The Organization of a functional library for the Mound City, Kansas, high school

The nature of the educative process widespread throughout the United States, with its emphasis upon textbooks and uniform learning, has tended to make the school library appear as an extra rather than an essential. Consequently, money has been spent on the library only with left over from other departments. Many teachers encouraged the pupil to use the library solely for leisure reading or for some other information if, or sometimes after, lessons were done. Administration in many schools have not been educational leaders. They have stood by and have been unaffected by controversies over teaching methods and materials to be used. Many of our schools have not been able, due to inadequate funds or shortsighted administrators and teachers, to maintain suitable physical facilities for their school libraries. As a result of these unfortunate circumstances, many, no doubt, being unpreventable, we have today in the majority of our school libraries a dire need to added space, more and better books, visual materials, and trained full-time and part-time librarians. Mound City High School is not exception to the rule, being the product of a district heavily taxed to maintain the minimum requirements for public schools. It is in need of a program which will start the school library upward, making it an adequate service institution and thereby improving the standards of the whole school system. With this in mind the writer will attempt, in this problem, to set forth basic recommendations fundamental to the organization of a functional library