SCHOOL LIBRARIES

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 134, 7 May 1940, Page 8

SCHOOL LIBRARIES

IN SECONDARY EDUCATION. WIDENING OF SCOPE. At a conference of the Library Association in Wellington, recently, an address of considerable public interest on “Tlie Secondary School Library” was given by Miss' -Turner,- who is in charge of the library of the Palmerston North Girls’ High School and who is convener of the schools section committee of the association. . “In general the secondary school library will not be very different in its aims from the primary school library, but the field to be covered in the secondary school will be much wider than that in the primary school,” Miss Turner said. “It is important not to regard the schools or the universities as separate units but as forming part of a whole-—that whole to which nil libraries belong and in which each lias its part. “In the’secondary schools to-day there is such an enormous range of knowledge -to deal with that it is quite impossible, and quite undesirable, to try to cram more into the curriculum. No one, of couise, seriously considers that it is the function of a school; to cram its pupils with facts, but it is more and'more necessary to lx> able to direct the interests of pupils, or at least to point out roads that may be taken. Less and less must teachers occupy themselves. with the bare content of a syllabus. For instance, history no longer deals only with w;ars and battlevs, but must concern itself with economics, geography, sociology, etc. Tlie history teacher must be prepared at least to indicate the wideness of the field. And how otherwise can the problem be oven approached than through proper direction to' a collection of books, with opportunity for wider study along the lines of individual preference ? It is surely possible: thus for all the members of a group of pupils by combining the results of their study to cover a wider field and achieve a broader vision. “It seems clear that the results ol our cherished free education system are not perfect; the general level ot thought and taste could certainly be improved—the popularity of book cluos, our susceptibility to propaganda are evidence of this— but it is hopeless to try to remedy matters by clinging resolutely to a square inch or two or the field of knowledge, and refusing in schools to admit the existence of the whole round world. Of course, teachers are under great handicaps, but these can be overcome to some extent by a more liberal view of the functions oi a school library and a much more extensive use of it.

ROOAI FOR CO-OPERATION. “It may be advocated that a library which covers adequately the wide . field to be dealt with to-day is. too big a problem for individual schools; that it is a matter for a central library or lor the town; and that, if a secondary school does try to build up a suitable library of its own, there is much unnecessary overlapping, wastage of money, and many gaps. Perhaps it is more expensive to have town libraries and libraries in the schools, but it is not necessarily more wasteful, siucu there are other points to . consider. It is necessary to nave the books constantly on the shelves or within the control of the school, so that they are always available immediately when needed. There is room for close cooperation between town librarians and teachers who act as librarians in the way of advice cm library routine _aud information, which are of great help: and it is often very desirable for the teacher to be able to direct pupils exactly to additional books on tlie shelves of the town library. “Within the school itself tlie library has a very important function, apart from its value as a reservoir of knowledge,” Aliss Turner proceeded. “It has something to contribute to the other purposes of a school. If, as is often said, education is a training for leisure, then in the library pupils may be set on paths which lead to the wise use of leisure. Thus the shelves should be stocked with a view to satisfying not only those who want to read but those who want to do, and the choice of books should not be restricted by the tastes of those responsible for the stock. Teachers have opportunities of approach to children compared with which the casual contacts that a town librarian can make are poor ; and teachers have too narrow a view of their work, if they make no attempt to' use those opportunities to broaden : ,th view and build the foundation of interests that will last long beyond the school years.

