Search results

The purpose of this paper is to examine the presence of Croatian school libraries on Facebook by analysing quality and quantity of interactions.

In the paper, literature about libraries on Facebook is reviewed and the need for new research on the topic is explained. Quantitative and content analysis of all Croatian school libraries on Facebook is presented. Quantitative analysis includes: metrics, features, number of items in features, number of libraries' and users' activities (posts, likes, comments and shares). Content analysis includes analysis of information section and posts published in two-month period.

Croatian school librarians know how to use Facebook on a basic level, but some are not educated sufficiently to administer Facebook presences – they use the wrong kind of presence, administer it without planning and sometimes publish inappropriate content. Users of Croatian school libraries rarely interact, mostly by liking library's status and they wait for their libraries to encourage the interaction.

This research can help school librarians to see what they have to do to improve or to implement their Facebook activities. The improvement should advance library service, both on Facebook and in real life.

The paper confirms that Croatian school librarians are aware of the importance of social networking sites for communication with patrons. This is the first complete study of Croatian school libraries on Facebook and intends to be a basis for a longitudinal study of school libraries' presence on social networking sites. The study could also be a starting point for similar analysis worldwide.

Addresses the purposes of school libraries by pinpointing their emotional, mental, and spiritual benefits for young learners. Discusses their requirements by considering typical organizational deficiencies and situations in Africa, particularly Kenya. Concludes with a summary of some of the existing contributions made towards the achievement of school library development in Africa. Acknowledges that specific steps exist to develop school libraries in Kenya but that these steps have lacked direction, co‐ordination, and goals. School libraries can be developed with limited operational infrastructure, so long as their establishment and development can be planned and co‐ordinated. So‐called problems of school library development are embedded in the underdeveloped attitude to recorded information and libraries in Africa, which is commonly disguised by “lack of resources”.

The issue of standards has always been uppermost in the minds of librarians, and has also received considerable professional attention. Examines the concept of standards for school libraries in Ghana and their functional applicability. Discusses the standards within the framework of stock; selection; accomodation; financial support; furnishing; services; competent staffing and inter‐library co‐operation. This has been developed in the light of the needs of schools in Ghana which are steadily realizing the importance of libraries.

In earlier numbers of this magazine we have conducted symposia on the subject of libraries in schools, and the various contributions have proved informative and interesting. The field is now broadening under the provisions of the new Education Act, whose schedule on building regulations allows for the project of a library room. No doubt the accommodation aspect will duly be fully described in an official memorandum. Just now, however, the opportunity is looming big for the systematic development of really useful libraries in secondary schools. The contributors to the present symposium represent educationists as well as librarians, and we are glad to present their views.

This research paper is part of a PhD research project into the management of secondary school libraries in the independent sector in England and Wales. It aims to demonstrate one method of providing qualitative evidence of library provision in such schools.

This research paper uses the inspection reports of independent schools by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) as a qualitative source of information about the provision of school library services within the independent secondary school sector in England and Wales

The reports indicate that there is a wide range of quality in independent school libraries, just as there are in those schools run by local education authorities.

This paper outlines just one method of assessing the state of school libraries in independent secondary schools. Other methods are being used in the wider PhD research project.

Because independent schools are by their very nature self managed and independently run, the use of ISI reports provides an autonomous, external appraisal of individual schools which will contribute to providing a clearer picture of the whole sector. The research will eventually provide practical advice and guidance to school library practitioners as well as the wider school librarianship and independent school sectors.

The use of inspection reports as a qualitative appraisal of independent schools will be original. While the general school library sector is researched, there has been very little done specifically on independent secondary schools, which educate 7 per cent of the secondary school population in England and Wales.

This paper presents the findings of a study that explores the use of school libraries and their resources by teachers, their level of collaboration with their school librarian, and the problems faced by them in using these libraries.

A questionnaire survey was conducted and 76 teachers from seven schools in Singapore participated in the study.

The results showed that teachers generally did not use their school libraries and various information resources effectively, mainly due to the inadequacy of their school libraries in terms of educational materials. In addition, teachers typically did not collaborate with their school librarian in planning their lessons or other academic activities.

The study only managed to involve 76 teachers from seven schools. A larger number of respondents would have been more desirable. However, these 76 respondents represented teachers with teaching experiences that ranged from less than 3 years to more than 20 years. The study provided an insight into the situation of school library use by teachers in Singapore and their related factors. This insight could in turn yield initiatives on various aspects of school library research, such as the role of the school library in the school curriculum, and how school library usage by teachers or school librarian‐teacher collaboration can be improved.

The study proposes that teachers be familiarised with the role of school libraries and librarians through in‐service and pre‐service teacher training courses and through school library outreach programmes.

The paper highlights the importance of the school library in the school curriculum, presents the elements that can contribute to or work against the use of the school library by teachers, and most importantly, proposes strategies that can be implemented to improve the situation as revealed in the study.

The English praise books and book‐lovers, and write magnificent prose about the liberty of the Press, but do not always try as much as they might to encourage the foundation of libraries or to foster the care of books. The State has often left libraries to individual initiative or to private benefactors; thus it is not surprising to find that, although as long ago as 1926 the official opinion was that ‘the school library … forms a very important part of the equipment of an efficient school …’ (Hadow Report on the education of the adolescent), no concerted action has been taken with regard to school libraries. There are books without accommodation and bookless library‐rooms; if a school is fortunate enough to have both a library‐room and a collection of books, it is rare to find a trained school librarian in charge.

Examines the importance of user education in secondary schools in Nigeria. Highlights the advantages derivable from such user education programmes. Locational, and information and study skills are identified as being essential to a successful use of the library. Recommends the provision of adequate libraries in secondary schools as a first step towards effective user education programmes in school libraries.

IT CAN STILL BE SAID, after forty‐eight years have passed, that ‘little has yet been written of the history of school libraries, for indeed the history is still in the making’. Progress in the provision of library services to schools has been slow and piece‐meal until recently, and Alec Ellis's contribution to the history of public library services to children in England and Wales is not yet complete. One must search inter alia to find other contributions to the history of this subject for the period since the First World War. To look at the past is not for the purpose of decrying the present in the manner of the ‘Black Papers’ on education, but to measure the extent and direction of change.

In our Spring number we presented a symposium dealing with what is being done in certain counties as regards the provision of libraries in schools. In this issue we present purposeful comments from Cardiff, Halifax, and Middlesbrough as to school libraries in these towns, administered cooperatively by the library and education committees. Our readers will gather from these contributions that there is a great field of opportunity in schemes of the kind, and that their operation is simple enough. We are particularly obliged to Mr. Osborne for his contribution on the subject generally.—Editor, L.R.