The status of the library and librarian within secondary

school culture: have the guidelines helped or is a new

approach required?

A study submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the

degree of Master of Arts in Librarianship

At

The University of Sheffield

By

Sally Crosthwaite

September 2004

1

Abstract

This research has been carried out to look into the reasons why the many

guidelines published over the last 25 years have not been met, focusing specifically

on the status of the library and librarian within the secondary school. From the

literature review, it is sent that the situation has changed little over this time period,

although with every new report there is new hope that this time the standards will

be met and the library and librarian given the status they deserve within the school.

The research has been carried out using 3 themes: the views of the librarians as to

their own position status and use within the school; the teachers’ use of and

attitudes towards the library; and to recommend changes that will enable libraries

to move further towards meeting the guidelines.

The conclusions drawn show that one of the main problems are the

attitudes of teaching staff in schools, and their lack of knowledge about the use of

the library. Advocacy also needs to be readdressed. Finally, official government

intervention needs to be made in the form of better OFSTED inspection and

statutory minimums, to give the library an official footing and a more solid base to

work from.

2

Acknowledgements

I would like to say thank you to everyone who has given me massive amounts of

help with my dissertation, both in its conception and research. An especial thanks

goes to Briony Train as my supervisor who has helped me when all else was failing

and to Bob Usherwood, for the last minute panic!

I would also like to say individual thanks to the following people for help both in

research and for moral support throughout:

Ben Pollard

Pam, Peter and Louise Crosthwaite

All my colleagues at North Yorkshire County Council

Judith Lafferty

3

Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction with Literature Review

• 1.1: Background

• 1.2: History of changes in school libraries

• 1.3: Aims and Objectives

Chapter 2: Methodology

• 2.1: Research Philosophy

• 2.2: Strategy

• 2.3: Techniques

o 2.3.1: Sampling Methods

o 2.3.2: Sample Size

o 2.3.3: Questionnaires

o 2.3.4: Response Rate

o 2.3.5: Interviews

• 2.4: Validity of methodology

Chapter 3: Librarians View on Current status and role

• 3.1: Status

• 3.2: Current Role

• 3.3: Library Status

• 3.4: Conclusions

Chapter 4: Teachers attitudes towards the library and librarian

• 4.1: Teachers perceptions on current use of libraries and librarians

• 4.2: Librarians’ perception of teacher’s attitudes towards the library

• 4.3: Conclusions

Chapter 5: Conclusions

Chapter 6: Recommendations

4

• 6.1: OFSTED Reports

• 6.2: Statutory Minimums

• 6.3: Teacher Training

• 6.4: Advocacy

Bibliography

Appendices

1. Cover letter to librarians

2. Librarians Questionnaire

3. Teachers Questionnaire

5

Chapter 1: Introduction with Literature Review

1.1: Background

With the publication of ‘Start with the Child’ in 2002, there has been a

renewed interest in the status of children within the learning environment. This

report has been a major influence on the development of policies and strategies

within both local and national government, and amongst groups such as the School

Libraries Group of CILIP. ‘Start with the Child’ is an in depth study into the

needs, motivations and attitudes of young people and to translate these into

developments for museums, libraries and archives. There were a number of

implications arising from this study that reflect the educational lives of young

people.

It was found that young people enjoy being able to learn in different ways,

and to ‘adopt a multi-sensory approach to learning’, with this including visual,

auditory and kinaesthetic (Resource, 2002:10). The report recognises that libraries

are becoming more user-focused and this gives them an opportunity to attract

younger people by understanding what their ‘needs, wants and motivations’ are

(p.17). However, in a school, the audience is one which is captive and so use of the

library is dependant on more complex reasons than simply the ‘needs, wants and

motivations’ of the students. Although the report goes a long way to establishing a

starting point for increasing the use by students of the school library, there are

other factors that also need to be considered.

Specifically aimed at school libraries, CILIP produced an updated version

of the ‘Guidelines for Secondary School Libraries’. These have previously been

produced through the Library Association, and are now the responsibility of

CILIP. The forward from Charles Clarke MP, Secretary of State for Education and

Skills, advocates that

‘…the school library is at the heart of a school, which itself has learning

at it’s core, and good libraries can empower the learner.’

(Barrett and Douglas, 2004:vii)

6

This recognition of school libraries being at the heart of education and the school

is heartening; however, there still appears to be a disparity as to what is expected in

school libraries and what is actually achieved.

In support of the new guidelines and in recognition that there is a problem

with support for libraries within schools, in 2002 the CILIP School’s Library

Group conference concentrated on the issue of advocacy for school librarians.

From this, they published ‘Improving Pay and Status: A School Librarian’s

Empowerment Pack’, ‘School Libraries: Making a Difference’ and ‘Schools: Salary

Guide’. All these packs have been designed to give librarians the tools and

confidence ‘to gain:

• Status among conflicting and competing priorities

• Funding from limited budgets

• New partners who appreciate our importance

• Recognition of our activities as central to the school’s mission from

head teachers and governors’

(CILIP, 2002a:3)

This pack recognises the problems that are inherent within the profession of

school librarianship such as low and varying pay (p. 6), the need for continuing

professional development (p.9), the ‘ideal’ ways in which to improve status (p. 15),

the use of national developments and initiatives (pp. 18-21), and increasing space

and budget (pp. 29-31).

The Schools Salary Guide (CILIP, 2002b) is used in conjunction with this

document and makes it clear early on that ‘a well resourced and well-managed

learning resource centre is a vital part of any school’. This part of the report is

aimed at encouraging head teachers to reassess their views of the school library and

librarian and to encourage them and their staff to put more value in this

department – and also to raise the wages and budgets of the librarian and library.

This is further backed by ‘School Libraries: Making a difference’ (CILIP, 2002c), a

booklet produced to encourage schools to take more notice and make more use of

the school library. These publications are well put together and persuasive

documents, however, it is possible that in many schools, they will be put aside in

7

favour of more urgent work and may be read and accepted as making good points,

but will ultimately not be used.

What seem to be required are official documents that will be recognised by

teachers, head teachers and governors. In the notes for ‘Inspecting school libraries

and learning resource centres’ (OFSTED, 2001c), it has been recognised that unless

sufficient emphasis is given to the activities that take place in libraries and the

support that is provides to the school, it

‘causes disappointment to librarians and teachers with responsibility

for libraries when their contribution is effective. Such statements can

also fail to pinpoint important weaknesses where the contribution of

the library is not effective’

(OFSTED, 2001c)

However, rather than going on to advise the importance of having a section

dedicated to the library and it’s contribution, we see that it is instead advising the

continuation of making ‘reference to the library or LRC at any point in the report

where it has a significant impact (positive or negative) on pupils’ standards of

achievement and the quality of their education.’

The problems with this can be seen when looking at the contribution of

libraries in the OFSTED reports. The structure of the report focuses on the

departments and how these affect the achievement of the students, with the

contribution of the library being included within these sections. This does not

encourage the school management team to view the library as an individual entity,

but one that is secondary to departments within the school.

A further official joint manifesto from IFLA and UNESCO expounds the

virtues of the school library and the benefit it can be to the school to have a well

run and well performing library, especially where there is co-operation between the

librarian and teaching staff.

‘It has been demonstrated that, when teachers and librarians work

together, students achieve higher levels of literacy, learning, problem

solving and information communication technology skills.’

(IFLA / UNESCO, 2000)

8

All of these benefits contribute towards the overall Information and

Communication Technology curriculum aims of the school. The manifesto gives

an outline of what is expected from a school library, the benefits it can give to the

school, and also how the resources and library staffing should be organised.

Unfortunately, rather than using these as the minimums that should be achieved in

a school library, it is rather given that these recommendations

‘will vary according to the budget and the curriculum and teaching

methodology of the schools, within the national legal and financial

framework.’

(IFLA/UNESCO, 2000)

This reflects the problem in many of the governmental documents relating to the

use, design and function of the school library: they do not enforce a minimum

standard for schools to achieve in their libraries, and so it is left to the schools to

develop their own standards.

Currently the situation seems to be looking bright for school libraries.

There are several publications looking at the development of them and government

appears to be taking notice of the situation and supporting the changes that are

necessary in this essential school service. However, publications such as these and

the apparent support from government have been seen for several years and are

explored further below.

1.2: History of changes in School Libraries

In 1987, Helen Pain wrote ‘School Librarianship in the United

Kingdom’. This publication examined the changes in school libraries between

1979 and 1985, focusing on the government reports published in this time. In on

survey, it was recognised that

‘…by following good practice it was considered that most schools

could improve library provision, some substantially so, but in others

…the investment of money, staff and time is so low that, without a

radical change of policy, by the LEA or schools, or in some cases both,

no more than minor improvements are likely’ (p.3).

9

This comment accurately reflects the findings from many reports that have been

published throughout the 1980’s and onto the current day.

