Our Recent Awards
The School Library Improvement Fund plays an important role in helping school libraries demonstrate the continued impact of Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools: A National Strategy for School Libraries in Scotland 2018-2023.
Previous funding awards have focused on areas such as health and wellbeing and anti-racism. Looking at successful projects can help inspire new applications to the fund.
Maddie is Online
A Digital Literacy Project Focusing on Resilience
Maddie is Online developed a set of resources for school librarians and teachers to support young people with the challenges of digital literacy. This 2021 initiative was a collaborative venture between Woodfarm High School, Eastwood High School, and Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen.
The project supports two Strategic Aims of Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools: The National Strategy for School Libraries in Scotland. These are:
- Strategic Aim 2: Information, Digital Literacy & Digital Creativity
- Strategic Aim 4: Health and Wellbeing (School Libraries in Scotland contribute to health literacy, social and mental wellbeing, and provide a safe, trusted space for children and young people to be nurtured).
Maddie is Online focuses on ways children and young people build the skills required to navigate digital environments effectively. It places school librarians at the centre of training activities – ensuring young people engage positively and effectively with digital society.
Through the programme children encounter a range of positive and negative online experiences. They learn about the emotional dimensions of online connectivity as well as its dangers.
The project has highlighted the role of school librarians in information and digital literacy. Importantly, it also allows pupils to think about ways to safeguard their digital lives and build online resilience.
The Elephant in the Room
Targeting the stigma of mental health issues
This 2018 project focused on breaking down negative attitudes to mental health issues. The venture led to the creation of a Health and Wellbeing Hub in Whitburn Academy school library. Today the Hub continues to provide a safe and welcoming space for pupils to relax, unwind and find out about mental health issues.
The Elephant in the Room project supports Strategic Aim 4 of Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools: The National Strategy for School Libraries in Scotland. This states: School libraries in Scotland contribute to health literacy, social and mental wellbeing, and provide a safe, trusted space for children and young people to be nurtured.
Through the Hub pupils can access a wide range of mental health resources on subjects like stress, anxiety, and depression. Different resources such as magazines, CDs and iPads also encourages access for all. The Hub is supervised by the School Librarian who is also a fully trained Scottish Mental Health First Aider.
Welcoming and inclusive, the Hub supports students daily with book collections monitored and added to on the regular basis. It is also where students can meet up with an ‘Elefriend’ – a student Mental Health Ambassador – if they need talk things through.
Building Better Readers
A comprehensive programme to develop reading
Building Better Readers has established a strong reading culture throughout schools in North Ayrshire. Developed in 2020, the project involved primary schools and Additional Support Schools in the local area.
A Library Development Officer (LDO) specifically recruited for the project visited schools to provide support and guidance. They also encouraged more children to read by establishing initiatives like reading groups and paired reading.
The project supports Strategic Aim 2: Information, Digital Literacy & Digital Creativity of Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools: The National Strategy for School Libraries in Scotland.
Through Building Better Readers North Ayrshire School Libraries has established a strong collaborative network between schools, Learning Community Librarians, public library staff, education management and volunteers.
Communication between these groups is now well established, making the planning, organisation, and implementation of area-wide reading initiatives more effective.
This includes the creation of the ‘Book Blethers’ buddying system, tailored book discussion groups and a Pupil Monitor scheme to nurture reader development throughout the area.
Erika’s Suitcase
A Collaborative Project based in Aberdeen
Erika’s Suitcase was a project between Harlaw Academy and Cults Academy in Aberdeen, and the Holocaust Educational Trust.
The 2021 project focused on a child named Erika Schulhof rescued from Austria just before the outbreak of World War Two. Erika was relocated to Aberdeen as part of the Kindertransport rescue effort. The initiative incorporates five Strategic Aims from Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools: The National Strategy for School Libraries in Scotland. These are:
- Strategic Aim 1: Curriculum, Learner Journey & Developing the Young Workforce.
- Strategic Aim 2: Information, Digital Literacy & Digital Creativity.
- Strategic Aim 3: Literacy, Numeracy & Family Learning.
- Strategic Aim 4: Health and Wellbeing.
- Strategic Aim 5: Leadership, Standards & Working Models.
The schools worked in partnership with the Holocaust Educational Trust throughout the duration of the project. Events included creative poetry, writing sessions, art lessons and talks from Kindertransport survivors and present-day refugees. Continuing Personal Development training events for school staff were also organised on how to teach the real story of the Kindertransport.
Erika’s Suitcase has embedded Holocaust education and learning within both schools and pupils have become more welcoming to refugees. This has resulted in stronger links between school library services and departments within both schools, including Religious and Moral Education, Art, and Social subjects.
Schools throughout the Aberdeen area can now access all the learning material from the project and extra sets of books based on Kindertransport have been donated to the Curriculum Resources Information Centre in Aberdeen.
This has led to teaching staff throughout Aberdeen becoming more confident teaching pupils about the Holocaust.
Following the project, a website was created to enable educators in Aberdeen and across Scotland and the UK to share Erika’s story with their pupils, and to inspire them to explore links to the Kindertransport and refugees in their own communities.
Following the project, the Erika’s Suitcase website was created to enable educators in Aberdeen and across Scotland and the UK to share Erika’s story with their pupils, and to inspire them to explore links to the Kindertransport and refugees in their own communities.
The website has lots of information on Erika as well as resources covering curriculum areas such as Art, English, Music and HE. Details of the project are also available through Instagram and X.
Previous Award Winners
Evidence-Led Libraries: Inspiring Innovation and Creating Communities
Scottish Library & Information Council
Annual General Meeting 2025
