%0 Journal Article
%T School Libraries: Are they Places to Learn or Places to Socialize? A review of: Tallaksen Rafste, Elisabeth. ※A Place to Learn or a Place for Leisure? Students＊ Use of the School Library in Norway.§ School Libraries Worldwide 11.1 (2005): 1坼16.
%A Julie Stephens
%J Evidence Based Library and Information Practice
%D 2007
%I University of Alberta
%X Objectives 每 To explore how students usethe school library in their daily activities,who visits the school library, what activities occur during these visits, and how students value the school library. Design 每 Comparative, multi坼case study. Setting 每 Two Norwegian senior high schools in two different counties. Subjects 每 Students in year one, two, and three at two high schools; and teachers, principals, and school librarians at each of the two schools. Methods 每 Data was collected from interviews, observations, documents, and questionnaires during the first five months of 1998. Most data was gathered from 25 observations in the school library (each observation was 3坼4 hours in length). Observations were made in three specific areas of each library: work tables, the computer site, and a reading hall quiet area. In addition, seventeen 45坼minute observations were made in various classrooms. To gain student perspectives and to learn how and why students valued the school library, in坼depth interviews were conducted with 28 students, consisting of 2 boys and 2 girls from each of years 1, 2, and 3 at each school, plus 2 boys and 2 girls from the International Baccalaureate classes at one school. Four teachers from each school,the school librarians, and the principals from each school were also interviewed to explore attitudes about the school library, how they valued it and what instructional role they believed the library played in students＊ daily lives. Sixty students completed questionnaires that asked when and for what reason students used thelibrary, what locations in the library they used, and what the library meant to them in both their schoolwork and free time. Documents such as class schedules and curricula, and school policies and rules were also considered. Main Results 每 Data analysis indicated students had a lot of appreciation for the school library, but mainly for its role as a ※social meeting place,§ rather than as resource center for information. Students were aware of the function, purpose, and importance of the school library, but rarely used it for projects or research. The library was most appreciated for the fact that users went there to meet friends and talk. One observed group did not borrow books or bring work to do, clearly demonstrating that their purpose in the library was strictly social. There were students who used the library for research and information retrieval, but these students were the minority. Most of the students who did instruction坼related activities in the library did homework from textbooks they brought to the libra
%K Learning Resource Centres
%K User Behaviour
%K Attitudes
%U http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/657/639