The most recent of these reports is ‘Survey of Secondary School Libraries’

conducted by Sheffield Hallam University for CILIP. The results from this survey

are very similar to the results commented on in Pain’s publication in 1985,

indicating that there has been little change in the way in which libraries are viewed

and run in the last 20years.

When comparing the state of the school library in 1985 and the findings

from the 2002 CILIP report, it can be seen that the same problems are occurring

almost 20 years apart. The main issues are:

• Staffing level

o Unqualified staff

o Opening times inadequate

• Status of staff

o Salary: low salary

o Decision making process: not invited to meetings or asked about

their opinions

o Courses and qualifications: unable to attend

• Stock provision

o Stock levels: do not conform to necessary levels of books per

pupil (currently 13 books per pupil)

o This has worsened due to Local Management of Schools (LMS).

In 1985 it was possible to supplement stock from the Schools

Library Service (SLS). However, in 1990, schools no longer

automatically paid into the SLS and so many schools lost this

service as management decided to allocate this budget elsewhere.

This has resulted in schools not having this back up resource

when the resources of the school fail.

• Budget

o Inadequate: not enough to replace stock let alone increase stock

levels and invest in further stock.

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o Funding: not all comes from central allocation with many schools

using fundraising to supplement their income.

The problem, however, stretches further back than the 1979 reports. In

1965, Roe was espousing similar concerns to today, whereby libraries were seen to

be ‘A Good Thing’, but were an optional extra to be used when there was a gap in

the lesson.

‘…there is reason to believe that the vast majority of teachers regard the

library as an optional extra and find it quite inconceivable that they could be of

major importance to education.’ (Roe, 1965: 8)

And again, in the HMSO publication, ‘School Libraries: the Foundations

of the Curriculum’, the forward from Sir Alan Bullock begins:

‘Ten years ago [1975], the committee under my Chairmanship…

expressed its concern at the failure to make proper provision for

school libraries. This new report…makes clear that the neglect to

which we pointed in the 1970’s has now become much more

widespread.’

(Library and Information Services Council, 1986:v)

This report was seen by Pain to be having a ‘boosting effect on the status of the

school library and its’ role in the school’ (p.7). She goes on to emphasise that there

are problems with school library provision, but that the future looks promising, due

to three ‘optimistic signs’ (p. 8), these being:

• That positive surveys and statements have been made about library

provision, and this is developing the interest.

• That Dept. of Education and Science, HM Inspectors and Office of Arts

and Libraries have shown concern for the present situation and

• That it is heavily recommended that schools employ chartered librarians.

The Library and Information Services Council report points out that, although

school libraries are not a statuary requirement, it is accepted that they are necessary.

However, until people understand what a school library is for, it is likely to be

under-used and not used effectively (p.6). The report goes on to emphasise that

the school library should not be viewed as a periphery to the curriculum, but as a

11

central part of it, especially due to the current changes to the curriculum with the

introduction of the GCSE. This sees pupils ‘learning how to learn’ rather than

simply learning by rote as was the case.

Phtiaka, in her research ‘The School Library and the GCSE’ (1995),

examined how the introduction of the GCSE has affected the use of the school

library. At the time of it’s introduction, the GCSE was seen to be heralding a

massive change in the way pupils would learn, and with this a new era for the

school library where it would become the centre of learning in the school. The

GCSE was to be a mixture of exams and coursework, where the student would

conduct independent study using resources they found in the library. This,

however, has not been the case. Phtiaka looked at the attitudes of teachers and

their approach to the teaching of the GCSE and found that many teachers will find

the resources required themselves, break it down and then spoon-feed this to the

students (p.13).

In her conclusions, Phtiaka claims that the main reason for lack of use of

the school library is due to the ethos of the school. She found that in schools

where the library had been used previous to the introduction of GCSE’s, this was

still the case, but where there was already an issue with library use, this continued

afterwards as well. The training that teachers received around the GCSE’s was

centred on administrative tasks rather than the use of resources and new styles of

teaching (p.148-149). This has all contributed to the lack of use in many school

libraries and also their neglect in many schools.

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1.3: Aims and Objectives

From the various reports that have been issued over the previous 25 years,

and viewing the publications and comments that have been made since the 1960’s,

there has been little change in the attitude towards school libraries and librarians,

even taking into consideration the changes that have taken place in schools

throughout this time. Every new report that has been issued, or comments that

have been made have been heralded as a new dawn in school libraries, with the

hope that a new respect will develop and more will be made of the resources and

relationship between the school and the librarian. This has unfortunately not been

the case. Having compared the CILIP 2004 guidelines to those previously

published, there is little to suggest that these guidelines will fair any better in

gaining the library better status and provision. There appears to be a gap between

the ‘as is’ provision in libraries and the recommendations made, and the actual

provision that is accomplished within schools. In response to this, I propose the

following aim and objectives.

Aim

To examine and compare the recommendations for improvements made

for secondary school libraries over the last 25 years, especially looking at the status

of the library and librarian throughout this period with a view to proposing

recommendations to enable the implementation of the guidelines and improvement

in school library and librarian recognition.

Objectives

• To discover how librarians view their status in the school and current

provision within the school library.

• To investigate the teachers’ views and use of the school library and to link

this to the implementation of the CILIP guidelines.

• To propose recommendations to enable the implementation of the CILIP

guidelines.

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Chapter 2: Methodology

2.1: Research Philosophy

From the literature review, it has been seen that there is a gap in the current

research that this research is aiming to fill. The research will be working from an

inductive perspective as there is no predefined hypothesis. The hypothesis will be

developed through grounded theory, which is the sorting and comparing of

categories found in the research (Tesch, 1990:64). Both Clough and Nutbrown

(2002) and Freidman (1991) make it clear that when taking this approach, it is

necessary to have a ‘feel’ for the subject area to enable us to identify with the area

of research, and as this is an investigation into a gap in the research, to be able

pinpoint areas to begin the research. This ‘feel’ has been gained from the literature

review, giving the research several theories as to why the problem is occurring, but

needing hard evidence to be able prove this is the case. The research will be

conducted from mainly a qualitative view point, as it is exploring the beliefs,

attitudes and actions of various groups of people. However, as a hypothesis is also

required to be developed, it is necessary to also work within a quantitative

framework to be able to numerically define the theories already held.

2.2: Strategy

As noted by Denscombe, ‘…surveys are about a particular approach…an

approach in which there is empirical research pertaining to a given point in time

which aims to incorporate as wide and as inclusive data as possible’ (1998:7).

Through the use of the survey strategy, I will be using postal questionnaires, to be

followed up with interviews. The questionnaires will be for both qualitative and

quantitative analysis as there will be a mixture of questions in support of both.

This will be used as the first stage in the questioning process, as typically there is a

need to follow the answers given in the questionnaire and so an invitation to

interview will be included as part of this process (Gillham, 2000: 81-82).

It was necessary to identify the stakeholders in the school library, i.e. the

people and/or groups who used the library, or had an impact into how the library

was used and managed. The following diagram shows these different stakeholders.

14

Librarian

Library assistant

County Council

Stakeholders in school

library

Head teacher

Govern-ing body

Library manager

Pupils

Teachers

From the research already carried out, it was felt that the main stakeholders

in relation to my research query were the school Librarian, library assistants and

teachers. These choices were made for the following reasons:

• Librarians: the main stake holder in any school library who will be able to

give the most in depth view of why the libraries are not meeting the CILIP

guidelines.

• Library assistants: again, the strongest links with the library and should be

questioned whether there is a librarian present or not in the school.

• Teachers: this group have the biggest influence over the use of the library

in the school. As has been seen in the literature review, the attitude to the

school library is partially due to the ethos of the school (Phitaka, 1998) and

this is determined mainly by the teachers. Also, one of the main reasons

for use of the school library by pupils is for homework, with this being set

by the teachers.

• County council: although not included in the initial questionnaire, an

interview will be conduced with the School Library Service in order to have

another viewpoint on the changes and influences needed to meet the CILIP

guidelines.

15

I have chosen not to investigate all stakeholders in the research for the

following reasons:

• Pupils: although this group are the main users if the library, they are not the

main influencers of decisions made about the library.

• Librarian’s manager: in most cases this is a teacher within the school. I am

questioning those who are in direct control of the library and from initial

research and interviews, this has been found to be the librarian or library

assistant, rather than their direct manager.

• Head-teacher: although they are usually the main influencer of the school

ethos and main decision maker in the secondary school, these are a grop

that need to be influenced through this research.

• Governing body: although this group have influence over the library and

decisions made within the school, I feel that it is this group who is to be

influenced by the research.

To choose those schools I was going to use in my initial questionnaire, I used a

mixture of probability and non-probability sampling. Probability sampling, as the

name suggests, is random sampling strategy where it is hoped a representative

sample of the population will be chosen as every member of the known population

will have a chance of being chosen (Bryman, 2001: 87; Denscombe, 1998: 12).

