An Opportunity Not to Be Missed. School Libraries Need Support
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01435129410055488 |
| Published date | 01 May 1994 |
| Pages | 24-27 |
| Date | 01 May 1994 |
| Author | Victoria Feltham |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Poverty of Spirit
No man is an island, entire of itself
John Donne
When John Donne wrote so eloquently of man’s
dependence on his fellow man he was referring to
our spiritual needs as well as our practical needs.
At present our education system is in an
unprecedented state of chaos and consequently
there is a poverty of spirit about those working in
schools today. No librarian wants to feel like a
modern-day Robinson Crusoe, fighting to survive
against the odds, isolated from his or her peers,
but increasingly this is how many of those
working in school libraries do feel.
As a professional librarian working in a state
secondary school I have had first-hand experience
of these feelings of isolation and know that they
are shared by many. With the introduction of the
1988 and 1993 Education Acts, the Government
sought to take power away from the local
authorities and put it into the hands of lay people.
This has resulted in each and every school being
allowed the flexibility to decide whether or not
they wish to provide library facilities and, if they
do, whether or not they wish to employ a librarian
to deliver the best possible levels of service. My
own post was created in 1991, making me the first
professional librarian to be employed in a high
school in the Wirral. Unfortunately many schools
still view libraries as a peripheral luxury – an
expensive extra to be offered in times of plenty
and the first area to be cut in times of want. This
has made the position of many school librarians
very precarious and has muted their voice within
education. However, I firmly believe that the
governing body of each school is primarily
interested in providing the best possible education
for pupils and, in many cases, it is merely
ignorance of the benefits that can accrue from
appointing a professional librarian to facilitate the
efficient delivery of the curriculum that prevents
them from choosing to make better library
provision in their school. It is vital that this
opportunity to turn the tide of ignorance is
grasped by librarians and other concerned
members of the local community who might
lobby the governing body of local schools, either
to improve the state of school libraries or to
safeguard the excellent services already offered.
As many unhappy children know to their cost,
attendance at school until the age of 16 is
compulsory in this country and it is my belief that
the quality of education provided for children
depends largely on the quality of the library
provision offered in our schools. Libraries should
be central to the delivery of the curriculum,
offering a wide range of multi-media resources
under the guidance of a professional librarian.
Children who have reaped the benefits of such a
wealth of opportunity will feel that libraries are a
comfortable environment and so be more likely to
continue using them throughout their lives. Young
people whose experience of school is mostly
negative, and whose view of libraries is equally
jaded, will have to be highly self-motivated and
committed in later life if they are ever to achieve
as adult learners. In the past, decisions concerning
library provision in schools were made by each
local authority and there was some element of
continuity, which meant that schools in each
authority were likely to be uniformly good or bad.
The passing of the 1988 Education Act has
changed the status quo.
LIBRARY MANAGEMENT
24
Library Management, Vol. 15 No. 3, 1994, pp. 24-27
© MCB University Press, 0143-5124
An Opportunity Not
to Be Missed
School Libraries Need Support
Victoria Feltham
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