to think a school librarian should have heard of Wolf Hall and actually read books?

[Prevalence]

was chatting to a friend - who said the school librarian where he works doesn't read books, has never heard of Wolf Hall and cannot recommend any reading books to pupils as a result ... AIBU to think this is nonsense???

We didn't have a school librarian, just a library room. My English teacher would recommend books. There's also the actual library in town.

YANBU to think a school librarian should have an interest in books and read them.

YABU to be horrified she hasn't heard of Wolf Hall. She can't be expected to have heard of and read EVERY book and Wolf Hall isn't exactly classic literature

Yeah that's pretty poor.

Are they actually a librarian though? I wouldn't have thought many schools have the resources to fund a qualified librarian.

I went to a very good school which set a lot of store by reading and had a decent library. It was staffed by teachers on a rota.

Not classic as in very old, but it won the Booker ffs.

At DS's school the lady that runs the library isn't a librarian. She's there for the admin of doing the books in and out and to supervise the library.

I don't think many schools can afford proper librarians

The standard is so low nowadays. For kids and adults. It’s not about whether you read/are aware of high quality literature, it’s whether you read at all. So if you read exclusively Dog Man, that’s fine.

I work in academic library science. I do think the school librarian should have heard of Wolf Hall. I don't necessarily feel they should have read any specific book. Being a reader of books in general is a good quality in the job, but not absolutely necessary.

My pet hate is people who think librarians 'sit and read books all day'. I think some of them might notice if all our platforms, ejournals and other services went down/offline because we were busy reading. Also, I need a lot of skills to do my job and many have a quite insulting view of what we do whilst also benefitting from everything from online services to reading lists and beyond.

I bet your friend is fun at parties...

Never heard of it. I read every day without fail.
Id suggest if OP wants a full librarian at the school she decides what she wants the school to defund in order to fund that.

All this is true but a key role of a school librarian is to recommend books suited to the kid, ideally with a little stretch to help them improve the quality of what they read. Now you don’t have to have heard of every book on the planet but you need to be knowledgeable about literature.

Agree that she can't be a qualified librarian - postgrad librarianship qualifications are highly competitive. I was put off applying and I've read every book in the world (possibly a slight exaggeration).

My DD works in a secondary school LRC she's not a librarian but is responsible for cataloguing books, sectioning the genres, promoting new books and authors, wall book displays, running book week etc. There are over 4000 books in the LRC. She's not heard of Wolf Hall.

I think we have to be realistic about what we expect people to do for the money we offer. It's likely a very low paid position, so the scope of the job reflects that. Yes it would be great if school library staff were experts in literature and I agree it's a sad state of affairs that they aren't, but in reality the wages on offer are probably only enough to attract someone who can organise the books and keep track of what comes in/goes out.

You didn't talk to a librarian who doesn't read books. You talked to a friend who told you something that may well have been somewhat distorted in the telling. Not sure it calls for a Mumsnet thread bemoaning the state of school librarianship.

I’d expect anyone with even a passing interest in fiction to be aware of books that have won the Booker prize. However, I’d have to see the school librarian’s job description to assess whether that knowledge is essential. I’ve read 3 books by Hilary Mantel including Wolf Hall, and wouldn’t particularly recommend them…

I bet loads of people have heard of Wolf Hall because of the TV adaptation.

Yes, it won a booker. But so have lots of books. Do you expect the school librarian to have read and heard of every single one?

I’ve been a school librarian and I’ve read wolf hall. However, Im no longer a school librarian because I was being paid as a council grade two, which was the same as a lollipop person or a street cleaner (no disrespect to either, very important jobs) and this was not unusual. I wouldn’t be surprised if the librarian you’re talking about is in the same boat and therefore it seems unreasonable to expect a professional level of interest in the job.

I'd be quite surprised that a school librarian had never heard of Wolf Hall given how popular it's been with people who are interested in history, especially after being on TV. No need for them to have read it but it's a relatively recent Booker prize winner (as was its sequel) and it complements a lot of A level history syllabuses. It's not just a random recent novel so being aware of its existence feels a bit off.

Hilary Mantel was also an excellent writer and someone I'd have thought you would recommend to students. She was very famous by the time she died - her death was national news.

You’d have to have been living under a rock not to have encountered Wolf Hall and its sequels, though. Quite apart from it being a huge bestseller, getting two Booker wins, there are the high-profile RSC stage and screen adaptations (the latter in the Sunday night prime time slot on BBC), and a lot of publicity generated by Mantel’s brilliant (and widely misunderstood) essay ‘Royal Bodies’ getting picked up and screamed about by the tabloids etc etc. It’s the kind of book you don’t have to be bookish to have heard of.

And I didn't say it wasn't. I daresay the role varies from school to school. I've certainly had colleagues that moved to school library work and displays of recommended books, book fair visits and initiatives have been part of their work. Book recommendation list compilation also, but definitely in consultation with the subject teachers. I think there would be an expectation that a school librarian be able to have titles they suggest but I'm not sure I'd guarantee they had read them.

I work in a major uni library. The Booker Prize nominees are always displayed in mini exhibition. Other major fiction and non fiction prize books also.

I'm a senior library assistant and while I've heard of Wolf Hall (and didn't like it) there's literally hundreds of books I've never heard of that I come across during my working week!

I agree with a PP that you have to have been living under a rock not to have at least heard of Wolf Hall.