english essay my school library

english essay my school library

Importance of School Libraries

1. Introduction

Student achievement in school libraries has been found to be related to the broad instruction role that librarians often play in schools. Library media specialists actively work with teachers, planning, providing research, and other literacy information-skills instruction. These effects persist across student characteristics, reading content, educators, and management decisions, indicating that the school library program can almost cancel out the effect of those loss systems, doubling New York’s system’s coefficient and directing it to the positive side. The authors stated that this impact is not trivial, and the highest level of results were observed with the three combined resources. Elmore, p.66, cited “the mean impact of making the state’s average school-level variables at the national average was an increase of 10% in material resources; teachers’ higher expectations for students increased the proportion of students meeting proficiency standards by 9%; higher student performance increased the proportion of students meeting proficiency standards by 9%; higher student performance increased the odds of meeting the proficiency standard by 19%.”

Several conclusions were developed from the study commissioned by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and carried out by Keith Curry Lance, Marcia J. Rodney, and Christine Hamilton-Pennell. Students achieve higher reading scores in schools with fully qualified, full-time school library media specialists. The scope of the library collection, the staffing, the library’s technology, and funding was positively related to student performance. A 10% increase in these library resources resulted in a 4.5% positive impact on reading scores. Traditional English reading proficiency as measured by attendance in the LMC and circulation of library fiction is again robust and a positive mediator of test scores. These are robust and pervasive effects, but they vary in size from state to state, and rural districts tend to benefit more from strong LMCs than urban districts.

2. Benefits of School Libraries

Hundreds of studies around the world have shown that students always achieve higher scores in schools with strong school libraries. The establishment and payment of salaries of school library professionals are often the first things cut, reduced, or eliminated in a bad budgetary situation. These decisions are based on the understanding that a school librarian is a luxury and not a necessity. To do this, the needs of school libraries must be shared with school administrators and board members, and school librarians must keep school board members heavily involved in understanding school libraries. This kind of communication is essential to establishing and maintaining active and responsive school libraries. School libraries represent a powerful tool that provides students from all educational backgrounds with the literacy skills they need to become productive members of not only their community but also the country as a whole.

The steady decline of funding for school libraries marks a disturbing trend as evidenced by various reports on literacy, learning and reading. There is a growing realization of the importance of school libraries and the benefits they add to student learning. The library should work in conjunction with classroom instruction, providing resources that students can access in order to add to their understanding of the lesson being taught. The library does not only store books, periodicals, and magazines but also serves as an alternative place of work space for students who wish to do so or for public speakers and presenters who are invited to enlighten or are inspired. The library is the beating heart of the entire school. Without a library, students will be deprived of developing the interest and the skills needed to become a lifelong self-directed learner.

3. Resources Available

Some of the school library’s special features are mind-boggling. For example, some libraries even have their own recording studios! In today’s libraries they also have 3D printers, a cozy seating area, a tablet bar, and even, believe it or not, a digital slide! Sitting on the beanbags and using the tablets was another usage pattern that was observed at the school libraries. Well-prepared library spaces provide students with quiet places to talk and share ideas, allowing for positive social interactions with peers. The library spaces provide students with quiet places to talk and share ideas, allowing for positive social interactions with peers. The library is indeed a rich source of both silent and collaborative learning experiences. According to several researchers, a well-organized physical arrangement is key to an effective learning environment within a flexible school library space.

The resources available in a modern school library are varied and numerous. Gone are the days when a library consisted mostly of books. There are now many other resources, including playaway audiobooks, disk media, and the more conventional audiobooks. One type of e-book that many users love is the dictionary e-book. One student explained that these were incredibly useful because, when you hover over a word that you don’t know the meaning of, its definition automatically appears. There are also a surprising number of computer programs designed for e-readers used in the school library for curricular purposes.

4. Role of Librarians

Librarians should spend time with students, supporting the teachers and drawing them in the right direction. They should inculcate good behavior and habits among students by imparting to them the values of self-reliance, mutual help, cooperation, communication, and critical thinking. They should exhibit special interest in each child and help him/her to read and understand what they read so that learners become enlightened readers. Librarians should provide information on various fields. At the same time, they should create new techniques for the promotion of the library and also coordinate activities in conjunction with various departments. The students are trained to maintain personal as well as general hygiene and healthy living practices. They should offer a concerned and skilled professional service which should be valued by the teaching community. Hence, the role of library professionals has increased to the headquarters in our country due to the materialization of libraries and information.

To achieve its aims, school libraries need effective, trained, and perceptive leadership. Both do regular cleaning, repairing, and binding of books, and cataloguing and classification of books. The success of a good library depends on the quality and dedicated service of the librarian. Librarians should be teachers or well-wishers of teachers, but not managers of the library store. He should have good knowledge to select, acquire, organize books, and provide information to stimulate thinking in the students. Librarians should promote the welfare and improvement of the library in order to provide and disseminate information.

5. Conclusion

School libraries play vital roles in enhancing learning. It has been observed that poor performance by students is often traced, among other problems, to lack of parental support and also lack of access to good books at homes. Students sometimes do not have any other opportunity to sit by a river, climb a mountain, watch a leaf grow, follow a rainbow, find an “X” on Antarctic ice, or experience the metamorphosis of each life cycle. Such experiences are peculiar to good books and these experiences can be made possible through school libraries. The roles that school media centres enhance have made educators view them as important media centres that should be available in every school. Describing the peculiarities of the library, its roles and how it meets the needs of its users; the aim of this paper has been clarified. According to Alemna, libraries are resources for curriculum delivery. In this climate of change and complexity of curriculum, the library is as important as the classroom for instruction, learning and exploration. Although the school curriculum takes its own course in every primary school, emphasizing the basic educational needs of children, the library is not left behind in facilitating learning and instruction.

School libraries, to some, have also become the central force in promoting culture, education and knowledge. Making it possible for students to have a culture-rich environment while on recess, they bring academic and cultural information closer to children. All these activities take place within a relaxed environment of discovery, a situation that would not be possible without a media centre such as a well-built primary school library. Several advantages of media centres such as school libraries are frequent in academic literature. It is believed that school libraries provide a framework through which students can have access to good children’s books, books that can enhance curiosity, promote cultural exchange, and turn out students with high academic performance. Describing the peculiarities of the library, its roles and how it meets the needs of its users, the aim of this paper has been clarified.