The Impact of the School Library for Information Seeking Behaviours of School Students: A Case Study based on the Academic Achievements of G.C.E Advanced Level (A/L) Students of Sri Lanka.

Abstract

As a learning resource, many researchers have confirmed the influence of the library makes a significant contribution to students’ academic achievements. Based on these findings, there is a need to study the behavior of G.C.E advanced level students in using school libraries. Furthermore, this paper engages in case studies to analyze the relationship between students' behavior and their academic achievements in the use of school libraries as a learning resource. The use of information sources by students in the school library was increasingly seen in the use of books, periodicals, and newspapers respectively. However, the use of sources such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, etc. was very low and reference services and electronic information services were found to be non-existent in many school libraries. According to the results of the correlation analysis of student library behavior, the library services used show a positive relationship between reading services and academic achievement. However, since there is no correlation between lending services and academic achievement, this highlights that lending service is not familiar to students. Therefore, it is recommended that, implementing library marketing and user awareness programs on both services to attract students. Furthermore, in the analysis of the correlation between students' results of G.C.E. (A/L) examination and school library use, a high positive correlation was found between library use for more academic purpose and academic achievements. Giving more priority to academic reading than leisure reading contributes to students' academic achievement. There is also a positive correlation between the subject and the result, which is given prominence in academic readings. The reliability of students' school library behavior results was confirmed by their university library behavior test. Students' school library behavior contributes to their academic achievements, leading to higher education opportunities and lifelong skills.