The impact of school library circulation policy change: A case study

Interested in the effect of library policy on student reading, the study investigated how an increase in the number of books students in one elementary school library were allowed to borrow at a time impacted students’ actual borrowing of library materials, loss of library books, and classroom teachers’ perspectives regarding student borrowing privileges. The research site was purposefully selected because its library recently changed its circulation policy and maintained records reflecting trends before and after the change. The study investigated three questions: 1) Has circulation of books increased at all grade levels since the library circulation policy change? 2) Has the library experienced a higher rate of loss of books since the circulation policy change? And, 3) In what ways have teachers impacted or been impacted by the library circulation policy change? Data for this case study included circulation records of library books students borrowed, reports of books lost in a given year and responses from teachers to a survey. Findings include an increase in circulation of books in grades K-5 after the library circulation policy change with Kindergarten and first grade circulation increasing the most. The library experienced a higher rate of loss of books after the circulation policy change but the increase in number of lost books was less than the increase in circulation. The replacement policy for lost books became stricter with the new policy in that books could only be paid for or replaced with the exact book title. This may account for a greater number of books showing as lost given previously books technically lost were often replaced by alternative means and removed from the lost book totals. Teachers reported that the change in library circulation policy positively impacted their students in that they demonstrated greater motivation to read, and seemed to enjoy reading more