The school library : does it matter? A study of how an independent school manages without a school library.

The aim of this bachelor thesis is to investigate how one independent senior high school without a school library regards the role of school libraries. (What is their view of information literacy? Do they manage to reach the goals of Lpf 94 and the goals of each school subject without a school library of their own?). We have chosen to interview the principal and two teachers. Our major findings are that the public library in our study has been given the role of a school library, a role we think it can not fulfil. The librarians guide pupils to the bookshelves instead of being collaborators in the learning process to create new knowledge. The principal and the teachers, in our study, do not believe in the pupils’ ability to develop better reading skills even if they have access to more books. Readers will stay readers, non – readers likewise. Earlier research contradicts this statement. The principal and the teachers find pupils information literate. We believe they are computer literate. Earlier research shows that teachers often think pupils are information literate. Although computers might be one of several information sources, they alone do not make students advanced users of information. The principal and the teachers mean to say that this school accomplishes its goals. We think they will have problems reaching their goals without the public library