IASL Research Abstracts: 94

Findings: Public libraries in South Africa must compensate for the shortage of school libraries and play a crucial role in formal education.

Abstract: This paper describes an investigation of school learners' use of the two public libraries in a rapidly growing township on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. The study will eventually form part of a larger case study of the nine schools of the town. The aim of the larger case study is to examine the impact of South Africa's new school curriculum, Curriculum 2005, on historically disadvantaged schools, which cannot be assumed to have effective libraries within their walls. It will investigate how the reading and information needs of their learners and educators, including their needs for information literacy education, are being met. See:

Hart, G. (2003). Public libraries stepping into the gap? A study of school learners' use of libraries in a disadvantaged community in Cape Town, South Africa. In S. Zinn, G. Hart and E. Howe (Eds.) School libraries: Breaking down barriers (pp.71-82). Seattle: International Association of School Librarianship.

Subject Categories: 3, 5, 16