IASL Research Abstracts

IASL Research Abstracts: 192

Findings: In Bhutan the school library is the only literary resource of the district. In remote areas, where English is seldom encountered outside the school setting, the school library is the single most important aid to both students and teachers in acquiring and retaining language skills and extending vocabulary.

Abstract: Modernisation of Bhutan began in 1961, with the launching of the country's first five-year development plan. In 1963 the government invited a Canadian Jesuit educationist, Father William Mackey, to come to Bhutan to help establish a secular school system. This paper briefly sketches the development of a modern education system and early attempts at library provision, and then studies in detail the ongoing School Library Development Project which is being implemented with funding support from donor agencies and through World Bank-funded (but Education sector-inspired) development projects. Significant achievements in library development and reading promotion activities are being brought about through the vision and commitment of career Education officers, working closely with sympathetic donor agency counterparts towards realisation of longstanding goals.

Shaw, F. (2005) School libraries in Bhutan: Birth of a reading culture. School Libraries Worldwide, 11(2), 112-131.

Subject Categories: 15, 16