The Youth Libraries Group are delighted to announce thanks to the generosity of honorary member and champion of the group, Klaus Flugge from Andersen Press, we will be offering a bursary to attend the Youth Libraries Group conference.  The 2022 weekend course will be held at the Quays Hotel, Sheffield.  It will run from 16 to 18 September and is titled Reading the Planet: Libraries in a Changing Climate.

To apply for this bursary, please e-mail chair.ylg@cilip.org.uk providing your name, profession and also outlining a short statement not exceeding 300 words of how you would benefit from attending conference and the ways you intend to use and share the learning.  

Applicants should be a member of the Youth Libraries Group.  The successful applicant will be expected to write a blog article for the group on their weekend course experiences and learning.  Applicants are able to include their Twitter handles or Instagram usernames when applying and posts about conference using the hashtag #YLGConference will be viewed favourably in support of applications.

The bursary will cover the cost for a residential place at the conference, and will also cover travel booked standard class travel up to a maximum value of £100.The deadline for applications is 31 July.  The successful applicant will be notified by 7 August.  For further details or enquiries please contact  chair.ylg@cilip.org.uk

Kevin Sheehan, School Librarian of the Year 2010, was the winner of the inaugural Klaus Flugge bursary.  The bursary was set up thanks to the generosity of Klaus Flugge of Andersen Press and allows a librarian to attend the Youth Libraries Group Annual conference as a fully paid delegate.  In times of constraint for both school and public libraries, this is an act that can make a real difference to individuals and to their practices, just as libraries themselves are able to make a huge difference the lives and aspirations of those using them.

On a serious note I was really experiencing a mid-job mid-life crisis when I applied for the Klaus Flugge bursary that successfully enabled me to attend the Youth Library Group conference.  Actually, I was on the brink where I questioned whether I wanted to carry on as a School Librarian in the future.  Constantly being barraged by headlines in the media really has had an negative impact on my own mental health.  What have I got to contribute? Are there going to be School Librarians in the future?  Am I good enough? 

This year’s theme was on Reading the Future examining the impact of libraries on children and young people.  My tote bag said it all ‘It all starts with Enid Blyton’, which I felt on reflection was like some kind of karma.  Enid Blyton did not just provide me with escapism, away from the 1980’s plastic monotony during my formative years, but more notably made me fall in love with books, libraries and librarians.  So, it was exactly like going full circle!

"We are all the same when wearing pyjamas."

It was an understatement to say that this year’s three day conference was jam packed.  There was so much for me to hear, see and experience, and I was determined to savour every single moment of this time.  Again, another understatement to say it was all brilliant.  However, if I was to identify three key moments it would be:

-         Melvin Burgess, Sharon Dogar, Juno Dawson and Sally Nicholls panel discussion examining  women’s representation within young adult fiction.  Melvin really summed it up as ‘childhood is a peculiar prison’.  However, what is very clear is that publishers, authors and librarians create a freedom where positive female characters, whether that be from past, present or future, can have and regain power.

-         Whoever thought of the Enid Blyton midnight feast deserves a sainthood.  It pulled together the whole cohort of the publishing and library world in such a fun and spontaneous way!  We are all same when wearing pyjamas.    I don’t think I have ever experienced anything as hilarious and well-spirited at a conference previously.

-         Jackie Morris provided a very emotionally satisfying conclusion to the conference exploring the importance in exploring visual literacy through wildlife and nature.  It was a very special experience listening to Jackie on how the best ideas come from the silence of voice.  I also felt very privileged obtaining a signed copy of ‘Lost Words’ personalised with my very own badger.