engleski

Roles and practices of school libraries in digital age: a study from Croatia

In Croatian school system it is prescribed by the law that every school should have a library and a professional librarian managing the library and serving the school community. School library is a part of the educational system and school librarian has to be involved in teaching and extracurricular activities. This research explores how school librarians in primary school in Croatia perceive their various roles and what roles related duties they perform in their daily practices. A survey was conducted on a sample of primary school librarians in Croatia and 122 valid responses were collected and analyzed for the purpose of this study. The study findings show that school librarians in primary schools perceive that promotion of students’ reading is their most important role while teaching information literacy is less important. In their daily practices Croatian school librarians perform various duties related to reading promotion, administration of library, managing collections, supporting school curriculum and providing information services. Further they are engaged in teaching information literacy but they hardly use of technology for enhancement of library collections and services. Only a little more than half of study participants state that school principal and teachers understand their roles and support them in performing these roles. Further studies on roles of school librarians are recommended.

primary school librarians, roles, practices, Croatia

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