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???

Really? a 15-18 year old is perfectly capable of reading WH!

I didn’t say they were not capable of it, only that they may not wish to. I read lots of classics at 13/14, but I was an outlier at my school. (And having not read WH, I don’t particularly know the difficulty level of it, just my lack of interest in Booker prize winners generally!)

Well this is the thread that finally made me join Mumsnet after lurking for years and years!

I'm a professionally qualified school Librarian. I have a degree in English Literature, a Masters in Information and Library Management and 25 years experience in a range of Libraries. And I'm a massive lover of teen and YA fiction.

I work in a state secondary and people like me are as rare as hen's teeth. Most state schools cut their library provision years ago, even private schools are making Librarians redundant and using unqualified staff to run the service. I think my role only exists because my school places huge emphasis on reading for learning and joy, and I can only manage to live on the low salary I earn because my life is subsidised by my better-earning partner. All in all a pretty sad state of affairs for our young people.

Thinking about the OP. I absolutely refuse to shame someone for not having heard of a book. I am good at my job because I primarily read teen and YA fiction. I am hugely enthusiastic and able to recommend a book even if I've not read it but I sometimes feel shame that I haven't read the latest Booker/Women's Prize winner. But that isn't what makes me good at my job and most literary fiction doesn't ignite my reading passion. (That said, I adore Wolf Hall and the sequels and think Mantel is incredible)

If what your friend is saying is correct, then I recommend they encourage the school to get an institutional membership of the School Library Association. The Librarian can then receive professional support, training and book-promotional resources for the very reasonable fee of £95 p/a.

I agree as an academic in Eng Lit that the huge growth of YA has stopped adolescent transitioning to adult reading in the way that used to happen -- certainly there were YA novels around when I was a teenager, but they were just a bridge between child and adult reading, the signal you were leaving the children's library for the adult one, and when it was quite normal to move from reading A Little Princess and Narnia to 19thc novels such as those of the Bronte sisters and Dickens maybe with a slight detour via LoTR, The Catcher in the Rye and Brat Farrar.

I see my students now hitting YA series and just staying. Numerically, there's no reason why they ever need to move on. They could read YA for the rest of their lives.

I would be surprised at a school librarian recommending Wolf Hall other than to specific, older students (probably those doing English and/or History A level). It's brilliant, but the style is not the most accessible for a 'casual' reader

Our school (boys, 11-18) issues suggested reading lists of general interest to each year group and that contains largely modern YA books with a few classics like Treasure Island.

I think you’ll find many secondary school librarians are ex teachers who have taken a huge pay cut to escape. Although they may not have professional librarian qualifications, they’ll be educated to degree standard (often with English degrees) and willing and able to deal with the poor behaviour that even a library experiences these days.Sadly the stereotype of quiet, bookish children finding a haven in the Library is out of date when it becomes a warm place to meet with your mates and see if you can annoy the Library ladies!

I'd say Wolf Hall is an easier read than Treasure Island for a teenager today! I was a voracious reader of most things that I could get my hands on as a teen and RLS always felt like hard work.

Welcome, @NoShelfContro1 ! Good to hear you're still able to do such a brilliant job in a school library and I wish there were more of you. Totally agree that a love of books that resonate with children is vital. I get that shaming people for not knowing about every book is not good, and snobbish behaviour about reading is often counterproductive, but do you keep any sort of watching brief on emerging books outside the YA space? Wolf Hall has sold over a million copies and has been a bit of a phenomenon - I just wonder how possible it is to be engaged with books in general and not have come across it.

You've conveniently skipped over the fact that this librarian doesn't actually read books. At all.

My friend is a qualified librarian and had a job as a school librarian. The school then wanted her to work as a TA for some bits of the week and then do other school work outside of the library. It became so she was mainly in the classroom rather than the library. She quit and they replaced her with a TA, who is paid less than she was, is less qualified (and isn't actually a librarian at all) but is still called the librarian.

I don't know many schools with an actual qualified librarian any more.

when it was quite normal to move from reading A Little Princess and Narnia to 19thc novels such as those of the Bronte sisters and Dickens maybe with a slight detour via LoTR, The Catcher in the Rye and Brat Farrar.

I think you may have known quite a specific subset of people who enjoy 19c novels.

Most of the adults I knew growing up read science fiction, crime fiction, Mills & Boon or Jilly Cooper. Not that they couldn’t have read the Brontë sisters, but they found other types of fiction a more enjoyable read. And that’s fine!

Capable but likely not interested.

Maybe suggest the librarian starts by reading Orbital? It won the Booker and it's WAY shorter.

No I didn't. I offered a suggestion that they could join the SLA. It's not worth much more attention than that given it's a secondhand comment from a friend of the OP so we have no way of knowing whether this is true or not.

has never heard of Wolf Hall and cannot recommend any reading books to pupils as a result

This is pretty tenuous...

Who here on MN cared about the Booker prize under age 18, and read them?

It’s a literature award, selected by booky people. It’s not the best sellers, not everyone’s fav book. Librarian doing a job which doesn’t include talking to you about Booker prize from 15 yrs ago.

I imagine she's more of an administrator, or a teacher who looks after the library. Schools can't afford librarians. And even if she were, librarians can't read all books. Even Booker ones!

Are you Hilary Mantel?

@Youbutterbelieve

I wonder if I am your friend? I left a school for that exact reason!

It is so hard to find a school which values a Librarians skills. Even harder to find a state one that will pay a salary commensurate with those skills!

She's dead.

Well THAT made me burst out laughing and then feel like a terrible person! Thanks for that!

I am an avid reader. I have heard of & read (& not enjoyed) Wolf Hall. But there are plenty of Booker winners I haven't heard of. It's not the be all and end all.

Here's why I love Mumsnet. Fascinating thread. 😀

As there's (presumably) heaps of librarian-types on here, and I'm interested in @BeforeWinter's theory that people get 'stuck' in YA, what about Fan Fiction online?

I'm a sad old Trekkie and read a range of AO3 (often porn-soaked) nonsense on there. (Some quite eye-opening/eye-watering.) Far less trouble, presumably, to read than trying to borrow/buy/find bookshelf space for real books. (In my defence I've read 'À la recherche,,,' twice, <insert Mumsnet disclaimer here>, etc.)

I think the Booker is a bit of a distraction here. It was only mentioned when someone said it wasn't a classic book. Wolf Hall has been the second biggest Booker prize winner ever, after Life of Pi. It's been sold in airports and stations, on TV in primetime. The average Booker winner is pretty obscure really, but Wolf Hall has been read far more widely. Obviously MOST PEOPLE haven't read it, because most people don't read most books. But it's been in the cultural zeitgeist.

And, wasn't it on TV?

As I said before, I've never read Wolf Hall, but I'm am surprised at the number of people who have never heard of it, not just because it was a HUGELY touted book (as well as the rest of its series), but mainly because the recent death of Hilary Mantell was all over the news in all formats, and the news sources mentioned Wolf Hall every single time. I remember being slightly frustrated on her behalf, because HM wrote a lot of other books, yet Wolf Hall was the only one shouted about in her obituaries.