COLLINS English Dictionary defines a school library as “a library within a school where teachers and students can access books and other resources. In other words, a school is an educational institution where students acquire knowledge, values and skills through structured instructions and learning experiences from their teachers. The mission of a school library is to support and enhance the learning level of students, teachers and the community through resources and services that promote literacy, facilitate learning and foster intellectual growth in the community living in the schools. School libraries are important in providing students with access to a wide range of informational resources like books, periodicals, multimedia material and digital databases in order to explore diverse topics and deepen their understanding of the subject beyond what is covered in the classroom.
The school library’s motto is to promote students’ literacy skills to make them critical thinkers and life-long learners in the future. The school library plays a commendable role in the students’ cultural and intellectual enrichment. It not only supports the school curriculum but also encourages students for inquiry-based learning. School libraries allow students to explore their topics of interest and engage them in independent inquiry to grow professionally. Some scholars believe that school libraries are great sources of inspiration in promoting the students’ digital literacy and intellectual curiosity. School libraries are said to be vital in promoting a sense of belonging, community and shared intellectual pursuits. In other words, school libraries are essential to the educational ecosystem, fostering a culture of inquiry and promoting literacy and life-long learning services.
In countries like the USA, China, Germany and France, school libraries play a crucial role in personal growth and intellectual development, serving as a cornerstone of students’ lifelong learning journey, as stated by the American Library Association. In the USA alone, there were 131,848 libraries in 2022, with 82,300 being public school libraries and 22,991 private school libraries. Private schools are often preferred over public ones in developing nations like Pakistan. However, both public and private schools in Pakistan face significant challenges. According to the Pakistan Institute of Education, out of 313,418 total schools, many lack basic facilities like toilets, drinking water, and playgrounds. Few have small libraries, mostly in urban areas, leaving rural schools with inadequate infrastructure, where students often resort to reading under trees.
The situation in Sindh and Balochistan’s schools is that they live under God’s mercy. Even though the position of elite schools like Beacon House, city schools, convent schools, OPF and other schools serving the defence forces are equipped with rich libraries, playgrounds, drinking water and rich laboratories, they are still using these services to attract customers and show them that how literate we are. The position of public schools in Pakistan is worse than that of private schools. Public schools in Pakistan face numerous problems like budget constraints, large student populations, government oversight and emphasis on accessible education. Most of the buildings in urban areas are filled with huge populations and there is no single room to maintain and sustain a library to meet the intellectual growth of the children. Though official documents state that each school should have a small library with up to 3000 books, teachers diminish the library building to the classroom or reserve them for the common room.
Various factors influence the library structure in Pakistani schools: limited resources for school libraries, lack of qualified staff like trained librarians, infrastructure challenges, language barriers, and low reading culture among teachers and students. A question, however, arises in mind: who is responsible for the poor culture of the libraries? Undoubtedly, government authorities, stakeholders of the schools, educational institutions and, above all, the staff members lacking qualifications with only BA and FA certificates. What is to be done? There is a dire need for concerted efforts to highlight these issues in various forums like the National Assembly and social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, etc. Above all, complaints should be filed against the school mafias who fool poor people. Investing in school libraries will help improve literacy rates, enhance educational outcomes, and foster a love of learning. Let’s raise a voice on different forums and equip the school with rich libraries.
—The writer is Deputy Director Library in a government Think-Tank.
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