World Book Week 2015

Thanks to everyone who participated in World Book Week.  This was run across all three sites of the Guildford College Group and impact differed accordingly.

Merrist Wood

Merrist Wood had an imaginative display which focused on where a book could take your imagination.  Access to different places was demonstrated by the theme of foreign travel.  It was represented via a trunk covered in travel stickers, and on top of it was a globe, travel guides and holiday accessories such as a sun hat and sunglasses.   Hung in a washing-line style above the issue desk were pictures of people reading books in unlikely places!
However, the 'piece de la resistance' had to be the life-size cardboard cut-out of 'fit' Anton du Beck, presumably to fuel romantic fantasies!  Questions were asked on arrows to suggest where your story would take you...  
A big thank you to LRC Assistant, Jackie Smith, also an experienced party organiser.  The displays were much-appreciated by library visitors who all had their day brightened.

Farnham

Farnham generated a lot of enthusiasm for the 'Location, Location, Location' quiz where there were an impressive 47 entries.  A big thank you to site librarian, Ingrid Whatmore, who has established good links with the English teaching staff .

Guildford

Guildford did well with the micro-stories.  We had 20 entries and most were very good efforts demonstrating superb imaginative skills.  A big thank you to supported learning students and teachers for their enthusiasm.
Fifty words is challenging in terms of writing a story.   However, we let everyone have four free words 'On my way to...'.  Sadly anyone going over the 50 word limit was disqualified from winning.
We had some suggestions on the book wall, kicked off by staff.   Books of interest included the following fiction titles:

• Eric Carle: The very hungry caterpillar
• Anne Frank: Diary of a young girl
• Esther Freud: Hideous Kinky
• Mark Haddon: The curious incident of the dog in the night time
• EL James: Fifty shades of grey (1 of 3) 
• EL James: Fifty shades darker (2 of 3)
•  EL James: Fifty shades freed (3 of 3)
•  Henry James: Portrait of a lady
•  Pittacus Lore: I am number four
• Ford Madox Ford: The good soldier
• Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Love in the time of cholera
• Anne McCaffrey: Dragonsong
• O'Hearn: Pegasus series - eg. The flame of Olympus
• Karl Ore Knausgaard: Death in the family
• Arundhati Roy: The god of small things
• Graeme Simsion: The rosie project
• Kathleen Tessaro: The perfume collector

And non-fiction:

• BS7671 wiring regulations
• Dale Carnegie: How to win friends and influence people 
• Stephen Covey: The seven habits of highly effective people

Participation in the quiz was disappointing, but our winner was a worthy entry.

Winners at Guilford:

Location, Location, Location quiz - Petva Ivanova

Micro-story Winner - Rupert Turner (50 words)

Micro-story Runner-up - Lewis Gerrad (45 words) Highly Commended

Micro-story Commended - Alexandra Ross (47 words)

Micro-story Commended - Louise Jordan (45 words)

There were some good entries which exceeded the word limit.  Two notable ones are from Francis Terry and Katarina Feoce.

 

World book week activities - in detail

It is world book week at the LRC.  It is celebrated in schools, colleges and libraries right across the UK.  It is to celebrate the joy of books and the positive role they play in our lives.

Books help one relax and escape to a more appealing place in a busy but hum-drum life.  They raise literacy levels and help feed our imagination.  Also they help inspire new writers.

About world book day

World book days is an annual event organised by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) to promote reading, publishing and copyright. 

In the UK it is celebrated on the first Thursday in March.  World Book Day is on Thursday 5 March 2015.

Activities on offer at Guildford College

At Guildford College we have three activities on offer: a ‘book wall’, ‘a micro-story’ and a ‘location, location, location quiz’.  Please support your LRC by taking part.

Prizes are available for the best story and highest quiz score. 

Book Wall

Join in the spirit of World Book Week by adding the name of a book which you think will help or bring joy to others.

My favourite book is ‘Hideous Kinky’ by Esther Freud which is about an adventure within a different culture to the UK.  It is easy to read and inspired me to go to Marrakech in Morocco.  The story was made into a film starring Kate Winslet.

What is your favourite book?   What benefit did you reap from it?  Why would you recommend it to others?

Micro-story

A micro-story involves writing a short story of up to 50 words.  The theme is ‘on my way to…’ and the aim is to take your imagination on a journey.

