In April 2023 CoLRiC announced a call for nominations for its annual national awards. As part of our celebratory 30th anniversary celebrations we wanted to showcase ‘creativity, value and impact’ with submissions that demonstrated the quality, excellence and organisational impact of library and learning resource service provision on the teaching, learning and student experience. All nominations were reviewed, scored and shortlisted by a judging panel comprising an external library and information services expert and members of CoLRiC’s Executive Committee.
CoLRiC is delighted to announce that, in recognition of its ‘Library Re-engagement’ initiative reconnecting students with the value and power of the library and its physical and digital resources, it has awarded Hills Road Sixth Form College Highly Commended for the prestigious Innovative Practice Award, 2023.
The Award is presented to a library and learning resources team in recognition of:
- Innovative service development or exceptional enhancements to existing services
- A commitment to student academic, personal or vocational development and lifelong learning
- Engagement and collaboration with academic staff, curriculum colleagues, professional support services and students.
The judging panel praised the Hills Road SFC Library and Digital Resources Team nomination for its proactive and creative outreach programme, effectively designed to reengage post-pandemic students and re-establish importance and value of the library and learning resource services. It has the potential to inspire colleges across the FE sector grappling with the impact of Covid on student morale and motivation.
‘I am delighted to see the work of our Library and Digital Resources team recognised through this award. They are passionate about working in partnership with teaching departments to support our students to develop as independent learners ready to progress into higher education and employment. The team work tirelessly to promote all that the library has to offer, both to support young people with their studies, but also for wider enrichment and enjoyment of reading. It has been fantastic to see their work pay off and watch the college community reconnect with the library post-pandemic.’
Ian Pryer, Assistant Principal – Quality and Systems
‘As a team it is so important to see our students flourish and grow into self-confident independent learners. We are delighted to have our work with students recognised by this award. We look forward to continuing to find ways to develop innovative practice to best support our students.’
Kathy Ashby, Library and Digital Resources Manager
Special thanks go to Emma Duffield for being the external judge for this award, and to CoLRiC’s valued sponsor IS Oxford Ltd. Emma is Sales Manager at IS Oxford and a Library and Information Management Consultant.
‘I thought this was a really good example of how a combination of diligence, creative ambition and in-depth knowledge of the tools and applications available to library staff can make a real difference to library users.’
Partnerships and dialogue with students, teaching and support staff are essential to develop and deliver relevant, flexible and dynamic student services. We want to encourage you all to showcase your creativity, enthusiasm and proactivity in the delivery of library and learning resource services by contributing articles to our e-newsletter CoLRiC Impact and participating in the members’ only discussion forum.
2024 isn’t far away, so start preparing your award nominations for next year!