Non-probability sampling is a technique that involves hand picking the population

to be used in the research. Although this may result in some of the population

being ignored, it ensures that the groups relevant to the study will be approached

(Bryman, 2001: 87; Denscombe, 1998: 15).

Both probability and non-probability sampling have been used due to the scope

and depth required in the research. In order to define the hypothesis, it is

necessary to have a wide and random sample of people to complete the

questionnaires. This enables us to compare the data received and to begin to draw

together a hypothesis as to what factors affect why the CILIP guidelines are not

being met. However, as the timescales and size of the study is limited, it is

necessary to handpick to an extent the groups approached so as to ensure there is

adequate coverage. This was also a consideration when choosing the candidates to

16

interview as there was a need for depth and yet coverage of different people was

required to be able to triangulate the results received from the various sources.

2.3: Techniques

Several research techniques were used throughout the research, each being

chosen for a specific reason as outlined below.

2.3.1: Sampling Methods

As outlined above, both probability and non-probability sampling were

used in order to ensure a good coverage of various groups. Cluster sampling was

the tool used to choose the schools for the distribution of the questionnaires. This

enables the use a ‘naturally occurring cluster’ of schools which would include a

variety of schools and libraries (Denscombe, 1998:14). Contacts were made with

the North Yorkshire Education Directorate to obtain a list of schools in the area to

use as a sampling frame. The sampling frame is a list of all those in the area it is

possible to survey. As the list was gained from the education department, it was

guaranteed to be up to date so negating the problem that there will be any bias in it

(Bryman, 2001:87; Denscombe, 1998:17-18). I further narrowed this to the Selby

district of North Yorkshire, as this is an area that has reasonably dense population

coverage and has several secondary schools in a small area. This allows for direct

comparison of the schools as they are all state run secondary schools of similar size

and status.

At this point, I decided to hand pick the schools in order to ensure there

was a coverage of different types and backgrounds within the schools, but to also

ensure there was sufficient comparison between them. For this, the non-

probability strategy was employed, as suggested by Denscombe (1998), due to the

small nature of the research. The reasons for the choice of the six schools from

the sample frame are outlined as follows:

Sherburn High School

The school is an 11-18 comprehensive, with 850 pupils in the main school and 103

in the sixth form. The school is receiving additional support for literacy needs in

17

years 7-9. The school also manages community education in the area. (OFSTED,

2001b).

The school employs a full time qualified librarian who has been in the post for 7

years. Despite the age of the school there has only been a full time librarian in

place for the previous 8 years.

Selby High School

The school is an 11-16 comprehensive with an average of 1,100 pupils. The school

has grown by about 20% between 1995 and 2000 due to increased popularity of the

school. A new Learning Resource Centre has been built in the last 2 years to deal

with this increase. (OFSTED, 2000b)

The school has always employed a full time, fully qualified librarian, with the

current librarian being in post for 1 year.

Tadcaster Grammar School

The school is now an 11-18 comprehensive, although as the name suggests, it was

previously the grammar school for the area. The combined population for the

main school and sixth form is 1,436, the school population being on par with

Brayton College. (OFSTED, 1999).

The school employs both a full time chartered librarian who has been in post for

13 years, and a full time library assistant who has been in post for 2.5 years, but

took over from a previous library assistant. The school library is currently being re-

housed in a new purpose built building.

Barlby High

The school is an 11-16 comprehensive that is one of the smallest schools with

around 700 pupils. The school employs a full time qualified librarian. (OFSTED,

2001a)

Brayton College

The school is an 11-16 comprehensive school that is slightly larger than the other

schools approached with 1,162 students. The school is also has a unit for pupils

with special needs for the Selby Area (OFSTED, 2000a).

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The school does not employ a qualified librarian, but rather has a full time library

assistant who has been in post at the library for 6 months, but has been at the

school for 7 years.

Selby sixth form college:

The college is a post-16 tertiary college that is one of the major providers of further

education in the Selby area. There are currently over 7,000 students at the college.

(OFSTED, 2003)

The college employs a full time chartered librarian with the assistance of two full

time library assistants.

Within each school, it was suggested that the sampling of teachers should

be entirely random, although at this point the choice of person who filled in the

questionnaire was out of my control. The contact (in all cases the person who runs

the library) was asked to fill in a questionnaire themselves and to request that up to

20 teachers also filled in a separate questionnaire.

2.3.2: Sample Size

Due to the time allowed and size of the research project, it is necessary to

carefully consider the sample sizes required. As the initial aim is to build an

confirm the theories surrounding school libraries and librarians and their status, it

was necessary to have a wide enough sample to be able to compare results and also

to confirm the judgements already made on the gaps in the research. There was

also a need to be able to compare the librarians and teachers points of view within

the same environment. Denscombe (1998) makes clear the need for a

representative sample, especially when the research is on a small scale, but that a

‘small sample is quite in keeping with the nature of qualitative data’ (pg.25).

It was decided to initially approach the 6 schools mentioned above in order

to distribute questionnaires amongst them. A questionnaire was sent to each

member of library staff in every school (5 librarians and 2 library assistants) and 20

questionnaires aimed at teachers were also sent for distribution by the school

librarian. The questionnaires were distributed amongst all the schools to ensure a

coverage of ethos in different schools, but also so that if one school decided not to

19

reply, there was still a coverage of teacher’s replies. A further 6 questionnaires

were also distributed to school librarians in the York area through a meeting of the

North Yorkshire County Council School’s Library Service. So a total of 11

librarians, 2 library assistants and 100 teachers were asked to complete a

questionnaire.

2.3.3: Questionnaire

Questionnaires should be designed to ‘…allow researchers to survey a

population of subjects with little or no personal interaction and with the aim of

establishing a broad picture of their experiences or views’ (Clough and Nutbrown,

2002:118). The questionnaire was designed in order to test some of the theories I

had surrounding the status of school libraries and librarians, and also reasons as to

why the guidelines had not been met. Two questionnaires were designed: one for

distribution t the librarians and library assistants, and one for teachers.

Before designing the questionnaire, an initial interview was carried out with

a school librarian to ensure the theories I had developed so far were feasible. The

librarian agreed that the theories were sound and the discussion assisted me in

developing the theories further. The same librarian also tested both the librarian

and teacher’s questionnaire, resulting in advice on how these could be improved.

There were a variety of topics I wished to cover in the questionnaire. This

has been reflected in the design and is outlined below:

• Personal information

o Job title: to see how this has changed and reflects the role the

librarian holds.

o Level of qualification: a recommendation is that schools employ a

chartered librarian – how many actually do?

o Length of service: both in school libraries and in this particular

school. To find out their level of experience and how much

impact they will have had over the library they work in.

o Position of immediate manager: reflects the position of the

librarian within the school.

• School and library information

20

o Numbers of pupils and teachers:

o Collection size: to determine if the standards are currently being

met.

o Formats of resources in the collection

o Budget: how much is spent per pupil and how does this vary

between schools.

o Librarian’s view of the budget: do they see it to be adequate?

• The Librarian’s role within the school

o Benefits of a school librarian: their own views of their role.

o Support in career development: how does the school view the

librarian as a professional and how is this perceived by the

librarian.

o INSET training: are the librarians invited to INSET training i.e.

viewed as an equal member of staff? Do the rest of the staff have

training in the use of the library and are they interested?

o Active role in whole school planning:

o Consulted on decisions made about the library

o Support from librarian’s manager in decisions made about the

library

• Teachers role in the library

o Subject teachers who use the library: is this a whole school

resource or are a limited number using it?

o Activities carried out in the library: do teachers use the library and

librarian effectively.

o Choice of material: are teachers aware of material in the library?

Do they take the choice of material in the library as seriously as

they do in the classroom?

o Work done is appreciated by the teaching staff

o Work done is understood by the teaching staff

o Consulted on the use of library resources for homework

• Librarian’s own view of their status

o Open ended question to find out their own views on this subject.

• Teacher’s views of the status of librarians.

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The questionnaire was designed with a variety of questions such as closed

questions with a simple answer, open questions to ask for opinions and questions

answered on a Likert scale, to enable a variety of responses. The questionnaire has

been designed to be semi-structured as the subject is one that requires opinions and

beliefs to be expressed rather than the choice of several predefined answers as this

is an inductive research project. Closed questions enabled the collection of hard

data such as level of qualification and numbers of books in the collection. These

allow the comparison of several questions and to be able to build a picture of the

library and librarian. Open questions have been used to extract beliefs and

opinions. As this is an inductive investigation, it is necessary to find out how the

different group’s opinions vary on the school library and librarian (Gillham, 2000).

Likert scale questions have been used as there are several topics where an

attitude is asked to be expressed rather than an opinion, such as relevance of the

school library to particular subjects and how far librarians feel their job is

appreciated. This scale has been used as it gives a good representation as to how

the groups feel about certain subjects and ha been seen to be highly reliable at this

(Miller, 1991:176).