Where do you fancy going?  Have you any holiday destinations in mind?  Or perhaps you are embarking on a nightmare rather than a dream?

50 words is not much so every word will need to have impact.  It will be a challenge for many people to stay concise.

Finally a micro-story is a good way for people with writing ambitions to start out.  It is wise to stick to a simple plot.

Location, location, location quiz

Location, location, location is the buzz word in terms of buying a house.  To hit the jackpot, you buy in the right place at the right time at the right price.

In terms of the quiz, it is about identifying the location of 10 library items in terms of place, time and shelf number.  You can look at all 10 items on display.

Ironically it is shelf location that is the easiest category as there are only two possible formats (book fiction or dvd film).  It is really simple to work out!

Place is straightforward too as you can usually just look at the item and work this out.  Time is more challenging, especially if other items are in a similar timescale. 

The ‘Speedy Gonzalez’ amongst you can take a guess, but the ‘Dot the I’s and cross the T’s’ type may wish to conduct some research on your smartphone.  Useful websites include Amazon, Wikipedia and Schmoop.

Quizzes are fun and help one to learn.  We hope all those interested in books will have a go.  You have nothing to lose as answers are all guessable, so you could even be right without knowing!

Rewards

The prize for the short story and the quiz is a £10 Amazon voucher.  All those taking part can get a £1 World Book Day token.  Please ask at the issue desk for this.

Finally it is not the winning but the taking part!  Just participating will make you learn something.

That said, winning is something you can put on your CV…Good luck!

World Book Week 2015 - Background on reading and literacy

World Book Week

Guildford College LRC – 2-6 March 2015

World Book Week is a chance to celebrate reading.  Reading is one of our most popular hobbies and libraries are the UK’s most significant provider of the reading experience.

Join in our three activities to celebrate World Book Week:

·        Book wall: recommend a book of your choice

·        Micro story: write a 50-word story

·        Location, location, location quiz: relating to books

Get a £1 World Book Day voucher for taking part.   Win a £10 Amazon voucher for the best story or quiz result.

Upward mobility

Literacy and life chances are strongly linked.  Reading develops literacy skills and helps break the cycle of disadvantage.  The habit of reading for pleasure has more impact than parental income and status on a young person’s academic achievement.

http://readingagency.org.uk/news/reading-facts003/

Sign of a strong economy

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) monitors both the number and types of books published per country per year.  It is an important index of standard of living, and of a country’s self-awareness.

The UK is number three in the league tables, reflecting a high interest in education.  It is only overtaken by China and the USA.  It is followed by the Russian Federation, Germany and Spain.

Live Statistics

There are live statistics on titles published this year.  It literally changes as you look at it!

www.worldometers.info/books/

Spoilt for choice

According to Google 130 million books have been published in modern history.  No one can possibly read all of them.

Many of us will fall into our ‘comfort zone’ of finding a few favourite authors and sticking to them. 

To learn effectively, it is to read broadly, picking out authors from different countries and cultures.  Some amazing books have been published by authors who have lived in far-flung corners of the globe.  Examples include The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (India) and The Famished Road by Ben Okri (Nigeria).

Literary prizes and reviews point us to up-and-coming authors.

Man Booker Prize

The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original novel, written in the English language, and published in the UK.  Prize winners have come from all over the world.

It is announced every November and the 2014 winner was The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan, an Australian author.

Many titles that have won, or been short-listed, have been made into films.  Examples include The English Patient, Schindler’s List and The Life of Pi.

Next Blog

This will give you details of the World Book Week activities we have at the LRC.  Please contribute and take this opportunity to showcase your literacy skills.

What happened during Banned Books Week

The Banned Books displays in all three LRCs last week raised lots of interesting questions about why books might be banned and led to further discussions on topics ranging from Hitler to Martin Luther King, to the Qur'an and the Bible. Students couldn't believe the range of books that have been banned over time.

Some students were brave enough to 'liberate' (borrow) books from the LRC displays. We look forward to hearing their views.




Class visit to Banned Books display at Farnham College

At Farnham College four English classes came to see the displays and do the quizzes. This included two A level classes studying political correctness in language, so the theme of banned books tied in well.

