Page 12 | to think a school librarian should have heard of Wolf Hall and actually read books?

Prevalence · 2025-03-06T10:43:03+00:00

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???

EBearhug · 07/03/2025 17:24

pollyhemlock · 07/03/2025 13:56

Someone pointed out further up the thread that recent research has shown that a considerable proportion of Year 8/9 students are still saying that Wimpy Kid is their favourite book. Now there’s absolutely nothing wrong with Wimpy Kid- love Jeff Kinney- but isn’t it a bit dispiriting if your favourite book- not just your comfort read, but your favourite book- is the same as it was when you were 9? Isn’t it a good idea to have someone in school, in the library or the classroom, who can suggest something else you might try? I don’t think it’s literary snobbery to believe this is a good idea.

I don't know - I haven't read the Wimpy Kid books to be able to judge them in particular. I'd still count The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the Littke House books among my favourites. I've read many, many things since then (not least because we didn't have a TV for most of my school days, and I ended up working in libraries for some years,) but they remain favourites and are reread from time to time.

I've read some great YA books, too, in between reading classics, non-fiction and other adult books in various genres.

I agree library workers (whether qualified or not,) should help readers extend their reading range though. I read Elizabeth Enright's Melendy family books because of the school librarian when I was 9, and the Whiteoaks of Jalna books by Mazo de la Roche because one of the librarians in the town library recommended them to me when I was about 14.

Ddakji · 07/03/2025 17:48

EBearhug · 07/03/2025 17:24

I don't know - I haven't read the Wimpy Kid books to be able to judge them in particular. I'd still count The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the Littke House books among my favourites. I've read many, many things since then (not least because we didn't have a TV for most of my school days, and I ended up working in libraries for some years,) but they remain favourites and are reread from time to time.

I've read some great YA books, too, in between reading classics, non-fiction and other adult books in various genres.

I agree library workers (whether qualified or not,) should help readers extend their reading range though. I read Elizabeth Enright's Melendy family books because of the school librarian when I was 9, and the Whiteoaks of Jalna books by Mazo de la Roche because one of the librarians in the town library recommended them to me when I was about 14.

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Bless you. Wimpy Kid is absolutely not the same as The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. They barely exit in the same dimension.

HappydaysArehere · 07/03/2025 17:57

Probably not a librarian just someone in charge of the school library. A librarian has to have extensive training and be well into books.

snowflakelake · 07/03/2025 18:02

spirit20 · 07/03/2025 16:33

I've never heard of Wolf Hall and I doubt many of the English teachers at the school I worked at until recently, let alone the librarian, have done so.

If you want school staff to have knowledge of every single piece of literature that's considered to be in any way highbrow, you're going to have to campaign for them to be paid a lot more....

I also think you don't really understand what the role of a school librarian is. Frankly, I'd be more worried if they'd never heard of Diary of a wimpy kid as that's the type of book they need to be able to discuss with pupils.

That honestly seems unlikely, my dc's school employs mostly UK state teachers and their English teachers definitely are aware of booker prize ones, even ones that haven't been adapted for TV.

Thefsm · 07/03/2025 18:37

I’ve never heard of wolf hall. I’m a writer and used to read voraciously, but don’t have the attentions span much anymore. I wonder if it just isn’t famous over here in the states, or is it a young adult book?

IhateBegonias · 07/03/2025 18:58

If they are an actual librarian they should be able to recommend books but they don’t need to know every single book out there. We all have different reading tastes.

Divebar2021 · 07/03/2025 18:59

Im really taken back that anyone in the U.K. who has been into a bookshop regularly over the last 10 years wouldn’t know Wolf Hall. It was a Sunday Times best seller and would almost certainly be out on the tables in shops like Waterstones almost permanently. I didn’t get on with it personally but then I’ve not read Life of Pi, White Teeth, The English Patient etc either but I still recognise them all ( and I actually own copies of some of them). Wolf Hall is a big hitter.

