Abstract
For teacher librarians to be able to enhance the learning opportunities of their students, they need regular access to these students. While many Australian primary and secondary schools have access to onsite school libraries, qualitative data in this chapter provide insights into previous quantitative findings which suggest that as young people move through the years of schooling, they may be given less access to libraries during class time and that many students in secondary schools rarely access libraries to select book to read for pleasure. Findings suggest that children in secondary school may have less exposure to libraries during class time than their primary school counterparts, and children in lower secondary school may have more access to libraries than those in the upper school years.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Branch-Mueller, J., & de Groot, J. (2016). Becoming a celebrity teacher-librarian: Moving towards self-actualization and realization. School Libraries Worldwide, 22(1), 79–96.
Clark, C., & Teravainen-Goff, A. (2018). Mental wellbeing, reading and writing: How children and young people’s mental wellbeing is related to their reading and writing experiences. London, UK: National Literacy Trust.
Francis, B. H., Lance, K. C., & Lietzau, Z. (2010). School librarians continue to help students achieve standards: The third Colorado study (2010) (Closer Look Report). Denver, CO: Colorado State Library, Library Research Service. Retrieved from http://www.lrs.org/documents/closer_look/CO3_2010_Closer_Look_Report.pdf.
Garan, E. M., & DeVoogd, G. (2008). The benefits of sustained silent reading: Scientific research and common sense converge. The Reading Teacher, 62(4), 336–344.
Harvey, P. (2010). Bibliotherapy use by welfare teams in secondary colleges. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 35(5), 29–39.
Hughes, H., Bozorgian, H., & Allan, C. (2014). School libraries, teacher-librarians and student outcomes: Presenting and using the evidence. School Libraries Worldwide, 20(1), 29–50.
Jerrim, J., & Moss, G. (2019). The link between fiction and teenagers’ reading skills: International evidence from the OECD PISA study. British Educational Research Journal. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3498.
Lonsdale, M. (2003). Impact of school libraries on student achievement: A review of the research. Camberwell, VIC: Australian Council of Educational Research.
McCulliss, D., & Chamberlain, D. (2013). Bibliotherapy for youth and adolescents—School-based application and research. Journal of Poetry Therapy, 26(1), 13–40.
Merga, M. K. (2013). Should Silent Reading feature in a secondary school English programme? West Australian students’ perspectives on Silent Reading. English in Education, 47(3), 229–244.
Merga, M. K. (2015). Access to books in the home and adolescent engagement in recreational book reading: Considerations for secondary school educators. English in Education, 49(3), 197–214.
Merga, M. K. (2016). What would make them read more? Insights from Western Australian adolescents. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 36(3), 409–424.
Merga, M. K. (2017a). What motivates avid readers to maintain a regular reading habit in adulthood? Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 40(2), 146–156.
Merga, M. K. (2017b). Meeting the needs of avid book readers: Access, space, concentration support and barrier mitigation. Journal of Library Administration, 57(1), 49–68.
Merga, M. K. (2018). Silent reading and discussion of self-selected books in the contemporary classroom. English in Australia, 53(1), 70–82.
Merga, M. K. (2019). Reading engagement for tweens and teens: What would make them read more? Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.
Merga, M. K., & Gardiner, V. (2019). The role of whole school literacy policies supporting reading engagement in Australian schools. English in Australia, 53(3), 37–50.
Merga, M. K., & Mat Roni, S. (2017). Choosing strategies of children and the impact of age and gender on library use: Insights for librarians. Journal of Library Administration, 57(6), 607–630.
Merga, M. K., & Mat Roni, S. (2018). Children’s perceptions of the importance and value of reading. Australian Journal of Education, 62(2). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/0004944118779615.
Robinson, J. A., Alexander, D. J., & Gradisar, M. S. (2009). Preparing for Year 12 examinations: Predictors of psychological distress and sleep. Australian Journal of Psychology, 61(2), 59–68.
Strommen, L. T., & Fowles Mates, B. (2004). Learning to love reading: Interviews with older children and teens. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 48(3), 188–200.
Worthy, J., Turner, M., & Moorman, M. (1998). The precarious place of self-selected reading. Language Arts, 75(4), 296–304.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Merga, M.K. (2019). Do Schools with Libraries use Them?. In: Librarians in Schools as Literacy Educators. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21025-0_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21025-0_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-21024-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-21025-0
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)