Quiz results:

• At Farnham College Deni Wither won the main Banned Book quiz
• Also at Farnham Lily Bohling won the word hunt, finding an amazing 88 words in 'Banned Books'! Although even more amazing was that adding together all words found by students and library staff, the total was 179! (there may even be more...)
• At Guildford College Musaed AlFoudari correctly identified the 10 banned books from the 15 pictured in the quiz (and wins a £10 print voucher)

For those still wondering, the correct answers to the Guildford College quiz were:

Banned:

 

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (J K Rowling)
• To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
• A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess)
• The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
• Wild Swans (Jung Chang)
• Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
• And Tango Makes Three (Justin Richardson)
• The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky)
• Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck)

Not Banned:

• The Brutal Art (Jesse Kellerman)
• Women in Love (D H Lawrence)
• Hairy-Scary Monster (Roderick Hunt)
• Birdsong (Sebastian Faulks)
• The Godfather (Mario Puzo)

Warning - Banned Books

As part of Diversity Week, the LRCs are highlighting Banned Books

Come to the LRCs this week (24-28 November) and be amazed at some of the books which have been banned not just in the distant past but also in the present time. Governments, local authorities, schools (and even libraries) in some countries ban books because they are considered to be dangerous from a moral, political or religious viewpoint.

Banned books have ranged from Madame Bovary, Nineteen Eighty-Four and Heart of Darkness, to Lord of the Flies, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Captain Underpants!

However history shows that banning a book is the perfect way to get people reading and discussing it!

Things to do in the LRCs this week:

• Read more about what happened when some books were banned
• Enter the LRC banned book quizes (£10 print voucher prize at Guildford)
• Borrow a banned book from the LRCs and find out how dangerous it is!

Book Swap 2014

The ‘Big Book Read’ in the LRC

Thursday 5th June, 10 am – 4 pm

 

To promote the pleasure of reading, Guildford College LRC is holding a book swap. Why not pop in and bring along one of your old fiction books to swap for another.

Staff are, of course, welcome to come along and swap too and if you have any unwanted fiction books (in reasonable condition) that you would like to donate to our book swap, they will be most welcome.

 

See you there!

What Should I Read Next?

If you enjoy reading fiction do you have a never-ending list of books you’d like to read, or do you need some inspiration – a nudge in a different direction?  If so, there’s a website that can direct you to new authors and titles.

Next time you can’t decide what to read next, why not visit www.whatshouldIreadnext.com.  Just type in the title of a book you've enjoyed and see suggestions for other titles that you might also enjoy.  

World Book Day 2014

The LRCs celebrated this years World Book Day with a Desert Island theme.

Students and staff at all three College got involved in the activities and told us which book they would take to a Desert Island to keep them entertained. Which book would you take?

Guildford College LRC

• 41 staff and students wrote on our Desert Island book wall telling us which book they would take with them. Answers ranged from Harry Potter to Lord of the Flies.
• 17 students guessed the mystery book was 'Life of Pi' and Jessica Marney (CACHE) was the winner of a copy of the book.
• 28 students completed the book title picture quiz and Sony Purja (BTEC Applied Science) was the winner of the £10 Amazon voucher.
• 14 Entry Level students attended a Pirate theme storytelling event.

Merrist Wood LRC

• 15  students entered the book title picture quiz and Katie Wilson (BTEC Animal Management) won the £10 Amazon voucher.
• 30 Desert Island Disc entries - 15 Staff and 15 Students

Farnham College LRC

• 24 students completed the book title picture quiz and Roxana Upfield was the winner.
• 53 students completed the British Isles quiz and Chloe Shaw was the winner. 
• 24 students wrote on the Desert Island book wall.

Thank you to everyone one took part!

4 Book Challenge!

In Celebrating Words Week the LRCs launched the 4 Book Challenge!

The challenge, for those that accepted it, was to read 4 books and fill in a reading diary before the 10th January for a chance to win a Kindle Fire HD which was generously donated by Student Services.

A total of 157 students from all three Colleges took part in the challenge and 24 completed it! 

Here is Aqeel Zaman, Vice President of the Students Union picking the winner....

The winner of the Kindle Fire HD is Natasha Popham (BTEC L3 Creative Media, Guildford College). Here she is collecting her prize from Karen Robinson, Head of Learning and Standards, (right) and Hannah Bennett, Assistant Librarian (left).

Here are a few comments from students who took part in the challenge.