2.3.4: Response Rate

Postal questionnaires have a tendency to have a very low response rate, and

so in an attempt to counteract this and being aware of the limited number being

distributed, I began by making initial contact with the school librarian over the

telephone in order to introduce myself and the research that was being carried out

(Bryman, 2001;Clough and Nutbrown, 2002; Gillham, 2000; Denscombe, 1998).

This also gave the opportunity to request a follow up interview at a later date, to

which all initially agreed to with enthusiasm.

The questionnaires were distributed on Friday 11th June 2004 so as to be in

the school on Monday morning. A stamped and addressed return envelope was

also enclosed to encourage returns. The date for return was Monday 28th June

2004, giving a full two weeks for the questionnaires to be completed and returned

22

(Gillham, 2000:45-48). On Friday 2nd July 2004, the schools who had not

responded were re-contacted by phone as this was the initial method of contact.

After a further week, I felt I was able to assume all replies had been received.

The total response rate was 6 librarians (54%), 2 assistant librarians (100%)

and 35 teachers (35%). Overall, the response rate to the questionnaires was 38%.

Although this was not as high as anticipated, the quality of the responses received

was very high and perfect for the proposed qualitative analysis.

2.3.5: Interviews

The initial intention was to interview librarians and teachers from the same

school to be able to triangulate the results from the questionnaires, and to also hold

an interview with a representative from the North Yorkshire School’s Library

Service. The librarians were initially asked if they would be willing to take part in

interviews, but after completion of the questionnaires, all but two schools removed

their consent and no teachers were willing to be interviewed. The reason given was

that the interviews were being held at an inconvenient time of year which was

during the final weeks of the summer term. After negotiation with the librarians

who agreed to take part, it was decided I could contact them after the final day of

term by telephone. Due to logistical problems, most interviews had to be

conducted by telephone.

It was noted by Briggs (1986) that approximately 90% of all social science

investigations use the interviews and interview data and that they are seen as the

‘universal mode of systematic enquiry’ (Holstein and Gubrium, 1995:2). A wide

range of material can be gathered through the use of interviews as both interviewer

and interviewee can question and explore themes, rather than having the one way

question and answer of the questionnaire (Brenner et. al., 1985). This made the

interview seem the ideal way in which to collect further and more in depth

information regarding the results of the questionnaires.

As the research is based on people’s emotions, with status being a highly

emotive subject, it was necessary to have a method of analysis that could also

collect individuals’ emotions on their experiences. That said, as mentioned above,

23

it was necessary to conduct some of the interviews over the telephone. In these

interviews, it was difficult to look at the body language of the person, but I feel

that, due to the subject and the interviewees’ emotional involvement, the same

connection between us was made as via a face to face interview. It was also more

possible to conduct these interviews at a time that was more convenient for both

parties.

A semi-structured interview was used, with a list of relevant issues being

constructed before the interview to ensure that all were covered (Denscombe,

1998, 113). Using this approach is flexible and enables the interviewer to be able to

question around issues that are raised, while remembering the initial enquiries that

need to me answered.

It was decided that the interviews would not be recorded for two reasons.

As some interviews were taking place by telephone, I was unable to record these

and it may bias the results if some responses were transcribed and some not. Also,

it has been recognised that tape recorders can affect the freedom of the interview

and how people speak, due to the equipment reminding people they are being

recorded (Denscome, 1998: 124). People are often much more candid when on

tape (either film or audio), as there is a permanent record of their exact words and

so are much more careful what they say.

Interviews took place in July and August 2004 with 3 school librarians who

answered the questionnaire, 1 library assistant who was contacted through the

Schools Library Service of North Yorkshire and the Team Leader for North

Yorkshire Schools Library Service.

2.4: Validity of methodology

Although the methodology is based on sound methodological theory, there

are several issues that must be addressed as to the validity of the methodology and

possible problems.

• The schools were chosen from a small area of North Yorkshire to enable a

comparison of the schools in one area. However, as the schools came

24

from such a narrow area, it could mean that there is some regional

distortion. In an attempt to regulate this, questionnaires were also issued to

other Librarians in North Yorkshire.

• The selection of the teachers was made within the school by the school

librarian. Although it was requested that a wide range of teachers be asked

to complete the questionnaire, it is likely that many of the teachers chosen

would be users of the library anyway and so distort the results looking at

the teacher views of the library. However, it was decided to use this

method of distribution due to problems seen in previous dissertation

research where it was requested that the Head distribute the questionnaires.

In this instance there was a very low response rate from teachers and so it

was decided to try a different tack to approaching teachers.

• Even though there was an attempt to overcome previous problems with

response rates from teachers, the response rate from these questionnaires

was still quite low at 54% for librarians and 35% of teachers. However, this

was still considered to be an adequate response to be able to base results

on.

• Due to the low response rate and problems with librarians not wanting to

participate in interviews, it was not possible to interview librarians from all

the same schools as teachers who responded. This weakens the

triangulation, but as many of my results reflect national results from other

studies, there is enough reflection to be able to assume the responses are

accurate and are reflected in schools generally rather than simply a local

result.

25

Chapter 3: Librarian’s view on current role and status

3.1: Status

The following details were returned from the librarians and all relate to

their various experience, qualifications and title within the school:

No. Title Qualification Length of

Service (years)

LOS in school

(years)

Immediate

Manager

1 Librarian Qualified 14 4 Assistant Head

2a Librarian Chartered 15 13 English Teacher

2b Assistant - 2.5 2.5 Librarian

3 LRC Manager Qualified 16 1 PA to head

4 Assistant - 0.5 0.5 English Teacher

5 Head LRC Qualified 16 3 Deputy Head

6 Librarian Qualified 11 11 Deputy Head

7 Librarian Qualified 7 7 Head ICT

The recommendation from CILIP is that school libraries be run by

experienced, full-time chartered librarians with administrative support (Key

Recommendation 3: Barrett and Douglas, 2004: xi, 11). Only one of these libraries

conforms to this standard with a full-time chartered librarian (2a) and full time

administrative support (2b). All other libraries rely on the qualified librarians, with

one library having a library assistant with only 6 months experience. However, all

the librarians have a great deal of experience within school libraries, with some

having all this experience in the same school, but only one is chartered. It is a key

question to ask why these librarians have not chartered. Has this been a personal

decision, for example as the status is not recognised by the school, or one that is

due to lack of support from the school?

When the librarians were questioned as to why they had not chartered,

despite their length of service, most felt it was not necessary as it was not

recognised by the school and would not benefit them in the longer term, unless

they were leaving their current position. They all, however, felt that it was

26

absolutely necessary to have a qualified librarian in position. In answer to question

12: What are the benefits of having a qualified school librarian?

• ‘How could a library operate successfully without one?’

• ‘Running a library is not for amateurs or part-time helpers’

• ‘A competent presence to manage and advise pupils and staff’

• ‘Support for all staff with resources/time/expertise. Support for all

students with homework/research/social issues. Links with outside

agencies.’

• ‘I was very aware that I did not have the skills a professional librarian

could offer.’ (Library assistant).

There was only one response from a library assistant that negative against having a

professionally qualified librarian:

• ‘I don’t feel a qualified librarian could run the facility any better than an

assistant. However, someone must manage the facility.’ (4)

This comment came from a library assistant who has been in post for 6months.

She has no previous library experience and has been an administrative assistant in

the school for 7 years. This raises questions as to if this is a personal attitude

towards librarians, or if this is the attitude of the school.

There has been much debate recently on the issue of Chartership and the

position of CILIP on the discussion list LIS-LINK (August 2004). Although this

began as a debate as to the value of CILIP to academic librarians, there were

several comments around the value of chartership and reasons why librarians were

no longer chartering. Many people felt there was no benefit to chartering as their

managers did not understand what value this was to their business. This could

equally well be the case within schools, where the librarian is the only one of their

profession and continuing development is not understood.

Although CILIP recommend that ‘it is essential that the school librarian

actively engage in CPD…in co-operation with the school’s staff development

officer’ (Barrett and Douglas, 2004:16), replies to the questionnaire indicate that

this is not always the case. However, there was a mixed response to this question

(13: How far are you supported in your own career development?) with some

27

librarians and library assistants being actively encouraged. The most negative

comments included:

• ‘I have been supported up to a point, but when I asked to further my

development by undertaking an MSc, I was told that it would be

inappropriate at my current pay scale to do so!’

• ‘Very little. We are allowed at least one course per year and in school

training but there is NO career development, NO structure for

appraisal…’

As mentioned above, some of the comments were much more positive:

• ‘I have been allowed to go on courses etc.’

• ‘All staff have equal opportunity to request training.’

• ‘Very. Have studied, on day release, for Library and Information

Assistants Certificate at Leeds Met. Attended ‘software specific’ day

course and hoping to study course on e-learning.’

This final comment was from a library assistant whose manager is the school

librarian and so understands the importance of CPD for her staff.