MadeInYorkshire69 · 07/03/2025 19:06

The staff members in school libraries tend to be TAs on minimum wage.
probably too busy working 2-3 jobs making ends meet to have time to read.
Agree it’s not ideal but they are probably there for filing and shelf work.

daleylama · 07/03/2025 19:12

Divebar2021 · 07/03/2025 18:59

Im really taken back that anyone in the U.K. who has been into a bookshop regularly over the last 10 years wouldn’t know Wolf Hall. It was a Sunday Times best seller and would almost certainly be out on the tables in shops like Waterstones almost permanently. I didn’t get on with it personally but then I’ve not read Life of Pi, White Teeth, The English Patient etc either but I still recognise them all ( and I actually own copies of some of them). Wolf Hall is a big hitter.

S agreed. But some respondents here are from the States. Didn't realise Mumsnet posts went international. That explains a lot of misunderstandings / misinformation on this site

1WanderingWomble · 07/03/2025 19:12

Ddakji · 07/03/2025 14:33

I work in publishing. A lot of YA publishing is publishing by numbers - is it written by a queer, disabled, black, non-binary schizophrenic, or feature the same? (I exaggerate, though only slightly, for effect.) Brilliant, let’s publish it regardless of quality. Are you a white, straight man who can write well? No, not interested.

That’s what the gatekeepers of YA are doing, the agents and publishers. End result is some good work and a lot of formulaic, substandard rubbish.

This is not serving teenagers well. And refusing to stock excellent adult literature isn’t serving them well either. Ignorance never serves children, a culture of low expectations doesn’t serve them.

Yes, we all enjoying reading fluff. But you can have well-written fluff, and you can read more than just fluff.

Completely agree, it's very evident in what is being continually pushed by companies like e.g. Scholastic. Nothing wrong with authors who fit those demographics obviously, but the quality is patchy and it feels like clumsy social engineering. And quite tedious. We always had 'trashy'/light books like Sweet Valley High and Point Horror, etc. but at least they were honest about what they were: frothy entertainment.

I work in a very diverse secondary school and for a while it felt like every other new book wanted to be the next 'The Hate U Give', but interestingly I found most other books of that type were more or less ignored! Heartstopper (which I actually enjoyed but the 'represent every possible letter in LGBTQ+++' stuff was a tad heavy-handed) and similar books had a huge surge in popularity, but it feels like that's waning and it's now more about neurodivergence. I do find it annoying because it's so inorganic - just publish good writing, good stories and stop patronising teens with this formulaic stuff!

Divebar2021 · 07/03/2025 19:58

It did ok in the US… voted 14th in the New York Times best books of the 21st Century just behind The Undergrownd Railroad. Number one was Demon Copperhead if you’re interested.

Divebar2021 · 07/03/2025 20:00

*@daleylama *
sorry my comment above was intended for you.

NotAPersonalAttack · 07/03/2025 20:02

1WanderingWomble · 07/03/2025 19:12

Completely agree, it's very evident in what is being continually pushed by companies like e.g. Scholastic. Nothing wrong with authors who fit those demographics obviously, but the quality is patchy and it feels like clumsy social engineering. And quite tedious. We always had 'trashy'/light books like Sweet Valley High and Point Horror, etc. but at least they were honest about what they were: frothy entertainment.

I work in a very diverse secondary school and for a while it felt like every other new book wanted to be the next 'The Hate U Give', but interestingly I found most other books of that type were more or less ignored! Heartstopper (which I actually enjoyed but the 'represent every possible letter in LGBTQ+++' stuff was a tad heavy-handed) and similar books had a huge surge in popularity, but it feels like that's waning and it's now more about neurodivergence. I do find it annoying because it's so inorganic - just publish good writing, good stories and stop patronising teens with this formulaic stuff!

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But those numbers don't work - the authors making money aren't those with protagonists or authors from minoritised communities and they aren't marketed either.

Look at the WH Smith displays - they rarely feature minoritised communities or authors.

It's better than the past when minoritised communities were erased from literature.

One author told me that it was actually the publisher who suggested they change a character to be more representative of the community.

