“A school library should not be boring. It feels old…”

The present study deals with the usage of the school library for upper secondary school students. Is it a place for working or studying? The questions are:•What do the students say they use their school library for?•Are there any differences between students in theoretical programs and students in practical programs with regard to their use of the school library?•What are the features of the ideal library from a students’ point of view? My study represents a user’s perspective. The investigation is both quantitative and qualitative. Eighty-two inquiries from four different classes, representing two theoretical and two practical programs were carried out. For the qualitative investigations four informants were selected, one from each class. Andersson and Skot-Hansen’s model for a public library has been used for the purpose of examining if the school library has the same complex employment as a public library. Gidden’s structuring theories were applied when observations of how resources, rules, time and the room affect students’ use of their school library. The result shows that the school library has a complex role but varies for various students. The social role is very important. We can see that the majority of the pupils said that the library is the best meeting place at school. Questions at issue then would be whether the school library should be silent or not. The cultural role may be represented by “book talks”, author visits, exhibitions and above all reading of fiction. Swotting and finding facts for school works will be the knowledge role. We can even find the informative role through seeking of information on the computers. There were differences between the use by students from the different programs. The theoretical classes used the school library more than the practical ones and the computers are used mostly for school works by the practical classes but most for leisure-time activities by the theoretic classes. The school library is both a place of work and a meeting place