It was generally seen by the librarians they are not of high status in the

school, with two making almost identical comments that they are ‘undervalued and

under-paid’. Although 2 of the librarians recognised they are lucky in the school

they work in as the job they do is recognised to be one of importance, they also

commented that not all school librarians are in the same position as them as they

see from area meetings of school librarians. Libraries are often overlooked, and

with a general lack of funding in schools, it is often the case that the libraries needs

are ignored to be able to fund other departments.

• ‘Most of the changes implemented regarding refurbishment and stock

acquisition are the result of fund raising.’

As is to be expected, librarians see themselves and the libraries as a central

part of the school curriculum and a resource that is underused and not understood

by the teachers. This has been seen to have changed recently, as ‘with the

introduction of the KS3 strategy and cross-curricular learning [it] has meant that

teachers know the importance of using library resources.’ Although this has now

been recognised, it was then pointed out that ‘time constraints of the curriculum

28

often mean they [teachers] feel they haven’t time to try out new strategies involving

the library.’ This was an issue which was raised in Phtiaka (1995) and appears to

still be a major problem in the use of the library.

One librarian commented that she is ‘looked down on by some staff …

because I am not a teacher.’ This is a common feeling amongst the librarians and

many feel that this is reflected in their position with only one holding head of

department status and with others being managed by a teachers rather than a

deputy head / head, so reflecting the image that they holder a lower status than the

teachers.

3.2: Current Role

In order to find out about the librarian’s view of their current role in the

school, the question of INSET training was asked (17: Do you take part in INSET

training and are you ever asked to provide training?) It was intended to find out

how much training the library staff themselves gave and also how much training

they were involved in within the school. The answers, again, varied, but on the

whole the response as negative in both the giving and receiving of training.

• ‘We would like to provide INSET training but although we have

suggested it, nothing ever happens.’

• ‘Yes I take part. Am hoping to provide training.’

• ‘I am never asked to provide training, however occasionally I do induct

staff members if they ask.’

• ‘We have been invited to INSET training when the nature of the training

is applicable to library sphere.’

29

Chart 1, below, shows the results of 18: I have an active role in whole school

planning (1=completely agree 6=completely disagree).

Chart 1

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

1 2 3 4 5 6

Likert Scale

No.

s Lib

rary

Sta

ff

As can be seen from Chart 1, no-one completely agrees that they are involved in

whole school planning, and the majority believe that they play no part in this

process. CILIP suggests that:

‘1. The school see the contribution of the school library and the librarian as

key priorities in all plans for whole-school improvement.

7. The school librarian play a lead role in developing a whole-school

reading culture, promoting literacy and reading for pleasure.’

(Barrett and Douglas, 2004:xi)

30

Chart 2 shows how far and how often the library staff feel they are consulted

on decisions made about the library (Q21: I am always consulted on decisions

made about the library. 1=completely agree 6=completely disagree).

Chart 2

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 2 3 4 5 6

Likert scale

No.

Lib

rary

Sta

ff

The majority of library staff here completely agree that they are always

consulted on decisions made about the library. Those that feel they are rarely

consulted are the library assistants who are either managed by a librarian or who

are new to the job and are managed by a teacher who has had control of the library

for some time. However, comments have been made that, although they are

always consulted, they are not always listened to.

• ‘…but what is then done often bears little resemblance to the

consultation as far as building projects go! The rest is always discussed

fully and I appreciate that.’

• ‘This doesn’t mean I was always listened to.’

31

As a follow up question, the library staff were asked what level of support

they received from their immediate manager (Q22: I have support from my

manager in decisions made about the library 1=completely agree 6=completely

disagree). Chart 3, below, shows the results for this question:

Chart 3

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

1 2 3 4 5 6

Likert Scale

No.

Lib

rary

Sta

ff

The majority of the library staff agreed that they were either always

supported or almost always supported, with only one librarian saying they were

almost never supported. This is librarian 1 whose manager is the assistant head of

the school. Both other librarians whose managers were deputy heads both felt they

were completely supported by their manager and so this appears to be a one off

within the results collected.

Although it was not asked a direct question, advocacy was seen to be a

major part of the role for all the librarians. They are all aware of how much work

there is to do within school libraries and all were willing to go to their managers

and the heads of the schools to put their case forward for improved resources and

better use of the library from the whole school. However, it was pointed out that

due to their lack of status within the school, it was often ignored in favour of other

projects.

• ‘Flyers to heads do not get read.’ (librarians own emphasis)

All the librarians questioned were willing to accept their role in advocacy, but

more than one felt that it was necessary to take a different approach due to the

32

problems mentioned above with status of the librarians within the school and the

fact that many advocacy tools will not be read.

3.3: Library status

The provision of library materials and funding for the library is an

important reflector into the status of the library as a whole and is seen as an

important point in the CILIP guidelines.

‘5. The school support the vital role that quality resources play in

stimulating learning with recommended levels of investment (providing 13

items per student) and that it seek to maximize the impact of this

investment by managing resources centrally.’ (p.xi)

CILIP further recommends:

‘The…ratio of fiction to non-fiction is 1:4 or 1:5, depending on the

priorities of the school and the school library.

The 10% of the library stock be replaced annually, which reflects the need

for stock to be in good condition, relevant and up to date.’ (p.36)

The following table shows the budget allocations for the schools analysed:

No. Budget

(£)

No.

Pupils

No.

Books

Books

per pupil

Spend per

pupil (£)

% Books

Replaced

1 10,000 1500 15,000 10 6.66 5.5

2 9,400 1600 10,000 6.25 5.87 7.8

3 4,000 1150 11,500 10 3.47 2.9

4 8,000 1200 9,900 8.25 6.66 6.7

5 4,818 1500 10,601 8.7 3.21 3.8

6 3,000 850 9,300 10.9 3.52 2.7

7 3,500 1008 9569 9.5 3.47 3

One of the central recommendations from CILIP is that of having 13

books per pupil. As can be seen from above, none of the schools who replied have

this number of books per pupil, with the most being 10.9 books in the smallest

school. When the book stock is broken down further, further imbalances are

33

found. Chart 4 (below) demonstrates this with the imbalances of the non-fiction :

fiction being clearly visible and not close to the 1:4 as recommended.

Chart 4

0

5000

10000

15000

No. School

No.

Book

s

Fiction Non-Fiction

Fiction 1000 2000 5000 3500 4010 3000 2853

Non-Fiction 14000 8000 6,500 6400 6591 6300 6716

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

It is recommended by the Book Trust (2002) that the average spend per

pupil in a secondary school is £87. This figure is based on a whole school total for

both class books and library books, bit if we are to follow the CILIP

recommendations, the librarian will be managing all these resources.

‘By centrally managing all resources (regardless of where thy are housed),

the whole school community will benefit by having access to the

information held’

(Barrett, 2004:30)

If the figure is reduced solely for library resources, it drops to £17.88 per pupil. As

can be seen from the above, this is far from the case. None of the schools have

enough resources to spend even £5 per pupil per year, with this being less than 1

book per pupil per year. It also has to be considered that it is recommended that

10% of the book stock be replaced each year. This again is far from being

achieved, with most schools being able to afford to replace less than 5% of their

stock each year without taking any other costs into account (based on an average

book price of £12 (Schools Library Service figure)).

34

From the questionnaires and interviews, it appears that several of the

libraries in the area have been refurbished and / or rebuilt in the last 5 years. This

has come about for various reasons, for example, negative reports from OFSTED,

funding offered from a central source for this specific purpose, or the school was

generally being refurbished and the library was included in this. However, in none

of the cases were the CILIP guidelines mentioned, but it was popularly thought

that the librarian had had an impact in having the changes made.

However, even though there has been this investment in libraries, much of

it is done with money that is a one off. This has included money from central

York Council funds and fund-raising that has been organised by the school for this

purpose. In all cases, the money has been there for the refurbishment and / or

replacement of the books, but it has not been kept up for the continuation of

replacing the resources and funding new resources. As recognised by the SLS, this

investment is generally superficial – to ensure the library is looking good, even if

the resources are not the best.

3.4: Conclusions

Status is a definite problem within school libraries. This can be seen from:

• Only one librarian holds head of department status with others being

managed by teachers, so impairing their status as being an equal to the

teaching staff.

• Little support for CPD from managers.

• It is felt by the librarians that there should be at least a qualified librarian

in charge of the library due to the benefits it brings.

• Only a library assistant disagreed with the necessity of having a qualified

librarian. The comments made bring into question the attitude of the

schools, as this member of staff had worked in the school for the previous

7 years before taking on the current role in the library.

• The librarians are usually always consulted on what happens in the library,

however, comments have been made that their opinions are often then

ignored. This is further reflected in the lack of part played in whole

school planning.

35

• Funding is a massive problem in all the school libraries, with none

meeting the basic requirements as laid down by CILIP.

• Funding is often for a one refurbishment with little views to the future

provision of book stock and other resources.

