Use of School Libraries by Teachers for Teaching Purposes: A Survey Conducted in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The school library is an integral part of teaching and learning in the school and the main goal of the school library is to ensure that all members of the school community have equitable access to books and other reading materials available at the library. The present study examines the use of the school library by teachers for teaching purposes. A survey questionnaire was used as the main data collection tool for the study and the study population was in-service school teachers who work in the government schools in Sri Lanka. Multistage cluster sampling technique was applied to select the study sample and the collected data were analyzed by using SPSS (21.0). The results of the survey revealed a low use of school libraries by teachers. Teachers expressed their dissatisfaction towards library resources and services specifically outdated and irrelevant library collections for the subject taught in schools.