“What a school thinks about its library is a measure of what it thinks about education.”

— Harold Howe, Former US Commissioner of Education

An article in a recent issue of a Canadian magazine concerned the disgraceful condition of school libraries in Canada. The complaints related to the lack of funds available for buying new books for school libraries and how it affects students’ academic achievements. If this issue is a concern for a First World country such as Canada, what does it mean for us?

One of the most neglected facilities in our schools is the school library. Good libraries play a pivotal role in education and should consequently be considered indispensable in every school. Unfortunately, that is not the case in Saudi schools; our education officials pay little attention to the importance of libraries. According to a recent US study, school libraries and student achievement are strongly linked. The study found that at each grade level, students in schools with good library programs score higher on comprehensive assessment exams. The libraries were rated based on the number of books and other resources available, assistance and instructions about using resources and the availability of library media centers with state-of-the-art technology.

Every school in Saudi Arabia is required to have a library. The difference between them is in the number of books and how they are used. The libraries may consist of one room that has either tens of books on a limited number of topics — mainly religion and literature — or hundreds of books covering a wider range of topics. The number of books available reflects on how the library is used. Either it is a place where students or teachers can relax or it is a place where students can find interesting books to read. Secondary school students visit the library once a week for reading. A librarian said, “We show them the types of books and periodicals available and how they are organized on the shelves.” In high school, students take a library class where they learn how to find the book they need and how to use the periodicals.

Ibtisam Algibali, the principal of a girls’ secondary public school, said that the school had no budget for a library. It receives books from the Ministry of Education and from donations by parents or staff. At the particular school which is eight years old, there are only 875 books in a library meant for 485 students.

Libraries in private schools are usually better.

Khaled Al-Harithi, owner and director of Al-Majd Private School for Boys, said, “We have more than 10,000 books divided in two libraries — one for elementary and the other for secondary and high school and we allocate two percent of our school budget to acquiring books and other resources every year.”

In the Information Age, our children are graduating from high school “information illiterate.” They lack the basic skills for doing research and thinking critically. One of the main difficulties they face in the first year of college, particularly if studying abroad, is knowing how to do research and write a report. While we cram our children’s schedule with subjects and material they will surely forget and will never use, we neglect to teach them a skill that would be of permanent value and use.

It is a case of too little, too late to give a library class to high school students. While the intention is admirable, the approach is wrong. The library should not be subject matter that students get examined on but instead a component of every subject studied. The US study indicated that higher academic achievement is associated with library programs staffed to play an integral role in the school. The books and materials should be selected to support the school’s curriculum and used by both teachers and students and integrated into the learning/teaching and information seeking process.

Some private schools in Saudi Arabia are doing something in this direction. In Al-Majd School, for example, there is a policy which encourages students to visit the library regularly, apart from the scheduled reading hour. The school’s library has computers and an Internet connection and has plans to include more audio/visual resources within the next year or two.

Dania Basrawi says that in her school, Children’s World School, teachers assign research related to their subject matter to be done in the school’s large library. At the public school, Algibali said that research is a personal effort by students who want to learn more. To encourage students to use the library, at the end of the school year is a gift given to the student who borrowed the most books and there is an intellectual competition.