36

Chapter 4: Teachers attitudes towards the Library and Librarian

4.1: Teacher’s perceptions on the current use of libraries and librarians

The initial question I asked of teachers within all the schools was ‘Q4: Does

your school have a qualified librarian?’ The majority of teachers (22 / 73%) were

aware of the qualifications that the librarian had. 27% (8) were either incorrect or

did not know if there was a qualified librarian in the school. Many of these

teachers were either new to the school or new to teaching, but all had had at least

one years experience within the school.

The questionnaires then went on to ask what the teacher’s perceptions were

on the role of the school library and librarian. The main categories of answers and

some examples of the answers, to the role of the library were:

• As an information resource

o ‘Very useful resource’

o ‘Place to access information from ref. books and internet’

• As a place to work

o ‘Area for individual study and development’

o ‘To provide a quiet working area’ (teachers own underlining)

• To support pupils learning

o ‘To provide students with an avenue to pursue their knowledge and

understanding further.’

o ‘To engage and enthuse pupils regarding literature, research etc.’

o ‘To offer exciting opportunities to enhance and encourage learning’

• As a place to store resources

o ‘Focal point for resources’

o ‘To provide varied and up-to-date resources’

• A central resource

o ‘It has a central role in supporting the staff and students in their

teaching and learning’

o ‘Pivotal resource base for all subjects taught in school’

37

A similar question was asked about the role of the librarian (Q6: What do

you think is the role of the school librarian?). Again, there was a mixed response,

and below are the main categories of answer and some examples of responses:

• Manage resources

o ‘To ensure resources are up-to-date and manage their borrowing’

o ‘A manager of resources: to obtain relevant resources to cater for a

wide variety of subjects and to keep these up to date’

o ‘Keep newspapers up to date’

• Advise on resources

o ‘Advise and liaise with teachers about availability of resources/to

help gather resources when asked’

o ‘To provide information about library resources to staff and

students’

• Student support

o ‘To develop students understanding of how to use

libraries/resources. To support weaker students in finding relevant

material. To direct students who are capable to a wider variety of

resources in order to further their interest; offering assistance when

needed.’

• As ‘an extra pair of hands’

o ‘Provide support to staff in library lessons’

o ‘To maintain a studious environment’

o ‘Keep library tidy and running smoothly, supervise book-borrowing

and fine chasing’

• Central figure in running the library an resources

o ‘Support pupils, manage the library, resource the library, guide

pupils, support staff’

o ‘Multi-skilled information system!’

It is clear from the above comments that teachers are partly aware what the

libraries and librarians are capable of. However, very few teachers are fully aware,

and many of the comments covered only general management of resources (e.g.

keeping resources up to date), with some responses covering only duties that are

visible to someone with a basic idea of what happens within libraries such as issue

38

and return, or keeping the users quiet and orderly. Although the question was very

open and did not provide much guidance as to what either a library or librarian

provided, it was designed so that it would be entirely the teacher’s own perspective

of libraries.

As a follow up question to these on the perception of the library, several

questions were also posed in relation to how the teachers actually use the library

themselves. Although the teachers find the idea of the library as one that is

profitable to study (as seen from the above comments), it seems that in practice

they use the library less than they would in theory. Question 10 asks how the

teachers use the library and its resources for teaching. Many of the teachers

responded that they use it when setting homework, for the students to find out

extra information:

• ‘I set homeworks occasionally which require pupils to research text books.’

(italics added)

• ‘…I also direct students to use the library to help them find information

for homeworks.’

Teachers also responded that they use the library for teaching in when doing extra

research:

• ‘…and also for whole classes in reading / research lessons.’

• ‘With class groups for research and small groups doing courework which

requires wide/varied subject area.’

Several teachers commented that it was used for producing extra resources in

support of the lesson plan.

• ‘Books- research for lessons.’

• ‘Find further information to support lesson planning.’

However, although teachers comment that it is used as a way of students

doing extra work on their own or for researching their homework, many of the

teachers who responded commented that they collected the resources together and

gave them to the students to use in class.

39

• ‘Pupils can use resources in a variety of ways. Sometimes I organise them

for group study work or individual project work.’

• ‘I don’t much. I occasionally borrow books when we’re doing projects.’

This has consistently been a problem, as reflected in Phtiaka (1995) and the review

of the GCSE and use of resources. She pointed to the fact that many teachers

were still spoon-feeding their students rather than giving them advice on how to

research themselves and this still seems to be the case here.

The library has also been seen as an extra classroom, or as a place to go for

‘a change of environment’:

• ‘Have taken students into the library for them to present the information

they have collected.’

• ‘Have used as an alternative classroom.’

• ‘Very little for IT, but would use the facilities i.e. desk space for teaching.’

There were a few instances of some teachers commenting that they had never

used the library for teaching and had little to do with the library and librarian.

• ‘I have never taken a class into the library!! I’m sure it is stocking up with

books on modern world religions but am not sure whether psychology

books are relevant to the specification.’

• ‘Rarely used. Occasional reference.’

The teachers who made these comments have a wide variety of experience, and all

teach subjects that have traditionally made wide use of the library.

40

In addition to this question, there were several questions posed to find out

exactly how the teachers used the library and its resources. Q13 asks the teachers

to respond to how often they use the library and its resources for teaching (I

regularly use the library and its resources for teaching. 1=completely agree; 6=

completely disagree.

Chart 5

01234

56789

1 2 3 4 5 6

Likert Scale

No.

Tea

cher

s

The responses to this question reveal that it seems to be an all or nothing

situation; teachers either use the library very regularly or not at all. There is some

middle ground where for some it less regular, but any response at 1-3 I took to

mean the teacher used the library regularly enough for it to be a well used resource

and considered as important by the teacher.

41

Q.14 (I consult with the librarian on the resources in the library) reflects

how the teachers view their ownership of the materials in the library.

Chart 6

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

1 2 3 4 5 6

Likert Scale

No.

Tea

cher

s

The results of this question shows that the majority of teachers questioned do in

fact consult with the librarian about what is in the library and have an awareness of

what is available to the pupils. However, this does not ask on what level they

consult, whether it is what is already there or resources that they wish to see in the

library.

When looking at the Librarians response to the question regarding

choosing library material (Q16. Do teachers lay an active role in choosing library

materials?) the response was very different. All of the library staff who responded

felt that teachers played a very small part in choosing material for the library.

• ‘No but not for the lack of asking’

• ‘Not really, but I do ask them or their schemes of work.’

• ‘Occasionally when pressed! Some do not co-operate at all.’

• ‘We try to encourage HOD but most people forget we exist.’

On a more positive note, 2 schools did respond that there was slightly better co-

operation with choosing resources for the library:

• ‘Each year in April we send letters to every HOD for requests for books

up to £60 to add to stock and beg them to request stock that they will

fund.’

42

• ‘Yes, at the end of the year, but not all. This is building up I am glad to

say.’

The results from the above question also reflects the results from Q.15,

‘The librarian is aware of homework set relies on the library’s resources’.

Chart 7

012345678

1 2 3 4 5 6 N/A

Likert Scale

No.

Tea

cher

s

The response to this question may be a reaction to the question above; if teachers

are already aware of the resources available in the library, they may not feel the

need to make the librarian aware of homework that is being set. On closer analysis

though, it seems that those who consult with the librarian on resources will also

consult on homework, where as those who consult less regularly will also not

inform the librarian of homework being set using the libraries resources. There

were also some responses of ‘not applicable’ to this question, although it was not

given as an option. These responses came from teachers of R.E., History,

Psychology and French, all subjects who traditionally set homeworks who require

at least a modicum of research or use of the library.

43

This is seen further from the reaction of the librarians to this question. Chart 8

shows the reaction to the question 23 on the librarians questionnaire: I am

consulted on the use of library resources for homework.

Chart 8

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

1 2 3 4 5 6

Likert Scale

No.

Lib

rari

ans

There is a different opinion here as librarians tend to think they are consulted more

than the teachers feel they consult the librarian. It may be that the librarians

appreciate any consultation made, or they may be not be aware of all homework

set, and is only become of homework set when there is a lack of resources for the

pupils to use.

Question 16 was designed to find out the attitude of teachers towards the

use of the library for homework and further study, and to see if they do actually

encourage pupils to use the library for this purpose.

Chart 9

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

1 2 3 4 5 6 N/A

Likert Scale

No.

Tea

cher

s

44

The majority of the teachers agreed that they always or almost always encouraged

pupils to make use of the school library and its resources. This is seen to be a good

move in the right direction for use of the library, but the pupils still need to be

shown how to make best use f the resources there rather than simply being sent

there.

Finally, question 17 was to find out how relevant to their subject the library

was.

Chart 10

02468

1012141618

1 2 3 4 5 6

Likert Scale

No.

Tea

cher

s

Here, we see again that the majority of the teachers who responded agreed that the

library was relevant to their subject. Those who felt that it was not relevant were

teachers of maths and geography.

