LPYL -
School library
development
in South Africa and
Sweden
Library Project for Young Learners ( LPYL)
The making of a school library / Arboga, Sweden
Status report 2001-05-10
Background
In Arboga there are about 1 600 children attending the compulsory school. None of the eight school units in the commune have a school library on its premises.
In 1970 the town got a new public library and the political decision was taken to centralise all library resources, including the (very poor) school library collections, to the public library. Since then the main responsibility for the library services to the schools rests on the public library.
This co-operation has meant great advantages for the schools regarding centrally located and well managed library resources, but today the needs of the school are very different from the ones thirty years ago.
Problem
The recent curriculum for the compulsory school puts emphasis on the training of the students’ research skills, their ability to search and value information to gain knowledge. To make this possible in our commune a development of the present model of co-operation between the public library and the schools is necessary.
Numerous attempts have been made to convince school politicians that a change of policy concerning the school library services is decisive for the implementation of the new curriculum. These have all been unsuccessful.
Goal
In an attempt to break the deadlock of the issue one school, Engelbrektsskolan has now decided to develop a library function at the school, despite the lack of political support. The school has about 300 learners in schoolyear 0-5.
A new Schoolplan for the community was elaborated in the autumn 2000. The plan was not referred to the Public Library for consideration, nor was the role of library services included in it. In a statement to the Board of Education the Committee of Sports and Culture remarked on this, and also suggested possible changes in the focus of the plan. These views were omitted in the final draft of the plan, but might have some impact on future plans as the issue was actually discussed by the different political parties.
The project is based on the continued support from the public library and aims at develop and find new ways of co-operation between the school and the public library.
The project is to be considered as a first step in a development strategy in regard to working methods at the school. In this first phase the main goal will be to establish a school library.
Arboga was one of the pilot communes when the National Agency for Education initiated the National Action programme for ICT in Schools, ITiS. During the last years some 120 educators have been given further education in how to make the new technology useful in the pedagogical context. The Public Library has assisted in this scheme with an introductory course in search strategies. As a result of this the educators are now better equipped to guide the learners in the search for information both at the library and in the classroom.
Also the fact that the catalogue of the public library now is (at last!) searchable on the Internet will help educators and learners to undertake initial searches at the school.
These are some factors that will hopefully aid educators and learners to become more active in the use of library and information resources and create a platform for a more genuine and effective co-operation between the staff of the public library and the schools. Still, to meet the special needs of the particular school, the school library has still to be established.
Our hope is that the project will result in a model that might inspire other schools in the commune.
Activities phase one
the set up of a Library Committee
The Principal presented the project proposal to the staff at the beginning of the term in August 2000. He interpreted the reaction as positive to the idea and two members of staff were chosen to form a Library Committee together with himself, the manager of the ITiS project and the Children’s Librarian. The Committee has discussed and agreed on the content of a project plan. It has met four times this far.
talks with the Parents’ Committee
The Parents’ Committee has been informed about the project by the Principal but has not been involved in any other way.
talks with the Learners’ Council
The Principal has told the learners that a school library is in the making but they haven’t yet been involved. Different models for learner participation have been discussed in the Library Committee i.e. representation on the committee, participation in the running and maintenance of the library etc., but no decision has been taken.
study visits
The committee has visited the school library of Vasagymnasiet in Arboga, two school libraries in the neighbouring town of Köping and Hällbyskolan in Västerås.
seminar with all educators at the school
Mia Nordin, Teacher Librarian at Hällbyskolan and manager of a school library development project in the region, gave a talk at a staff conference at Engelbrektsskolan. Hällbyskolan is a school the same size and with the same age group of learners as Engelbrektsskolan. The educators found her presentation very useful and a study visit was arranged for two members of the Committee and two other members of staff. Different kinds of twin projects were also discussed.
find a suitable room for the library
Several places have been discussed. The school is crowded and the ideal location is yet to be found. In a couple of years the number of students will decrease and classrooms will be available for library purposes. Until then a temporary solution is a smaller but fairly well situated room. It is now equipped with new bookshelves and two computers. The photocopier is next door and a little room nearby will be used as storeroom for textbooks.
chose circulation system
The school will link to the circulation system of the public library in the same way as the school library at Vasagymnasiet. A license is bought but the system is not yet in operation due to technical difficulties.
locate, weed and catalogue all media at the school
The Teacher Librarian has undertaken the big task to dig up all materials that has been gathered in all possible places at the school for the last four decades or so. She does the initial weeding before sending the remaining to the public library where a second count out is done. The rest is included in the library catalogue and registered by the library staff before sent back to the school.
This process will take some time, but the result is very satisfying as it now for the first time is possible to get an overview of what materials are available on the school premises.
purchase of new media – plan
The school has set aside 10 000 SEK for the purchase of media for the library during 2001. The educators have been given the opportunity to chose from titles published during the last years and an order has just been placed at the local bookshop.
The Public Library has donated all suitable titles among the children’s books the State subsidises and hand out to the public libraries. The Public Library has also applied for an increased grant from the National Council for Cultural Affairs and will under all circumstances contribute with 40 000 SEK to
staffing of the library
further education of teacher librarian
Funding
Resources from the ordinary budget of the school and the public library will be directed to the project.
Timetable phase one
November 2000 – April 23rd 2001
Eva Petri
Children’s librarian / Arboga Public Library
2001-02-15