IASL Research Abstracts: 121

Findings: To assist Singapore in transforming its libraries into world-class media resource centres, several priorities need to be recognized around long-term goals, immediate actions and short-term solutions.

Abstract: In light of global calls for emphasizing innovative thinking and creative problem solving in elementary and secondary schools and a more collaborative role for school media resource libraries to support the new focus, a taskforce of four faculty members from the Division of Information Studies of Nanyang technological University undertook to assess the status of a selected group of thirteen media resource libraries in Singapore. Data obtained from questionnaires and focus group indicates that for Singapore's school media resource libraries to place a significant role in supporting the new educational focus, some important changes are needed. Recommendations from the taskforce include a change in status of the school media resource library and its supervisor, additional training and education for these supervisors, improved access and connectivity for inter-school cooperation, and more collaborative collection management policies. See:

Majid, S., Chaudhry, A., Foo, S. and Logan, E. (2002). Developing 21st century school media resource libraries for Singapore: An assessment and proposal from a library and information science education taskforce. In D. Singh, A. Abdullah, S. Fonseka and B. de Rozario (Eds.) School libraries for a knowledge society (pp. 217-224). Seattle: International Association of School Librarianship.

Subject Categories: 5, 17