Meet our new CVMS Librarian

We are excited to introduce you to Cardinal Vaughan’s new Librarian.  As an Alumna of CVMS, Miss MacGloin has a special connection to the school. She studied a BA in English Literature at Bristol University and then a Master of Philosophy in Irish Writing at Trinity College Dublin. 
 
Miss MacGloin is passionate about inspiring all pupils at the Vaughan to have a love for reading. We took the opportunity to talk to Miss MacGloin to share her vison for the Library.

Tell us about your new role in the CVMS library and your plans for 2023?

I am the new full-time librarian at CVMS, my role is to manage and organise the library and its resources to support the learning, reading, and information requirements of the students. I am available to help pupils with reading and study queries, initiate and participate in activities to promote wider reading, and engage with the students to select and maintain the best and most relevant library stock we can.

My biggest plan for the new year is to continue our goal to renew and modernise the library space and encourage use of the library across all years of the school, from the year 7s, to the year 10s, to the sixth form! I am most excited to start some book clubs and competitions so we can have some more fun alongside the serious academic side of the library and for all the different ways we will be celebrating the library in 2023.

How can pupils and parents use the library online service?

I would love to make everybody aware of our library online dashboard that can be accessed via a link on the main school website (The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School (accessit.online). The dashboard includes regularly updated content about what is happening in the library, displaying new books and reading lists relevant to various dates and celebrations in the school calendar. Students also have access to our full database of stock via the dashboard and can check availability and reserve books. If a student is wishing to browse for class, there is also the option to undertake a ‘visual search’ where they can click the relevant subject and have access to a list of books.

Is there an author or a collection of books that you would like to add to the library catalogue that you feel the pupils would really benefit from?

There has been a bit of a trend in the library recently for Agatha Christie books and I am more than keen to add more of her mysteries to our library catalogue! Christie is an excellent writer for a school library, offering high level and challenging literature that is still accessible to students. Her mysteries also encourage readers to put together clues, using logic and comprehension, to solve the murders alongside Miss Marple and Poirot. Christie herself is an interesting and inspiring writer, particularly in the way she used her first-hand experiences, from her time working in hospital dispensaries during both world wars and her time on archaeological digs with her husband, to inform her work, creating a high level of knowledgeability in her writing.

How can parents get more involved with the library at CVMS?

At home, it would be greatly appreciated if parents could be sure to remind students to return library books on time and check for any books that might be overdue or have been lost/forgotten since the disrupted learning caused by the COVID pandemic.

All boys from years 7-9 will have reading lessons of varying frequency during the term and all students in the lower school are required to bring a reading book to their English lessons. Discussing book choices at home and engaging with the boys’ reading outside of a school setting is a sure way of encouraging reading generally (which I know can sometimes feel impossible when we are talking about teenage boys) and promoting parental involvement with our library via the students themselves. 

In school, parents are more than welcome to join our ‘Parents Book Club’ that runs once each half term. We generally read an adult book as well as a young adult book so parents can stay up to date with what is popular amongst the students alongside exploring new literature themselves.

We are also hoping to start a book donation scheme where parents and other members of the wider school community will be able to offer any spare good quality books as additions to our library, so watch this space for more details of that coming soon!

Can you tell us about your favourite author?

As someone who loves books and literature of all kinds, it is almost impossible to choose just one favourite author. I think if I had to name one it would probably be Oscar Wilde. I love the gothic undertones in The Picture of Dorian Gray and the way his writing is purposefully designed to feel like art, creating really vivid images in your mind as you read. I also appreciate his extensive wit!

Ultimately what do you want our pupils to experience when they visit the library?

My priority is always to create a warm and welcoming space for every single student in the library. When visiting, I want them to feel inspired by the book choices available and to feel able to use the library as a comfortable place to read and work. Our pupils will hopefully experience a library that is modern, interesting, and a pleasant academic and wellbeing environment within the school.

To contact Miss MacGloin email her here