Challenges in the utilisation and provision of school library services in Katlehong Secondary Schools (Gauteng Province, South Africa).
This study sought to identify the issues and challenges facing school libraries in secondary schools in Katlehong, Gauteng province, South Africa. It is the responsibility of the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) to make the provision of the resources in the schools for the effective functioning of the libraries. The study revealed little provision from the GDE and as a result school libraries are faced with challenges such as lack of library materials, insufficient staff and funds. These challenges led to under-utilisation of school libraries by both teachers and learners. Very few schools in South Africa have a functional school library, and those that do have one have to maintain it through their own funds and budget. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used to conduct this study. Both non-probability (purposive sampling) and probability (simple random sampling) sampling methods were applied. The study clustered specific schools in Katlehong, i.e 14 secondary schools, and purposively selected the teacher-librarians, principals, teachers and learners in these schools, and a Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) official to participate in the study. Purposive sampling was used to sample the 102 teachers who participated in the focus discussion groups, and simple random sampling was used to identify the learners in each school who participated in the study. Four hundred questionnaires were distributed to learners, and three hundred and forty were returned. Interviews were held with the teacher-librarians, principals and the GDE official, while Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were held with the teachers. The results from the study revealed that school libraries in Katlehong’s secondary schools face challenges that include lack of staff, outdated and inadequate collections, mis-catalogued and poorly organized books, lack of funds, insufficient library orientation, and the absence of guidelines and leadership from the Department of Education. Very few schools had qualified teacher-librarians in their employ. The teachers who were employed as teacher-librarians confirmed that they were managing the school libraries without the professional skills required to guide both teachers and learners in the use of library resources. All the teacher-librarians had to teach in addition to managing the library, and in most cases the library was closed when they were in class. It was also mentioned that the school timetable did not always include a compulsory library period for all the classes. The need for a collection development policy and the lack of support from the school management team were also highlighted as challenges. Based on the findings both teachers and learners confirmed that their use of the library is restricted in terms of the time they had to use the libraries. There is no sufficient space, poor library orientation is conducted at schools, insufficient library furniture and the libraries keep old, out-dated and irrelevant books. Users have limited access to the Internet.
school library services --utilisation --Katlehong --Gauteng --Soutrh Africa
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