And I did read that in the US you can opt out of receiving Scholastic's diverse book collection...I hope that's not correct as it's sad that a school would not want to have books featuring minoritised communities.

Ilovecleaning · 07/03/2025 20:31

Ridiculous. That’s her job!

Groosh · 07/03/2025 22:13

NotAPersonalAttack · 07/03/2025 20:02

But those numbers don't work - the authors making money aren't those with protagonists or authors from minoritised communities and they aren't marketed either.

Look at the WH Smith displays - they rarely feature minoritised communities or authors.

It's better than the past when minoritised communities were erased from literature.

One author told me that it was actually the publisher who suggested they change a character to be more representative of the community.

And I did read that in the US you can opt out of receiving Scholastic's diverse book collection...I hope that's not correct as it's sad that a school would not want to have books featuring minoritised communities.

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What 'minoritised' communities have been 'erased' from literature?

Groosh · 07/03/2025 22:14

Pluvia · 07/03/2025 16:56

How would you feel about someone who liked fish fingers and mash, sausage and chips and ice cream when they were 14 and went through their entire life eating only those things, because that's what they liked, so...? Wouldn't you hope to encourage them to try a whole world of other foods and develop their tastes? There's nothing wrong with the best YA, but ideally you grow out it and develop a taste for something adult, and the books you choose teach you about the adult world and its pitfalls. That's where well-read librarians and English teachers come in.

I'm stunned by the lack of adult taste and paucity of ambition and culture demonstrated in this thread. I live in an area where 100 years ago adult education institutes and libraries existed to encourage miners and steelworkers and factory workers to learn to read and read the classics, study history, write and read poetry, learn to paint and draw and perform Shakespeare.

I've had a man here today fixing my fancy new front door. He's a carpenter/ technician, in his 40s, from Manchester. He came into the living room for a tea and looked at some of my books, told me why he didn't like Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections and agreed with me that the book I'm currently rereading for a book group (The Leopard/ Lampedusa) is a classic. I gave him a copy of Chimamanda Ngoni Adiche's Americanah because he noticed I had two of them and he hasn't read it. Now that's an interesting guy.

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I loved Americanah. It's her best one imo.

bellocchild · 07/03/2025 22:15

ItisIbeserk · 06/03/2025 11:06

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.

This.

bellocchild · 07/03/2025 22:15

ItisIbeserk · 06/03/2025 11:06

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.

This.

Daphnise · 07/03/2025 22:32

I don't know why the person "should" have known about a boring book that needed severe editing, and knowledge of which smacks of Emperor's New Clothes- who would actually read it?
Yes I have, and wish I hadn't wasted the time.

1WanderingWomble · 07/03/2025 23:52

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NotSoFar · 08/03/2025 00:03

Daphnise · 07/03/2025 22:32

I don't know why the person "should" have known about a boring book that needed severe editing, and knowledge of which smacks of Emperor's New Clothes- who would actually read it?
Yes I have, and wish I hadn't wasted the time.

It’s an astonishing novel. I think I’ve read it annually, or almost, since it was published.

TheaBrandt1 · 08/03/2025 00:11

I thought it was great have read all 3 and the French Revolution one. I really like historical fiction though

pollymere · 08/03/2025 00:27

I needed a copy of Tom Jones and my Waterstones has never heard of it. Despite being made into several adaptations. They did have a biography...

School Librarians do need to learn their "stock" and show an interest in their subject I feel, yes.

EBearhug · 08/03/2025 00:32

Daphnise · 07/03/2025 22:32

I don't know why the person "should" have known about a boring book that needed severe editing, and knowledge of which smacks of Emperor's New Clothes- who would actually read it?
Yes I have, and wish I hadn't wasted the time.

Known about is not the same as reading it. I am quite taken aback at how many haven't heard of it, even if they've not read it.

beachcitygirl · 08/03/2025 03:36

I've heard of it - but I've also heard of
Rivals by jilly and lucky by the Collins woman .

All on a par.