183
VALETE
THE WODEHOUSE LIBRARY NOW HAS AN UNRIVALLED STOCK OF APOCALYPTIC SURVIVAL BOOKS – YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN THEY MIGHT COME IN HANDY! “ on surviving a Zombie Apocalypse! Amongst other things, this involved assessing the safest places in school to hide, which machinery from the ground staff would provide the best vehicles for defence (or attack) and which staff could be counted on to fight back against the undead (mainly Chemistry teachers!). The Wodehouse Library now has an unrivalled stock of apocalyptic survival books – you never know when they might come in handy! Amongst Helen’s other contributions to the Library should be noted her introduction of manga. Helen had mentioned her interest in these Japanese graphic novels at her interview, and she perceptively saw that they would be a great way to encourage reluctant Year 9 readers to make a home in the Library, working their way through the many volumes on offer. They remain incredibly popular, and Year 9 students continue to make a beeline at breaktimes to the Audio-Visual Room (now re-christened The Throne Room) to get their fill. As well as working in the Wodehouse, Helen could also be found assisting in the Chandler Library, where she enjoyed a good rapport with Lower School students, as well as helping with the running of the Year 8 book club and the Carnegie shadowing groups. In addition, Helen began working her way through the Fellows’ Library stock check, diligently (and quietly) ticking off the volumes of rare books in the rolling stacks in the Archives strong room (a good place to hide in the event of a zombie invasion) – so quietly that she was once locked inside by the Keeper of the Fellows’ Library – thankfully not for too long! We will miss Helen’s ever-helpful disposition and the visits from her husband, Henry, and daughter, Catherine, and we wish her well in her new post at JAGS. Thankfully, we can look forward to catching up on a regular basis at Librarians’ meetings and at the various Children’s Lit quizzes and awards ceremonies that take place throughout the year.
Helen Stein PAUL FLETCHER
We said farewell to Helen at the end of the Summer term 2021, when, after eight years at Dulwich, she secured the well- deserved position of Head of Libraries and Archives at JAGS. Helen had joined the College as Assistant Librarian in the Wodehouse Library, following a varied career as an audio mixer, an information assistant at King’s College London and most recently a librarian at Richmond Upon Thames College. During this time she completed an MSc in Information and Library Studies from Aberystwyth University, and her years at Dulwich were also characterised by the pursuit of further education, especially in her beloved field of Victorian literature. She completed an Oxford University Continuing Education course on the Brontës and another on fiction by Victorian women writers before embarking on an MA in Victorian Studies at Birkbeck. Helen was able to share her expertise in Victorian literature through establishing the 19th Century Reading Group, alongside Dr Cocks, which met every fortnight to read and listen to extracts from a range of novels, poems and even penny dreadfuls – the youthful popular culture of Victorian times, full of stories of crime, gore and supernatural activity. This also set Helen up for her tour de force – her unforgettable Free Learning day sessions
”
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker