve been fortunate to feature 1-2 authors per issue. Most of our interviews are with authors who have visited one of our schools and who have agreed to be interviewed (sometimes by pupils). We are working with Reader Development in the Mitchell Library to hook us up with any authors wishing to promote their latest titles.
Our long-term aim is to increase pupil involvement; therefore, each issue might have some additional features to accommodate their content. We’ve featured an interview with the Glasgow Women’s Library and various themed booklists that pupils have researched. Our latest section, #Trending, will be a feature created by Holyrood Secondary pupils featuring popular titles trending on BookTok.
In addition to these features, our core sections include regular themed booklists, information on current book awards, Glasgow Libraries eResource highlights, author and illustrator interviews, a spotlight on a School Library and the work that they do, as well as ‘fun stuff’ like a craft, a quiz, and a recipe. Check out our latest Winter 2022 issue (this is a non-interactive version).
Like any project, we’ve run into some obstacles over the last two years. One of the biggest challenges we’ve faced is time. Many of us are spread across two schools and demands on our time can be high. The team has been brilliant in offering to pick up a section here or there if the usual contributor is unavailable and we have enough content on rotation that people can dip in and out as needed. Our other main challenge has been keeping things fresh. This is one of the many reasons we think it’s so important to increase pupil involvement. Pupils are immersed in the latest trends and most in-tune with the interests of their peers, so getting their feedback and hearing their ideas has been invaluable.
A major factor we’ve had to consider is copyright law. We’ve all had to do a bit of self-education to ensure that what we’re publishing is, in fact, correct and proper. We are constantly ensuring that interviewees send us authorised photos to use alongside their interviews and take extra care in sourcing images. This has made us more adaptable, as we currently create nearly all of our own backgrounds and design elements.
Impact:
Overall, Swatch has received positive feedback from pupils and school staff. We’ve seen a huge spike in pupil participation, which has been possible due to the hard work of our magazine team who work to promote the publication to their school community.
“Swatch has enabled us to showcase the great work going on across our School Libraries and the key role School Librarians have in supporting young people, particularly to our colleagues in Education.” Ian Lebeter, Principal Librarian
The pupils enjoy the interactive element of the new format, and they love seeing their work displayed in a city-wide publication. School staff are happy to promote the magazine to their students as it supports literacy, wellbeing and promotes reading for pleasure.
Quotes:
“(Swatch) is great for learners to develop the four capacities. We are also a Reading School so we use it to promote a love of reading” – PT Literacy, Holyrood
“I like to contribute to Swatch because I can promote books to support diversity and inclusion.” – Pupil, Shawlands