Does the school librarian make any difference? A study of the school librarian’s impact on the reading and linguistic development of young pupils

The purpose of this study is to investigate• how a professional librarian can support the work with pupils, age six to twelve years, in their reading and linguistic development• how the conditions at the school have to be for this to become possible• what kind of attitudes the teachers have, and how they relate to the impact of a librarian for the pupils reading and linguistic development.The methods used are analyses of steering documents concerning school libraries and analyses of the means of the local school culture. The latter has been carried out by literature studies and through interviews of eight teachers and two school librarians. The result of the interviews showed a limited insight into how a professional librarian can support and assist teachers and pupils in the work with reading and linguistic development. They also showed the influence of existing traditions and local school culture for the use of a librarian’s services, and also how all the teachers, once they have become used to the services a librarian can provide, now find their support invaluable. Our final conclusions are that Swedish schools today easily can choose to rationalize school library activities, including to renounce the engagement of a professional librarian. The documents that govern the school activities allow great potential for school leaders and/or school politicians to encourage good library activities with a professional librarian. But this potential can be jeopardized by the teachers involved and their attitudes towards the usefulness of a professional librarian. The attitudes seem to originate from local traditions, and a lack of knowledge about the librarians´ competence. We found this a matter of not knowing what to demand – once experienced you know its benefits.Uppsatsnivå: