The Importance of School Libraries
In the educational field, one of the spaces that encourage kids to read is school libraries.
School libraries should be an essential element in all schools because of all the benefits they have for kids. Next, we’ll tell you the importance of school libraries for little ones.
School libraries as a collective space
Nowadays, there’s still the idea that a library is only for studying. In addition, people think there are librarians constantly telling everyone to be quiet.
Libraries are spaces where people exchange opinions about reading, authors, or even movies and TV shows. Therefore, changing how we think about these spaces will help make them even better.
School libraries should be places where kids don’t have to be forced to choose a book and read it silently. In fact, it should be quite the opposite. They should be collaborative spaces where kids can choose books that really get their attention based on their tastes. Then, they should be able to share it with their peers.
The role teachers play, as well as school librarians, are very important. These are the people in charge of getting children to really choose books they like instead of being forced to read.
In addition, keep in mind that school libraries can’t be run by teachers who take shifts. You need to have professionals who know everything about the library.
Make these spaces somewhere kids want to go and enjoy new adventures. Then, reading will surely become one of their hobbies.
Goals of school libraries
In fact, UNESCO, in addition to the International Federation of Library Associations, made a manifesto of school libraries. In addition, they established a series of goals to promote reading and help kids learn.
- Collaborate with educational projects and teaching programs that the center has.
- Help children learn to enjoy reading and learning, as well as using libraries.
- Motivate the different possibilities that school libraries offer.
- Insist that access to information must be free for all.
- Collaborate with the other professionals in the center to improve the library and school programs, as well as students.
- Organize activities to show the library’s resources regarding searching information and books.
- Provide access to the resources students need to know the possibilities in the library.
Importance of decorations
Children usually look closely at the people around them, but also the places they go often. Therefore, be aware that school libraries should be cheerful and colorful places.
Organizing activities can be a good way to decorate the library walls. For example, kids could draw what happens in books. Also, this makes kids feel like they’re a part of the library.
In addition, use colored tables of different sizes for different age groups. Finally, use displays so that certain books attract more attention than others.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Unesco, & IFLA. (1999). Manifiesto UNESCO/IFLA sobre la biblioteca escolar.
- Carrillo Mora, F. P. (2013). Importancia de la biblioteca infantil en el desarrollo del lenguaje de los niños de 4 años de edad del centro infantil mundo de ilusiones de la ciudad de ambato.(Bachelor’s thesis). http://192.188.46.193/handle/123456789/5106
- Rodríguez, J. A. C., Valencia, J., & Arias, A. V. (2013). Las bibliotecas públicas como escenarios de participación ciudadana e inclusión social. Rastros Rostros, 15(29), 73-81. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=6515629
- Fernández Aguado, M. S. (2015). La importancia de las bibliotecas escolares en la educación: la biblioteca de Amelia. https://repositorio.unican.es/xmlui/handle/10902/7601