Finally, the question of training has to be examined. 100% of the

respondents said that they had never had any training on school libraries within the

initial teacher training course. This was the case for all teachers, regardless of

length of service or status in the school.

It has been recognised already that the questionnaires went to a limited

number of teachers and that many of the teachers consulted would have an interest

in the library already, however, it must be looked at how the subject taught affects

the attitude and use of the library.

45

4.2: Librarians’ perception of teacher’s attitudes towards the library

A number of questions were posed to look at the difference between

teachers and librarians perceptions of how the libraries are used. The librarians all

listed the same activities as the teachers as to what was carried out in the library.

These activities included: library inductions by teachers; quiet reading (literacy

hour); research by staff for resources in class; study / library lessons; presentations

from pupils; group work; staff meetings.

However, even though there is a good range of activities carried out in the

library, it is when we look at the use of the librarian and the knowledge of what

extra the librarian and library can offer there is more disparity. Chart 11 shows

how far librarians feel their work is appreciated by teaching staff.

Chart 11

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

1 2 3 4 5 6

Likert Scale

No.

Lib

rari

ans

The chart shows that the librarians feel that their work is appreciated, but probably

not by all teaching staff as is reflected by the fact that the majority of librarians felt

that this was a 3 / 4 on the scale. As mentioned in the methodology, as the

questionnaires were returned by those who would have an involvement with the

library, then the results from the teachers questionnaire may be skewed, giving an

impression of greater appreciation than is actually the case from the entire teaching

fraternity.

46

Relating to this was the question of understanding of the work done by the

librarian.

Chart 12

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

1 2 3 4 5 6

Likert Scale

No.

Lib

rari

ans

Although the librarians felt that on the whole their work was appreciated, there is a

different reaction to the teachers actually understanding the work the librarians do.

This was seen to be the case from the replies on the teachers’ questionnaire to

questions 5 and 6 on their understanding of the role of the library and librarian in

the school. All had a partial understanding of the role of school libraries and

librarians, but none were entirely clear on the entire picture.

The ethos of the school has been recognised as a problem by several of the

librarians, with the following quote showing how far this can affect the view of the

library:

‘Teachers each see their own subject as being of the utmost importance

and they all work under great pressures to achieve results. They therefore

sometimes forget the LRC even exists. A librarian within the school would

have to accept and might become frustrated at being seen as of lesser

importance than a subject teacher.’

This quote came from a newly appointed library assistant, who had previously

worked in the same school for 7 years. Even though many of the comments from

this school came back as highly positive towards the library, it calls into question

the entire school ethos if this is the attitude of the library staff.

47

4.3: Conclusions

Teachers views:

• Generally, teachers are aware that librarians hold some form of

qualification. This could however have been influenced by the teachers

chosen to complete the questionnaire.

• There is a varied knowledge of the role the library and librarian play in the

school, but no one teacher was aware of the full role played by the librarian

or the library. This was a very open question but the aim was to have an

idea how much the teachers were aware the librarians did. Many teachers

perception is very wide ranging such as ‘keeping resources up to date’.

• Teachers do not generally consult with the librarian on schemes of work

and homework set that will make use of the libraries resources.

• Teachers who take no part in selecting resources for the library are the

one’s who generally do not use the library and tend to rely on their own

resources within the classroom.

‘I prefer my own resources which I am comfortable with using in my

teaching, however I may consider perhaps keeping a copy of these in

the library for use by students.’

• Where there is communication between the teachers and the librarian, it is

consistent. However, where there is little communication and consultation

between the teachers and librarian, it is consistently bad.

• There is no happy medium as to how much the library is used. Those

teachers who use the library use it all the time, while those do not see the

library as important do not use it at all.

• However, regardless of how the teachers use the library, it is still seen as

relevant to the majority of teachers and their subjects.

Librarians Views:

• Librarians feel that not all their work is appreciated by the teaching staff,

but this varies across the subjects, dependent on how the subjects use the

library.

• Although the work is appreciated to an extent, there is less understanding

of all the work done by the librarian.

48

• Although there is a trend for teachers not to contribute their experience to

the library resources (schemes of work; choice of books) librarians are

constantly encouraging teachers to take a more active role in the choice of

resources for the library.

49

Chapter 5: Conclusions

There is a confusing message coming from the results of this study and also

from the literature. On the one hand, the school libraries and librarians are seen to

be underpaid, underused and under-funded, with little status in the school.

However, from the teachers’ point of view, they are seen to be respected, consulted

regularly and hold a status within the school equal to that of the teachers. There

appears to be a gap somewhere, and the main crux of the problem appears to be

that of misunderstanding and underestimation of what the libraries and librarians

can offer to the school, teachers and pupils. As Roe pointed out in 1965, school

libraries are ‘A Good Thing’, but are not fully understood or fully utilised.

The aim of this research was to find out where these gaps were in order to

be able to make recommendations for the improvements of the school libraries.

The following is a summary of the main findings from this research.

• Changes are taking place in schools, but these are limited due to restricted

funding and many are superficial with funding not stretching to continuing

resourcing.

• The librarian is still not considered as a central member of staff due to:

o Lack of input to the whole school planning process

o No HOD status

o Their opinion is often ignored when making decisions about the

library

o Not always involved in INSET training and rarely asked to provide

training in the library.

• In theory, the library is seen to be one that is highly useful to the teachers

and relevant to them.

• Teachers have a lack of knowledge as to what the library can offer and as

such under-use and underestimate the library and librarian.

50

• Teachers do not consult with the librarian as a matter of course, leading

to:

o Teachers not knowing what resources are available to them

o Teachers not inputting into the buying of resources for the library

o Librarians not being able to provide the most relevant material for

the use of pupils.

• To gain support from the teaching departments, the librarian and library

needs the following:

o Managed by the head teacher

o Have head of department status

o Overview of curriculum and school policies

o Staff appraisal system to include librarian

• Teachers see classroom resources as distinct to the library resources and

prefer to have their own resources kept separate rather than having all

resources, no matter where housed, within the same collection.

• OFSTED reports do not put any sort of emphasis on the library. It is left

to the discretion of the inspector how far the library is inspected.

• Advocacy is a major part of the librarians’ job although this is often

ignored due to the existing status of the librarians and the busy time

schedule of those managing the school.

51

Further Research

Due to the scope and time constraints on this study, several issues were

raised and need consideration for further study.

• Whole school research into school ethos and how this affects library

provision.

• Why are school librarians not continuing into Chartership?

• Research purely into how the attitude of the Head and Governing Body

affects the use and status of the library.

52

Chapter 6: Recommendations

The following are a list of recommendations made in response to the findings of

this research on how to bridge the gap and make it possible to implement the

CILIP guidelines.

6.1: OFSTED Reports

• Need to have a focused section for the library. A poor OFSTED report is

seen to be a driving factor behind increased attention of library. A good

OFSTED report can be used for advocacy purposes.

• To do this, a proper focus needs to be made on the self evaluation

framework (MLA, 2003).

6.2: Statuary Minimums

• Some guidelines need to be made statuary rather than suggestions. This

would include:

o Staffing of libraries by a professional librarian

o Head of Department Status

o Guaranteed funding for the minimum 10% replacement of books.

6.3: Teacher Training

• Train teachers in the use and possibilities of the school library during

Initial Teacher Training. Through this, the use of the library will be

embedded in their working ethos.

• This is currently being investigated by the MLA (Wright, 2004; MLA,

2004) as a possibility for future training. However, this is work placement

and making the connection between work in the museum and work in the

school. The suggestion here is for trainee teachers to have a module

dedicated to the school library, its uses and resources.

6.4: Advocacy

• A new approach to advocacy. Much is currently not recognised that is

carried out within the school and so an outside approach is seen to be

needed.

53

• The image of the librarian is changing and this needs to be reflected in the

advocacy. Professional publicity in person would make a bigger impact

than many of the lengthy documents currently seen.

• A visit by an outside agency (such as from the Schools Library Service /

Children’s Team) who could make a short presentation to the school

management team would make this impact. This would also increase the

status of the librarian as they would be seen to have visible support rather

than standing on their own within the school.

54

Bibliography

Barret, L. and Douglas, J. (ed) (2004) The CILIP guidelines for secondary school

libraries. Facet: London

Barret, L. (2004) “New guidelines, new challenges in schools” in Library and

Information Update 3 (9) 30-31

Book Trust (2002) Recommended Spending on Book in Schools Book Trust: London

Brenner, M., Brown, J. and Canter, D. (1985) The Research Interview: uses and

approaches Academic Press: London

Bryman, A. (2001) Social Research Methods 2nd ed. Oxford University Press: Oxford

CILIP (2002a) Improving pay and status: A school librarian’s self-empowerment pack

http://www.cilip.org.uk/jobscareers/payandstatus/improvingpayandstatus.htm

[accessed 20.08.04]

CILIP (2002b) School Salary Guide

http://www.cilip.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/1CAAB0B2-83B5-4124-9088-

1350EADDFE50/0/sg7.pdf [accessed 20.08.04]

CILIP (2002c) School libraries: making a difference

CILIP (2002d) Survey of Secondary School Libraries: Main Findings

www.cilip.org.uk/practice/ssl.html#summary [accessed 23.08.04]

Clough, P. and Nutbrown, C. (2002) A Student’s Guide to Methodology.