"It’s likely I would have read this much anyway however the idea of the challenge and I’d love to win ha ha. It’s nice to be rewarded for what you love!" (Lauren)

"It has become a hobby to read books. Great Challenge :)" (Isbah)

"It was nice being able to read stories and books I don't usually read. It's definitely been a good experience." (Bethany)

Thank you to all the students who took part and look out for next year's challenge!

Summer Term Round Up!

The holidays upon us! Congratulations to all students who have completed their courses this year and we look forward to seeing those of you who are coming back next year in September.

Here are a few things that have been happening in the LRCs over the last term:

Farnham LRC

• Revision Display: The LRC ran a successful revision display and staff were impressed with how hard students have been studying and using the silent study area.

• New iMacs: The LRC has had new iMacs installed and staff have been trained up and are ready to help you with navigating the desktop and using Illustrator. 

Merrist Wood

• Cloud Printing: Cloud printing has really taken off this term with lots of students using the service.

• New iPad 4s: The LRC has 20 brand new iPad 4s for loan to staff either individually or as a set.

Guildford College 

• Book Swap: Many thanks to staff members for their generous donations, we had a total of 60 books in our Book Swap. Many were swapped and, in the spirit of promoting reading for pleasure, those without a book to swap were urged to take one that appealed. We were left with just 3 books, so many students will be able to sit back and relax with a good book this summer.

• New LRC Induction Film: Filming of the new LRC Induction Film for 2013-14 has been going well. A big thank you to all the students who have taken part and a special thank you to year 1 Media students for filming and editing it.

• Mini Displays: We currently have Displays up for Holiday Fiction and Travel Guides so pop in before your holiday and pick one up!

• 6 BookChallenge: The 6 Book Challenge has come to an end. A big congratulations to the 25 students who managed to read 6 books and have been entered into the national prize draw.

Have a lovely summer and we will be back in September to keep you up to date with all your LRC news!!

Book Swap at GC LRC

To celebrate the advent of summer the LRC at Guildford College is holding a Book Swap. Please  bring along a fiction book to swap and find something new to read during the holidays!

When: Thursday 13 June, 10 am – 4 pm

Where: Guildford College LRC

If you have any unwanted fiction books (in reasonable condition) that you would like to donate to the book swap, they will be most welcome.

Celebrating World Book Week 2013

All the LRCs took part in celebrating a very successful At the Movies themed World Book Week 2013 which created a real buzz for reading. Here is a round-up of the activities along with our competition winners:

Guildford College

• 22 students attended a Storyteller event 
• 67 students entered the Picture Quiz - The winner of the £10 Amazon voucher is Amirali Kheradmand.
• 8 students entered the World Book Day Quiz - The winner of the Amazon voucher is Mia Sherrington.
• 64 books and 89 films were added to our wall.
• 43 fiction books were borrowed during the week. (This is a record!!)

Farnham College

• 101 students entered the Film Picture Quiz - 1st Prize went to Ellie Gaskin with 2nd Prize going to Durell Chimombo.
• 72 students entered the World Book Day Quiz - 1st prize went to Chloe Shaw with 2nd Prize going to Ayla Stenning.
• Students also shared their favorite books and films.
• 18 fiction books were borrowed during the week.

Merrist Wood

• 47 students entered the Film Picture Quiz - The winner was Connie Norris
• 6 students posted on the book wall and lots of discussion took place about books and films.
• 21 fiction books were borrowed during the week. (This is also a record breaking number!!)

A big thank you to all the students and staff that took part in World Book Week 2013!!

Watch this space for 2014.......

Warning Banned Books!

To celebrate Equality and Diversity Week 2012 all three LRCs showcased Banned Books!

Banned Books created a stir at all the sites with students getting involved in the quiz as well as discussing the books that were banned and also the issues surrounding the banning of books.

The aim of the quiz was to correctly identify whether the books had been or are currently banned either here in the UK or in another country. We used the following website as a guide to which books were banned and why. We had over 220 entries so a big thank you to everyone who took part!

The winners are: Lorna Taylor (FC), Mo Herbert (MW), Mary Apple Radam (GC).

Here are the answers so you can check which ones you got right:

Birdsong - Not Banned
Women in Love - Not Banned
Hairy Scary Monster - Not Banned
To Kill a Mocking Bird - Banned
Black Beauty - Banned
A Clockwork Orange - Banned
Refugee Boy - Not Banned
Wild Swans - Banned
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - Banned
The Perks of being a Wallflower - Banned
The Brutal Art - Not Banned
And Tango Makes Three - Banned
The Da Vinci Code - Banned
The Godfather - Not Banned
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Banned 


Students also submitted comments and reviews of Banned Books -  here are a few along with some pictures of our displays. Enjoy!

