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HELP! - We're being taken over!

08.11.2016

If you visit The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth on Thursday 10 November, you’re in for a big surprise. You’ll find children carrying out work and taking on roles that are usually reserved for adults.

10 November is Takeover Day, a day on which museums, galleries and arts organisations up and down Wales are being taken over by children and teenagers. Kids in Museums is teaming up with the Welsh Government to help place children and teenagers at the heart of organisations.
Pupils from Ysgol y Felin, Llanelli will take responsibility for various tasks – in public areas and behind the scenes.

Llanelli children will stamp and organise items as they arrive in the collection,fetch books and other items from the collection for readers, install an exhibition, digitize items from the collection, monitor the safety of the building, work at our reception and guide visitors around our exhibitions.

Kids in Museums is an independent charity operating across the UK to try and make exhibitions and galleries more welcoming places for children and families.

Rhodri Morgan, The National Library of Wales Education Officer said:

"The National Library’s varied collection is relevant to the education of all children in Wales, and this special day gives the children the opportunity to experience looking after and providing access to some of the nation’s most important treasures.”

Helen Wynne, Head of Ysgol y Felin added:

"As a school we feel privileged to have been a part of the Takeover Day which is part of the Kids in Museums wider programme, and are grateful to the staff of the National Library in Aberystwyth for the warm welcome. The opportunity to attend the National Library offers first hand experiences for primary school children as they experience and learn about some of the most important treasures of our country and take responsibility for day to day duties”

Further Information

Elin-Hâf 01970 632471 or post@llgc.org.uk The National Library of Wales
The National Library of Wales is the biggest library in Wales and serves as the nation's memory. As a legal deposit library it has the right to receive a free copy of everything published in Britain and Ireland. Around 4,000 new publications are collected every week that add to The National Library's collection of:

  • 6 million books and newspapers
  • 950,000 photographs
  • 60,000 works of art
  • 1.5 million maps
  • 7 million feet of film
  • 40,000 manuscripts
  • 250,000 hours of video
  • 1,900 cubic metres of archives

The National Library of Wales provides its services free to all Welsh citizens and it does not discriminate on the basis of ability or inability to pay. It welcomes children and young people to use its services, either by visiting the Library in Aberystwyth or accessing its resources and services on-line. The Library also delivers workshops in communities across the whole of Wales that meet the requirements of the curriculum in Wales as regards content and skills, and present the Library’s collections to young people, parents and teachers. This work is delivered in partnership with local authorities, education advisors, and individual organisations and schools with the aim of ensuring that as many children and young people in Wales as possible can benefit from the Library’s rich collections.

Tackling Poverty Through Culture
The National Library of Wales supports the Welsh Government 'Fusion: Tackling Poverty through Culture' programme. This programme links cultural bodies more closely together to work within Pioneer Areas to inspire young people and adults. The Fusion programme is working to eliminate barriers to cultural participation so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of taking part in cultural activity. For more information visit Tackling Poverty through Culture

Ysgol y Felin, Llanelli
We are a school that provides a secure and stimulating environment in which pupils can grow and learn. We provide a wide range of balanced opportunities for all pupils. Opportunities that not only fulfill their educational needs but also help them develop into independent and responsible people. Children are encouraged to achieve their full potential by working in an atmosphere of co-operation and tolerance. Our primary aim is to promote the highest achievement of each child in a caring and stimulating environment.

NLW Education Service
The NLW Education Service was established in 2002. Its main work is to:

  • Deliver a programme of educational activities of a high standard to promote The National Library of Wales and the national collection through the school curriculum.
  • Increase awareness among children and young people of the history, culture and heritage of Wales.
  • Facilitate access to information for learners and educators and assist them in making the most of our collections by interpreting information in the national collection.
  • Increase the Library’s presence, and awareness of the institution and its work, in various parts of Wales.
  • Assist NLW in delivering the five strategic aims set out in Knowledge for All: The strategy of the National Library of Wales, 2014-2017.
  • Produce high quality digital resources to assist with the delivery of the school curriculum in Wales, and publish these on Hwb.
  • Manage various projects that provide access to the collections to children, young people and adults.
  • Support the Welsh Government social inclusion and reducing inequality agendas by working in disadvantaged areas.

Since 2007 The National Library of Wales Education Service has been taking the Library’s collections to schools and communities throughout Wales as part of its outreach programme. These outreach projects are developed in partnership with local authorities, schools and other organisations and individually tailored to meet the needs of those users, as well as assisting them to deliver the required skills and content of the curriculum in Wales.