Last Friday a small group of us (Eleanor Hebden, Amelia Platt and Madeleine Ridout) went to County Hall in Norwich for ‘Takeover Day 2016’. Takeover Day is where young people takeover someone’s job for the day. We took over Kirsten Francis’s job who is manager of Library Services for Education and Public Library Services for Children. With Kirsten we spoke about why libraries are so important and how we can promote volunteering to young people. We also designed evaluation forms and discussed what makes a good evaluation document. A topic we also looked at was how to promote well-being through the library. We all had a fantastic day in the life of Kirsten and I know it inspired many career paths. Eleanor 10W

Takeover Day was a fantastic experience. I feel that I have gained new skills and also greatly improved others e.g. teamwork and confidence. During the ‘takeover’ I felt very valued. All our ideas were made to feel really worthwhile. It was interesting to explore County Hall and the different ways the council works. Working with the Head of the Norfolk Library Service was great. As young adults we were we able to give a different outlook on the Library Service. We looked at why the Library Service is so important, what it offers and how to make it appeal to more teenagers.

Another area we looked at was how books and the Education Library Service can be an advocate for issues surrounding young people’s health especially mental health. To combat this issue, the Library Service has released ‘Shelf Help’ a selection of books to help teenagers understand mental health and to offer advice. We looked at ways we could help deliver ‘Shelf Help’ e.g. setting up support groups in the library. It was really interesting to how books can help bring about change in different areas not just reading. They can really make a massive difference to people’s lives.

One of my favourite tasks was being given a budget of over £1000 to spend. Using this budget, we had to find books for the Library Service to buy in. I decided to buy in books that help teach and promote empathy. I also looked at books that explore the refugee crisis. I found some brilliant titles e.g. ‘The Other Side of Truth’ by Beverly Naidoo and ‘Mockingbird’ by Kathryn Erskine. We got to explore the Library Services headquarters and where books are sent to different libraries.

Take over day was an amazing experience. I have come away thinking about possible careers that I could go into and it gave me the chance to enrich skills I have learnt. Above all it reinforced my love for reading. Amelia 9B