@mastersthesis{iab_repo699,
          author = {Singh Diljit},
           title = {AN INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SCHOOL LIBRARIES.},
          school = {Florida State University},
            year = {1993},
        keywords = {AN INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SCHOOL LIBRARIES},
             url = {http://eprints.iab.edu.my/v2/699/},
        abstract = {The aims of this study were to establish a framework for the comparison of school libraries, and then to use the framework to assess the current state of school libraries internationally. The relationships between selected socio-economic variables and school library variables were also examined, as well as factors that had encouraged and hindered the growth of school libraries. The framework for comparison, which consisted of a series of indicators and variables, was established by surveying a panel of thirty experts on school librarianship in twenty-nine countries. The five highest ranked indicators were the existence and extent of school libraries, personnel, facilities, materials and equipment, and the role of the school library and the teacher-librarian. The indicators were then used as a basis to survey the current state of school libraries internationally. Sixty-four countries responded to the survey. Among the major findings were that although centralized school libraries existed in most of the responding countries, the library was seen as either a supplementary or a non-essential service. In more than 75\% of the responding countries, the typical school library had a person in charge, but he or she was often without a defined role or had a basic role of making the resources available. The typical library contained printed, audio and visual materials; computers and communication equipment were present in less than 25\% of them. Two strong relationships were observed. The presence of libraries in primary schools had a strong positive correlation with the gross national product per capita of the country, but had a strong negative correlation with the percentage of the population in a country under the age of 15. The most frequently mentioned factors encouraging growth of school libraries were the availability of funds, the role of a central organization, and the education/training of teacher-librarians, whereas the most frequently mentioned factors hindering growth were the inadequacy or total absence of funds, the lack of trained personnel, and problems related to physical facilities. The appendices include the two survey instruments and a list of official sources of information on school libraries in the responding countries.}
}