To help schools keep a more accurate record of their library, there are a number of software based solutions on the market. At my previous school, and during my tenure working at a national level with educational technology, I had the opportunity to assess several of these. When I became head teacher of Flakefleet Primary around two years ago, I was keen to introduce my favourite: Junior Librarian.

Produced by Micro Librarian Systems, I was drawn to this particular resource because children can use it independently with little instruction. Junior Librarian manages and tracks every book in the school using a simple barcode system. It’s a process that even our youngest pupils quickly get to grips with. They love using the scanners, and as we have one in each classroom, as well as the library, pupils have access to the technology when and where it is needed.

Using Junior Librarian, teachers can easily find out a particular pupil’s borrowing history, their current reading level and which books they have in their possession. This saves a lot of time in terms of admin and helps to ensure books don’t get too lost in the system. But, perhaps more importantly, it’s invaluable when it comes to assessment.

Setting up Junior Librarian at our school was initially quite time consuming. We drafted in parents and various other adult helpers to assist us with the not insignificant task of registering all the books on the system. Fortunately, the software has various features to help make this process less laborious. By scanning a book’s barcode and ISBN, Junior Librarian will add a cover image, summary and other approved content to your records. It’s also able to pull children’s names straight from your MIS. A support member of staff keeps the whole system running smoothly and effectively, updating it as new pupils and new resources come in to the school.

Once up and running, the system is easily maintained and offers a collection of tools to make the library more accessible to pupils. If they are particularly taken by a book – or want to save others from a snooze-inducing story – they can upload a review for all to see. Junior Librarian also has an integrated search feature. For example, if you were to enter ‘Aztecs’ as a keyword, the system would signpost a host of curriculum relevant, multimedia resources recommended by teachers, schools and librarians.

An Indentikit module is available, which means children can be recognised by their fingerprints instead of a barcode. This wins points with some of the technophiles, although I’ve found it can cause a certain amount of consternation among the thumbsuckers, as it doesn’t always register their prints! Both systems are very easy to use, which reiterates why I like Junior Librarian so much: it allows children to use ICT in the classroom on a daily basis for a real purpose.