Wild Swans by Jung Chang. "It is a brilliant book! So vivid and honest and it's all true. It actually happened that is what is so incredible. I admire these 3 brave women."

"Harry Potter banned in America? Meant to be a so called 'free country'! Censorship comes to mind."


"American Psycho should be permanently banned it's a very disturbing read" 


"Adolf Hitler's 'Meine Kampf' should not be banned - he was entitled to his political opinion."

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. "I loved Of Mice and Men because it was interesting and made me want to read more."


The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. "My favourite book ever. Clever, smart, thoughtful and very moreish. Read this hundreds of times. Worth a read!"

Reviewing resources on Heritage

A relatively new feature on our online catalogue, Heritage, is the ability to rate and review resources that you have enjoyed or think may benefit other library users. This could be a good film that you have seen, a great fiction book or a really useful textbook for students to use on their course. It is really simple to use and is very similar to the feature on Amazon where customers rate and review certain items, here is how you do it:

·         First you need to head to our online catalogue at www.guildford.ac.uk/heritage

·         You then need to log in on the right hand side using your reader code and pin number. Your reader code is your student number or, for staff, your network log in e.g. asmith, a library pin can be requested from the LRC if you don’t have one.

·         Now that you are logged in you can search for a resource that you want to review. Once you have found the item you want to review just click on the ‘create a review’ button.

·         You can now rate your resource out of 5 stars and write a small description about what you thought of the resource.

·         Once you have submitted a review other library users can see what you have written about the item as it will appear on the catalogue record

This is a really useful tool and allows users to see which books are really good and will also warn people of any books or films that are worth a miss! It is also a really good tool for tutors to recommend texts to students and pin point any useful chapters.

Celebrating World Book Week 2012

All the LRCs took part in celebrating a very successful World Book Week 2012 which created a real buzz for reading. Here is a round-up of the activities along with our competition winners:

Guildford College LRC

• 156 students and staff wrote on the book wall. The most popular current read was The Help by Kathryn Sockett. If you fancy reading it too it is available from the LRCs!
• 80 students and staff swapped books in the LRC.
• 31 World Book Week Quiz entries. 1^st prize, £20 Amazon voucher, went to Louise Hill and 2^nd prize, a signed copy of Bali Rai’s Killing Honour, went to Graham Burton.
•  27 fiction books were borrowed over the week.

Farnham College LRC

• 55 quiz entries for the world book day event. 1st prize Sahshi Rai £20 Amazon Voucher and 2nd prize Scott Hartley a mug and chocolates
• 3 Functional Skills classes and 2 GCSE English classes, aprox 70 students, visited the LRC to look at the display and enter the quiz.
• 19 fiction books were borrowed over the week.

Merrist Wood College LRC

• 10 comments on the book wall.
• 23 entries to the bookmark competion. 1st prize, a £20 Amazon Voucher, went to Gemma Elstob, 2nd prize, a Teddy, went to Ben Coles, and 3rd prize, a box of chocolates, went to Mary Lattimore
•  The winning entry was a beautiful caterpillar with the slogan 'Just munching through' (see photo)
• 5 fiction books were borrowed over the week.

Fiction at Farnham College LRC

One corner of our LRC is slightly partitioned off by a convenient pillar and bookcase and this is the fiction area.  It has comfortable red chairs to settle in and enjoy a good book or to read a newspaper or one of the many journals which we also keep in this part of the LRC.  Of course you can borrow the books too!

There’s a wide selection of books from the latest vampires to detectives, war stories, fantasy, romance and much, much more – something for everyone!  Having said that we are always happy to hear of any books you would like us to get.

If you’d just like to read something short why not try one of our Quick Reads?

If you are an ESOL student you will find your course books here together with the Penguin and Cambridge graded reading books so that everything is in one place and easy to find.

We also have daily newspapers delivered including The Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph and the Daily Mirror.  For local news there’s the Farnham Herald each Friday.

As you come in to the fiction area there are two carousels on either side of you with the latest magazines/journals on the various subjects taught here.  Everyone can look at these and apart from the latest issue you can borrow them.

Do come and have a look.