Impact of school libraries on learning: critical review of published evidence to inform the Scottish education community [online].

Williams, Dorothy; Wavell, Caroline; Morrison, Katie

Abstract

The aim of the report is to identify and critically evaluate the available evidence of the impact of school libraries on learning, including attainment, skills and attitudes. The report, commissioned by the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC), is based on a critical review of UK and international evidence published since 2001, linking school libraries to educational achievement, attainment and learning in secondary education. The objectives were to: a) Identify, evaluate and summarise evidence in relation to a number of key questions identified by SLIC; b) Assess the applicability of the findings in the potential of Scottish school libraries to impact on Curriculum for Excellence; c) Identify gaps in the evidence and suggest areas for further research in relation to Scottish school libraries. The research was designed as an update of the previous review of the impact of school library services, undertaken in 2001 by the same team (Williams, Wavell and Coles 2001). The outcomes will inform SLIC strategies in support of school library provision in Scotland. The outcomes should also be of value to policy and decision makers in both local authorities and individual schools for their future planning around school library provision, and to individual school librarians in their own strategic planning. The work was conducted between the months of May to October 2013, and the outcomes were presented at the Scottish Learning Festival held in Glasgow in September 2013.

Citation

WILLIAMS, D., WAVELL, C. and MORRISON, K. 2013. Impact of school libraries on learning: critical review of published evidence to inform the Scottish education community [online]. Aberdeen: Robert Gordon University, Institute for Management, Governance & Society(IMaGeS). [online]. Available from: https://scottishlibraries.org/research-skills/impact-of-school-libraries/

• Report Type: Research Report
• Online Publication Date: Dec 31, 2013
• Publication Date: Dec 31, 2013
• Deposit Date: Dec 10, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 10, 2014
• Publisher: Robert Gordon University
• Keywords: School libraries; Education; Scotland; Scottish Library and Information Council
• Public URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10059/1093
• Publisher URL: https://scottishlibraries.org/research-skills/impact-of-school-libraries/