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- Description
- Table of Contents
- About the author
- Reviews
Student literacy is a perennial concern in and across nations, with measurement and accountability continually ramped up at both individual student and school levels. Debates about literacy and how it can best be improved are never far from media headlines. However, relatively little consideration is given to the role that school libraries and their staff play in building and maintaining student literacy, despite research linking school libraries and qualified staff to student literacy gains. With the number of students who struggle with basic literacy skills increasing in many nations, school libraries can play an important role in improving the academic, vocational and social outcomes for these young people, thereby increasing their opportunities. Fostering student wellbeing is also a key priority for schools given the challenges young people face in current times.
This book seeks to promote greater understanding of the links between reading, literacy and wellbeing that could help students cope with these challenges, and the role of the school library in leading this approach. It explores the current role of school library professionals and highlights how literacy and wellbeing education and support sit within this, paying specific attention to how school library professionals build reading engagement and promote student wellbeing through various approaches, such as fostering health literacy and creating nurturing environments.
Readers will be empowered to build a case for the importance of their role and library, and audit their current literacy and wellbeing offerings, and adjust or extend them where applicable based on best practice. The book also explores some of the many challenges facing school libraries and their professional staff that may need to be mitigated to ensure that they can reach their full potential for supporting student literacy and wellbeing.
1. What do school library professionals contribute to student learning and support? A focus on Australia and the UK
2. School libraries and reading engagement for literacy
3. Librarians supporting struggling literacy learners beyond the early years
4. School libraries and reading engagement for student wellbeing
5. School libraries, health resourcing and information literacy
6. Librarians creating environments for reading and wellbeing
7. Challenges to visibility and advocacy for school libraries and staff
8. Conclusions and directions for future research
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”Merga (Univ. of Newcastle, Australia) provides fodder for school library practitioners and researchers alike in this detailed look at the ever-evolving role of school libraries ... Each section includes attainable objectives and action items for school library practitioners, and a full chapter addresses challenges related to school library visibility and advocacy. The book concludes with a robust section on recommendations for future research and a detailed appendix.”
— Choice
"With as many as one-in-five young people experiencing mental health problems globally, this book is an important resource to help support literacy development and holistic wellbeing of students.”
—TSL, School Library Association
"Through this book, Merga translates the concept of bibliotherapy into a more substantial framework for supporting students’ physical and social needs ... Practicing school librarians will be inspired to freshly view their library spaces as safe havens for students seeking support for reading, health information, and books to help them through difficult times. Educators of school librarians will find this book to be invaluable for any discussion of reading engagement and reading for pleasure, whether for their own research or as readings for future school librarians.”
—Journal of Education for Library and Information Science