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In this blog post, two headteachers share their experiences of building thriving school libraries which nurture students’ wellbeing and love of reading. The effectiveness of school libraries is contingent upon the support they receive from school leadership (Oberg & Marquardt, 2025). Research shows that schools with engaged leadership teams are more likely to have well-resourced libraries, which in turn support attainment, independent learning, literacy and access to equitable educational opportunities (Great School Libraries, 2023; Scottish Library and Information Council, 2018).

Gavin Clark – Headteacher (Preston Lodge High School, Prestonpans, Scotland)

Preston Lodge is a comprehensive state sector school, situated in Prestonpans, Scotland. It is a school very much at the centre of the communities of Prestonpans, Cockenzie, Port Seton, Longniddry and Blindwell on the East Lothian coast. Our library is central to fostering a sense of community, and is at the heart of our school’s work.

Student choice and student voice are central to our librarian’s work, including a pupil-librarian scheme, a welcoming and inclusive environment, many clubs and activities, and student involvement in stock selection including book-buying trips.

In Book Groups, students decide on monthly themes, watch author interviews, and play reading games and quizzes based on the books or the genre they are reading. Students take turns leading the group, asking questions and organising games. We have Book Groups for the parents and carers of students who access a supported curriculum, and for parents/carers more generally, exploring contemporary teen and young adult fiction.

We participate in the and our student-led Reading Leadership Team choose books for the library, promote reading for pleasure throughout the school, create book lists for staff, and create book displays and reading recommendations.

Members of the Reading Leadership Group are recognised for their contributions every month, with end of term surprises for pupils (most recently a theatre trip, and transforming the library into a Reading Blanket Fort!).

Students take part in organising reading celebrations and events, such as World Book Day, World Poetry Day and Book Week Scotland. For World Book Day, students have organised a Book Café for other students, parents and carers and for students in the final year of primary school, as well as a whole-school Title Quest competition. For Empathy Action Month, our youngest year group made Empathy Resolutions and were given fiction recommendations to explore empathy and different life experiences.

‘Our library is a safe, nurturing space which gently promotes reading for pleasure across our school and wider community, developing relationships between all year groups and staff, offering students a place to “just be”.’

The key purpose of our library is pastoral: our library is a safe, nurturing space which gently promotes reading for pleasure across our school and wider community, developing relationships between all year groups and staff, offering students a place to ‘just be’.

The impact of this? Students have said the library is ‘like a family without the stress’, ‘a non-judgmental space – a place where I don’t feel judged or treated like an outcast’, ‘a place where you can be yourself’. The library and reading activities improve literacy, and support students’ mental health and wellbeing, connecting them with stories which reflect their own experience as well as those stories and voices that often go unheard.

Mark Court – Headteacher (Kings Heath Primary School, Birmingham, England)

A school library should be more than just a room with bookshelves – it should be the beating heart of a school’s reading culture. When I first arrived at Kings Heath Primary School, one of my biggest priorities was strengthening this culture. Budget cuts had left bookshelves sparse, and opportunities for reading for pleasure were squeezed out by a packed timetable. We knew we had to think differently.

‘A school library should be more than just a room with bookshelves – it should be the beating heart of a school’s reading culture.’

It was at this stage that we began engaging with parents, particularly the Parent Teacher and Friends Association. It quickly became clear that the parent community recognised the significance of this project and showed remarkable generosity, contributing wholeheartedly to support. Substantial funds were raised to transform an unused computer suite into a well-stocked, welcoming library. From the outset, our aim was to create a space that children genuinely wanted to use. We moved away from the stereotypical ‘primary-coloured’ library with cartoon cut-outs, and created a coffee shop-inspired space: subtle lighting, plants, cosy corners and a calm atmosphere. It is now a space where children, and adults, want to be, where reading feels natural and enjoyable.

Kings Heath reflects the vibrant diversity of Birmingham, and it’s vital that our children could see themselves and their families within the books they read. We made intentional choices: investing in the latest authors, prioritising diverse voices, and including texts that sometimes tackle difficult themes. Life is complex, and literature should reflect that complexity.

Building a successful library is not only about representation, however, it’s also about sparking excitement. To tempt even the most reluctant readers, we filled the shelves with irresistible books. Author visits to school, followed by their works appearing in our collection, made reading feel real and alive. The library became more than a space for books: it became a place of connection and discovery.

A successful school library is built on investment, inclusivity and a welcoming environment. Most importantly, it gives children the gift of seeing themselves in stories, and the joy of getting lost in them.

References

Great School Libraries. (2023). Equal futures? An imbalance of opportunities.

Oberg, D., & Marquardt, L. (Eds.). (2025). School Librarians and Principals Leading Together: International Perspectives. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Scottish Library and Information Council. (2018). Vibrant libraries, thriving schools.