When I was approached by Facet Publishing, as Chair of the CILIP School Libraries Group (SLG), to see if we were interested in writing a book, I knew immediately what book I wanted us to produce – and it was this one. For years I had been passionate about training and CPD for school librarians. Whilst Chair of the SLG I had initiated training and projects, such as our Key Skills leaflets, to encourage people to grow and learn throughout their library careers.

One of the reasons I am so passionate about this is because of the way I began and continued my own career in school libraries. I myself had no formal library training – I still have neither a masters nor a degree in librarianship. When I started in school libraries, I had a degree in English and six years’ experience behind the counter of a public library. At that time, I couldn't apply for Chartership. I was hungry to learn about my new job and as soon as CILIP opened up Chartership to people like me, I applied. I continued to seek out training courses, attend conferences and learn all about my library management system. I have been involved in lifelong learning ever since, taking a Masters in Education whilst working. I feel that if I can progress from knowing hardly anything about running a school library to being Chair of a wonderful group of professionals, then everyone else can too.

I do hope that you seize your own opportunity to learn everything you can from this book and that by the end you feel emboldened to carry on to become a Chartered Librarian as well. Even if you don't feel you want to do that, I hope that you continue learning and growing in this amazing profession of ours. Good luck to all of you!

Caroline Roche, MA, MCLIP. Chair of CILIPSLG and Co-Chair of the Great School Libraries campaign

When I started as a school librarian, this is exactly the book I needed. Now that it has been published, I have learned so much from it: new ideas and ways of working that I hadn't thought about before, which have prompted me to reflect on my own practice and think about areas I could improve.