Orkney librarian scoops top award

Orkney’s children’s librarian, Sally Walker, has been named Scotland’s Library and Information Professional of The Year.

The award, presented by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland (CILIPS), celebrates the work of people involved in Scotland’s library and information services.

Those nominated for the award were assessed by five judges for their:

• Commitment to their profession.
• Service development and innovation.
• Sector engagement.
• Positive impact.

Sally, who enjoys working with children and their families, is pleased to have won this award.

“I love working with children, and have really enjoyed expanding my involvement from Bookbug sessions to the slightly older age groups through activities like the Coding Club and Lego and Minecraft, or simply helping put together resources for school projects,” she said.

“We’ve had really good feedback from children, their parents and teachers – for example, we know of new friendships struck up between children from across Orkney who met through the Minecraft Club and now get together online to play games.”

Sally says that she and other staff have also noticed parents taking the opportunity to take a look around the library while their children are engaged in an activity.

“Seeing the benefits ripple out like this is great reward – it gives me a buzz, and a drive to do even more,” she added.

“To win this award and to be recognised by my profession is something I never dreamed possible. It’s amazing.”

The Council’s head of lifelong learning and inclusion, Peter Diamond, was delighted to hear that Sally’s work had merited an award by a leading industry body.

“We were told judges were particularly impressed by Sally’s work with children and schools — as can be seen by the popularity of recent new initiatives such as the Coding Club,” he said.