IFLA /UNESCO / NALIS SEMINAR ON SCHOOL AND PUBLIC LIBRARY MANIFESTOS AND GUIDELINES

THE ROLE OF THE SCHOOL LIBRARY IN THE 21ST CENTURY: A DEVELOPING COUNTRY'S PERSPECTIVE

Presented by Dr. Cherell Shelley-Robinson

When asked to briefly sum up the role of the modem school library, I usually tell my students that it exists primarily to facilitate teaching and learning, because I think these are the two key areas in which it differs markedly from the public library. Additionally, from these two fundamental roles spring all the others such as stated in the UNESCO/IFLA Manifesto as well as standard documents from library associations around the world.

Learning Resource Center:
In developing countries like Jamaica where there is limited financial resources, a largely subsistence economy that makes it difficult for many parents to provide the necessary school books-this role become even more crucial. This is not only in the sense of providing resources to complement or implement the curriculum but also in ensuring equality of access to resources for all children. Very often, in this situation the library becomes the only place where a child can get access to any kind of learning material for curricular and personal development. The absence of a well equipped school library can place some children at a disadvantage to their more affluent peers, not because of academic ability, but due rather to a lack of a well stocked learning resources.

Cognizance must also be taken of children with various physical and other disabilities. Very few developing countries make any provisions for these children.

Centre for the Promotion of Literacy:
Many developing countries are still struggling to reduce or eradicate illiteracy because too many adults are barely or only functionally literate which does not lead to free voluntary reading for pleasure or for personal development. The school library has much to contribute to this fight. While the reading teacher makes sure that the child master the mechanics of reading, the school librarian provides repeated opportunities for practising and developing this skill through a variety of reading promotion programmes.

The benefits that accrue for the avid reader compared to his peers who are either alliterate or infrequent readers are well
documented by research. Some of these include: better writing and communication skills, a larger vocabulary, a wider experiential background and in many cases this translates into better academic performance. For all these reasons, governments in developing countries must pay closer attention to the development and maintenance of school libraries.

Centre for the Development of Information Literacy:
We all recognize the need for information literacy so that citizens can function effectively in an ever changing information rich and technologically driven society. The school is the major institution to which society has assigned the responsibility for educating and socializing the young. Given the dire need for people to learn how to leam in order to become lifelong learners, and all young people are expected to attend school - this then becomes the most appropriate place for information skills to be taught at an early age so that children will develop and internalize a schema for information searching, processing and use. Given the school library's responsibility for information and its position as a facilitator of teaching and learning- it therefore becomes the primary agency within the school, working in collaboration with the teachers, to ensure that students become information literate.

Centre for the Facilitation of Teaching:
This might seem to be an obvious that does not need re-stating but in the Caribbean tradition of school librarianship, too often the teachers are neglected by the librarians as well as the policy makers. Curricula are constantly being revised and new approaches to teaching and learning are adopted with little thought given to the information needs of teachers. In order to improve the quality of teaching and facilitate its execution more attention should be placed on information services for teachers which should include teacher and librarian collaboration in planning, implementing and evaluating the curriculum.

To render this partnership more effective, education for teachers and librarians at the tertiary level should include components from both librarianship and education. While the need for dual qualifications for school librarians is more readily recognized and accepted, the need for teachers to have courses on the role of the library in education, information resources in their subject specialization and information handling skills has hardly been recognized. With such provisions in place, teachers, principals and education officers should be more knowledgeable and appreciative of the value of the library in the education process.

Centre for the Promotion of Culture and Reading:
Young people need a sense of their own identity and a sense of belonging, to know and appreciate who they are and where they come from in order to chart their future. One way of fulfilling this need is to provide children from the earliest ages with literature that positively reflects their culture heritage. The school library is one of the most logical places for fostering a strong sense of self and to socialize the child with regards to his ethnic heritage through the provision resources, programmmes and activities based on the use of indigenous literature.

Secondly, children need to learn to appreciate cultural diversity and to develop tolerance and respect for those who are different. Again literature programmes can help to bridge this gap and establish bridges of understanding between different groups. This is badly needed in our world today.

Thirdly, the school library should promote reading for personal enjoyment and development. This is extremely important in developing countries where many homes are devoid of reading materials, parents cannot afford books and a reading traditional is almost non-existent. The school library looms large here as the major or the only consistent provider of literature experiences for many of our children.

Literature stirs their imagination, stimulates creativity, sharpen their aesthetic responses and gives children insights into their own lives and that of others. Young people, especially those living in the face of poverty, violence and neglect, should not miss the humanizing power of literature that can counter some of the stark realities of their lives and give them hope and a new vision
of the possibilities. A well equipped and functioning school library can add this vital dimension to their lives.

In order to accomplish all this, there is the need for policy guidelines to be formulated jointly between educators and librarians with the assurance that the policymakers will implement these to ensure that developing countries will be in a position to develop each child to his or her fullest potential and that every citizen will be able to contribute to the development of the nation.

Gateway to the Wide World of Information:
The school library should serve as a link to the vast information superhighway. In the school library they will have internalized a schema for the information search process along with the ability to assess and use information. This should be accompanied by a proper attitude towards the responsible and ethical use of information which includes respecting the intellectual property rights of others, among other things. They will also be taught that the school library is just one link in the vast network of libraries and information systems in our global society.

This idea of the school library being a gateway to global information is especially important in developing countries, since for some, the school library might be their only means of accessing information on the Internet or in any other electronic format.

It means that the school librarian must seek to belong to local, regional and international networks.