The Rob Castles Library Opening 

This week the University High School community officially opened the new Rob Castles Library. Rob served as the Head of Library from 2001-2019 and was a loved and respected teacher, colleague and parent at the school whose work had a transformative impact on our library program and therefore on teaching and learning at University High. During his tenure, Rob revitalised the library’s collections, reinvigorated our programs and worked tirelessly to build an exceptional library program for our school community. He retired at the end of 2019 and sadly passed away in 2021. 

Prior to his illness and retirement, Rob had been very involved in the development of plans for a new library space that would better accommodate our students, facilitate teaching and learning in the library, and showcase our extensive collections. Sadly, he did not live to see the completion of our beautiful new library but in many ways it stands as a concrete testament to his enduring legacy at the school. After extensive consultation with the school community and with the support of principal Ciar Foster,  School Council voted unanimously in favour of naming the new space in honour of this beloved and truly exceptional librarian. 

The new facility was officially opened at an afternoon tea on December 13 where we were delighted to welcome current and former staff, members of School Council, and Rob’s family to the library to honour the legacy of someone whose work meant so much to our school community. Current Head of Library Stephanie Ward welcomed attendees to the opening and spoke about the experience of undertaking the library renovation, thanking the many people who were involved in bringing the project to completion. Rob’s long-time colleague and dear friend, former teacher librarian Kate Marquard, spoke about her working relationship with Rob and about their shared vision for the library. We were lucky enough to also hear from Rob’s daughter and UHS alumna Madeleine Castles who reflected on her time at the school during her dad’s tenure. The library was then formally opened by principal Ciar Foster who spoke about the importance of both tradition and innovation at University High and how our new library in many ways represents a convergence of these two values. 

Rob Castles was an extraordinary colleague, wise mentor and gifted educator whose work brought so much value to our school and to the profession of teacher librarianship. He continues to be sadly missed but we are delighted to have our beautiful library space named in his honour and hope that we will continue to be inspired by his memory.