ECALM Champions at Libraries Rising Conference

This month SLIC funded three online places for Every Child A Library Member (ECALM) Champions to attend the 2026 Libraries Rising Conference ‘Belonging from the Beginning’.

The annual conference took place on Tuesday May 12^th and brought together library professionals, school library services, and early years practitioners for a day of shared learning and ideas.

Every Child A Library Member Champions Mhairi Cook from North Ayrshire Libraries, Mary Curran from East Renfrewshire Culture and Leisure Libraries and Julie Smith from South Lanarkshire Libraries, all gained places to attend remotely with spots allocated of a first-come, first-served basis.

The conference sessions focused on key areas such as Inclusive Practice in Early Years Libraries, Listening to The Voice of The Baby, Early Childhood Mental Health, Anti-Racist Practice in Early Years, and the Future of Early Years.

Here our three delegates talk about their experience of the Conference and what information and ideas they took away from the day.

“I really enjoyed the Conference and got a lot out of it. The session on Inclusive Practice in Early Years talked about giving children and families opportunities to thrive. It also focused on the importance of having knowledge of your local context, seeing cultural differences and traditions as not just issues but strengths, building relationships through outreach and creating spaces that invite curiosity.

“One thing that really resonated with me is that it can be hard and stressful for some children to develop a love of reading, which we need to consider more when looking at how we promote reading for pleasure to young people.

“The session on Anti-Racist Practice in Early Years really challenged my idea of how we tackle this issue in libraries, including choosing resources that ‘flip the script’ and that simply having displays during periods such as Black History Month is not enough. This practice needs to be embedded into everything that we do.

“The Poverty Proofing session really validated a lot of the work going on in libraries at the moment such as abolishing overdue fines, providing free activities for families during holiday periods and making events as inclusive as possible for low income families. I really look forward to the poverty proofing framework for libraries that is coming soon which will be a great resource for us.”

“The conference was highly engaging, featuring excellent speakers and appropriate specialised professionals. It also had an informal tone conducive to online participation.

“It was reassuring for East Renfrewshire Libraries to recognise that we are already implementing many of the initiatives presented and providing a wide range of services for pre-five children. The presentation and content that particularly resonated with me was the Anti-Racist Practice in Early Years session by Shaddai Tembo, and I am eager to explore opportunities for development in this area.”

“I found the Libraries Rising conference to be both engaging and highly informative. The sessions provided valuable insights, and I gained a great deal from the content presented which I hope to share with my team.

In particular, the conference offered useful perspectives that I believe will support ongoing development within our service and inform future practice. Overall, it was a worthwhile experience, and I appreciated the opportunity to learn from colleagues across the sector.”

Libraries Rising is the national network for leaders in children’s public and school library services. SLIC’s Every Child A Library Member initiative aims to streamline the library joining process for children across Scotland. It offers a simple, consistent, and nationally branded approach to public library membership.