Sage: London

Denscombe, M. (1998) The Good Research Guide for small-scale social research projects

Open University Press: Buckingham

55

Dept. Education and Science (1989) Better Libraries: good practice in schools. A survey

by HM Inspectorate. HMSO: London

Dey, I. (1993) Qualitative Data Analysis: A user friendly guide for social scientists.

Routledge: London

Friedman, T. (1991) ‘Feeling’ In Ely, T (ed.) (1991) Doing Qualitative Research.

Falmer press: London

Gerhardt, LN. (ed.) (1997) School Library Journal’s Best. Neal-Schuman: New York

Gillham, B. (2000) Developing a questionnaire. Continuum: London

Holstein, J.A. and Gubrium, J.F. (1995) The Active Interview Sage : London

IFLA / UNESCO (2000) School Library Manifesto

http://www.ifla.org/VII/s11/pubs/manifest.htm [accessed 20.08.04]

Library and Information Service Council (1984) School libraries: the foundations of

the curriculum. Report of the working party on Schools Library Service HMSO: London

Literacy Trust (2002) Recommended Spending on Books in Schools

http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/ [accessed 27.08.04]

MLA (2003) School Libraries: The design of a model for self-evaluation MLA: London

MLA (2004) Mapping the current and potential relationships between Initial Teacher

Training providers and Museums, Archives and Libraries

http://www.mla.gov.uk/action/learnacc/itt.asp? [accessed 25.08.04]

OFSTED (2001a) Barlby Secondary School Inspection

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/121/121708.pdf [accessed 23.08.04]

56

OFSTED (2000a) Brayton Secondary School Inspection

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/121/121701.pdf [accessed 23.08.04]

OFSTED (2000b) Selby High School Inspection

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/121/121702.pdf [accessed 23.08.04]

OFSTED (2001b) Sherburn High School Inspection

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/121/121695.pdf [accessed 23.08.04]

OFSTED (1999) Tadcaster Grammar School Inspection

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OFSTED (2003) Selby College Inspection

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OFSTED (2001c) Inspecting school libraries and learning resource centres

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[accessed 23.08.04]

Pain-Lewins, H. (1987) School librarianship in the United Kingdom: British Library

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Phtiaka, H. (1995) The beginning of a beautiful friendship? The school library and the

GCSE. British Library: London

Resource (2002) Start with the child Morris Hargreaves McIntyre: Manchester

Roe, E. (1965) Teachers, librarians and children: a study of libraries in education.

Lockwood: London

Miller, D.C. (1991) Handbook of research design and social measurement 5th ed.

Sage: London

57

Streatfield, D. and Markless, S. (1994) Invisible learning? The contribution of school

libraries to teaching and learning. British Library: London

Tesch, R. (1990) Qualitative Research: Analysis types and software tools. Falmer Press:

London

Wright, E. (2004) “Museums, Archives and Libraries Embedded in Teacher

Training Progress” in Youth Library Review 34 Spring 2004

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58

Appendices

59

Appendix 1

Sally Crosthwaite E-mail: Friday June 11th, 2004 Dear Can I start by saying thank you for agreeing to take part in this survey for a dissertation in part fulfilment of an MA in Librarianship at the University of Sheffield. Enclosed you will find a questionnaire for yourself to complete, and 20 additional questionnaires for completion by members of the teaching staff. I would be grateful if you could distribute these to a variety of staff around the school, to ensure a varied response. Completion of the questionnaires should take around 10 minutes, depending on how many comments are made. Could you please return the questionnaires to me in the enclosed pre-paid envelope by Monday 28th June 2004. This is to allow for time to arrange interviews before the end of term. If you are unwilling to take part in interviews, please indicate this with the returned questionnaires. If you have any queries regarding the questionnaires, please contact me on , or at lip03sc@sheffield.ac.uk. Can I again reiterate that all responses will be treated in the strictest of confidence. Once again, a massive thank you for your help with this and all responses will be greatly appreciated. Yours sincerely, Sally Crosthwaite MA Librarianship University of Sheffield

60

Appendix 2

School Librarian Questionnaire The purpose of this questionnaire is to help me to examine the status of school librarians and libraries, and the reasons why many of the published guidelines have not been met within schools. This will contribute to my dissertation in partial fulfilment of an MA in Librarianship at the University of Sheffield. All answers given will be treated in the strictest of confidence and no individual librarian, teacher or school will be named. If you feel an answer does not apply to you, please mark it N/A. Any additional comments will be greatly appreciated and there is space at the bottom and on the reverse for these. If you have any queries, please contact me on and I will return your call as soon as possible. Many thanks, Sally Crosthwaite.

1. What is your job title?

_________________________________________

2. Are you:

Chartered Qualified Assistant

3. How long have you worked in school libraries?

_____________________

4. How long have you held your position in this school?

________________

5. How many pupils and teachers are in the school?

Teachers ______ Pupils ______

6. What is the size of the library collection?

Fiction _______

Non-Fiction _______

61

7. What formats are included in the library collection?

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

____________

8. What changes have you seen in the schools library’s while you have

been working as a school librarian?

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

____________________

9. What position does your immediate manager hold?

__________________________________________________________

____

10. What is the annual budget of the school library?

__________________________________________________________

____

11. How adequate do you feel your budget is?

Adequate 1 2 3 4 5 6 Inadequate

12. What do you feel are the benefits of having a school librarian?

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

____________

62

13. How far are you supported in your own career development?

Please comment.

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

____________

14. Which subject teachers regularly use the library?

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

____________

15. What activities do teachers usually carry out in the library?

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

____________

16. Do teachers play an active role in choosing library material?

Please comment

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

____________

17. Do you take part in INSET training and are you ever asked to provide

training? Please comment.

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

____________

63

Please answer the following questions circling 1 to 6 (1=Completely

agree 6=completely disagree)

18. I have an active role in whole school planning

1 2 3 4 5 6

19. I feel the work I do is appreciated by the teaching staff

1 2 3 4 5 6

20. I feel the work I do is understood by the teaching staff

1 2 3 4 5 6

21. I am always consulted on decisions made about the library.

1 2 3 4 5 6

22. I have support from my manager in decisions made about the library

1 2 3 4 5 6

23. I am consulted on the use of library resources for homework

1 2 3 4 5 6

24. From your own experience, could you please tell me your thoughts

on the status of school librarians and libraries and what other factors you

think contribute to this.

64

Appendix 3

Teacher Questionnaire The purpose of this questionnaire is to help me to examine the status of school librarians and libraries, and the reasons why many of the published guidelines have not been meet within schools. This will contribute to my dissertation in partial fulfilment of an MA in Librarianship at the University of Sheffield. All answers given will be treated in the strictest of confidence and no individual librarian, teacher or school will be named. If you feel an answer does not apply to you, please mark it N/A. Any additional comments will be greatly appreciated and there is space at the bottom and on the reverse for these. If you have any queries, please contact me on and I will return your call as soon as possible. Many thanks, Sally Crosthwaite. 1. What is your position in the school?

__________________________________________________________

____

2. What subject/s do you teach?

__________________________________________________________

____

3. How long have you been teaching?

_______________________________

4. Does your school have a qualified librarian? (i.e. with a professional

qualification in librarianship / information management)

Yes No Don’t Know

5. What do you think is the role of the school library?

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

____________

65

6. What do you think is the role of the school librarian?

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

____________

7. What do you think is the role of the school library in relation to your

subject?

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

____________

8. Have you received training in the use of the school library either

through INSET or through one-to-one in the library? Please comment.

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

____________

9. What training did you receive on the use of libraries and resources

during your teacher training?

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

____________

10. In what ways do you use the library and it’s resources for teaching?

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

____________

66

11. What changes have you seen in the school library and the use of the

library during your time as a teacher?

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

____________________

12. Do you prefer to have department specific resources within the

classroom, or do you feel many of these resources could be better used

within the library? Please comment.

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

____________________

Please answer the following questions circling 1 to 6 (1=Completely

agree 6=completely disagree)

13. I regularly use the library and it’s resources for teaching.

1 2 3 4 5 6

14. I consult with the librarian on the resources in the library.

1 2 3 4 5 6

15. The librarian is aware of homework set that rely on the library’s

resources.

1 2 3 4 5 6

67

68

16. I actively encourage pupils to make use of the school library and

librarian.

1 2 3 4 5 6

17. I view use of the school library as being relevant to my subject.

1 2 3 4 5 6

18. From your own experience, could you please tell me your thoughts

on the status of school librarians and libraries and what other factors you

think contribute to this. (Please continue on reverse.)