We were delighted to celebrate Library Lovers’ Day last week. This day is an annual opportunity for people to celebrate the importance that libraries play in their lives. This year’s theme was ‘Make a Date with your Library’ and, in keeping with the romance theme, our key event was Blind Date with a Book. For this, books are wrapped in paper to hide the cover and students are provided with small clues about the book to help them make a choice.

It is a wonderful opportunity for students to widen their reading and be introduced to a range of genres that they may not usually choose for themselves. The Blind Date books were also offered to the wider reading classes during the week, where they were enthusiastically taken up. For some students who suffer from decision fatigue when faced with an overwhelming choice, the Blind Date books were an ideal solution and everyone enjoyed the surprise and fun of having something to unwrap.

Book Club, which offers keen readers and literature enthusiasts an opportunity to share their love of reading, is being well supported this year. In the first meeting we enjoyed some lively discussions about the best holiday reads and best comfort reads for lock-down. On 5 March Book Club held the first book ‘Tasting’ for the year. This popular event offers members the chance to preview the newest titles in the library’s collection and share their first impressions.

Being an all-girls School, we acknowledge the achievements of women every day but International Women’s Day presents us with a special day when we celebrate female authors and stories of empowering women in the library. It is wonderful to provide examples of female role models who have made significant contributions in all areas of life. This year’s theme, #ChoosetoChallenge, calls on us to think about how we can challenge assumptions and inequality.

We look forward to prompting some critical thinking in Week 6 through our displays and activities.