“Such a view of a secondary school library as a supplement to the textbooks used in class, and as a source of satisfying the interests that can fill leisure profitably, envisages a stock of books far beyond what is generally seen in New Zealand secondary schools. It is pathetic to see school libraries which consist of a few well worn copies of L. M. Montgomery’s books and the complete works of Dickens and Scott, generally unread. The rest of the library may consist of a few die* tionaries or works of reference of one kind, or another and probably ‘English Literature’ (in capital letters) represented by a shelf or so of essays and poetry. “Among fiction let us have the classics; but you who are librarians know the astonishing wealth of books now being published which have a modern outlook and an instantaneous appeal to secondary school pupils. Among fiction one might mention numerous fine historical novels for children, e.g., L. A. G. Strong’s ‘King Richard’s Land,’ Kelly’s ‘At the Sign of the Golden Compass,’ a thrilling story and good history dressed in a delightful form. In addition, there are novels which are good fun and something more than that, such as Hilda Lewis’s ‘The Ship That Flew !’ We do not need the soft sentimental rubbish so generally liked, and the secondary school is not doing ite duty if it does not try to substitute a higher value and in some measure counteract the influence of the sentimental film and the popular novel.

STIMULATING INTEREST. “The vocational novel is a type that might well appear on the shelves of a secondary school library, but so often good vocational novels written in America or in Britain do not exactly fit New Zealand conditions. Still, their value outweighs that disadvantage; for although the conditions of the occupation described may vary in detail, there will be only a slight difference in the people described. There is a vast wealth of fiction to draw on, not only for entertainment, but also for instruction ; and it is pleasant to note the number of authors of repute who have given attention to the writing of a better class of children’s books. “The non-iiction stock in the school library must be carefully chosen to cover a wide field dealing not-only with the subjects taught in The school, hut, connected with those; such as economics, sociology, biology, fete., arid with practical arts and leisure time occupations. Let there be an introduction to these in the schools, and when and if tile school stock is inadequate, let us pass on the enthusiastic pupil to the

wider field of the central town library. “Periodicals must be up-to-date and well represented. No doubt back numbers of geographical magazines are useful, hut the school should subscribe to a range of reputable periodicals stimulating the interests of the pupils in current affairs and hobbies ,and giving them a standard by which to judge the mass of magazines not met with in the school but flooding the news agents’ shops. Certain magazines are worth binding and indexing, while others when -withdrawn from the shelves may form the material for a collection of pictures and articles oil various topics connected with the curriculum. These if properly filed can be very useful in class teaching. “In some schools there are advocates of the class library instead of the central school library. In theory the scheme may have points to commend it, hut in' practice there seems more to condemn it. It is unnecessarily wasteful of money and a class library cannot be made wide enough to interest the diversity of pupils in even a single class. The organisation is difficult. A useful and sounder scheme is to have in the classroom a small collection of reference books on subjects frequently required. But the collection must he small.. It may, for instance, consist of a dictionary or two," such as a Concise Oxford Dictionary, Jones’s. Pronouncing Dictionary, Fowler’s Modern English Usage and perhaps a one volume encyclopaedia. Fuller dictionaries and encyclopaedias will be in the library itself. “Beside being a reservoir of knowledge beyond the limits of the textbook, a source of interest for leisure and the provider of a standard of values, the secondary school library has another 1 unction —that of the unification of the varied school activities. The library can most easily correlate the interests of all departments in the school. For the purpose of administration the school must be divided; but the best interests of education are served, when the school realises that such division is unnatural, and that in a democracy common ideals, and common ideas, and action in common make social unity and solidarity possible. In the school the library is the institution . best fitted to show this arid to provide the pupil with a training most useful beyond the school walls. “I have said something of the aims of a school library and nothing of its organisation,’’ Miss Turner concluded. “Let the library first of all concern itself with serving its ideals and it' will adopt the system of organisation most suited to its needs. Let us first acquire books arid then we , shall feel the need for the tools which make a library yield its best results. | If we see the need for a living library I and reject collections of musty books locked away in cases, the rest will follow when we have striven long I and hard enough, and the rej suits will fully repay the toil. If the | secondary school libraries in New i Zealand were living units in the schools they serve, the aims you are ■ all .working for would be nearer | achievement, for the pupils in school I to-day o arc the readers you serve to- | morrow;, iltr-is obvious .that the better [ tiaincrT-Tlicy arc. the more your libraries?! will flourish.’’