THE SCHOOL LIBRARY AS AGENT IN IMPROVING THE READING CULTURE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN IMO STATE.

Abstract

Reading culture has drastically dropped among secondary school students especially those in the public schools. This fall in the reading culture calls for greater concern ais students do not see the relevance of reading nor using the library. This study investigates the school library as agent in improving reading culture of secondary school students in Imo State. The researchers adopted survey research design for this study. The population of the study consisted of the Teacher Librarians and the Assistants which gave a total population of 42. A structured questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection. Data collected were analyzed using Mean statistics. The study revealed that students visited the library but in low turnout, and some library services that attracted the students to the library were not properly carried out. It was also revealed that lack of professional librarians, and inadequate funding to acquire the necessary resources hindered the library from functioning as expected. The researchers recommend amongst others that professional librarians should be emploved by the school management and government to manage the school libraries. The school managements should endeavor to acquire current and relevant information resources, (print and non-print) to attract student to effectively use the library. The library environment should be made conducive for students to read. In conclusion school library is very vital to improve and encourage reading among students hence every effort should be made to actualize the function of the library in improving reading culture among the students.