These are challenging times for school librarians. This book has been developed by a group of experienced school library professionals to help and support newly appointed school librarians and those new to the information profession. At a time when school librarians can feel they are undervalued and under-appreciated there has never been a greater need for experienced professionals to share their knowledge and expertise with those at the beginning of their careers. Many schools are appointing someone with no library experience or qualifications to run their school library in the role of Librarian, Library Manager, Library Resource Centre (LRC) Manager, Library/LRC Co-ordinator or various other titles. For the purpose of this book, we will use the term ‘school librarian’ to refer to the person who has responsibility for running the school library.

The authors have all served on the SLG Committee and have 169 years of accumulated experience in school libraries between them. Caroline Roche has been Chair of CILIP's SLG for six years and this book was born out of her passion to ensure that every school has a trained librarian in post, in addition to a great school library. The individual chapters reflect areas of expertise and, as a whole, provide an indispensable aid to assist the newly appointed school librarian in navigating their way through the myriad of challenges they will face as they find the right path for developing their own school library.

The book reflects our position as librarians in England and uses terminology common in the UK, but we hope that the content will be equally relevant in other parts of the world.

At the time of writing, school libraries are not statutory in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and school librarians could be considered an endangered species. Yet school librarians use their knowledge and skills and, yes, their passion on a daily basis to inspire, encourage, empower and equip our young people with the skills they need to navigate the world of information.