Historical case study of Singapore school libraries

Abstract

There is little literature published on school libraries in Singapore and much of it was published between the late 1960s to early 1980s. This dissertation is a historical case study of the development of school libraries in Singapore from the time the nation gained self-governance in 1959 until today. The study covered not only the physical infrastructure, the management and library activities of the past forty years, but also put into perspective problems encountered in the development process. Through literature reviews, the study found that although school libraries here have made good progress over the past four decades, they have not met all of the minimum school library standards set forth by the Ministry of Education in the 1970s. There is still much to be done to further their development. Recommendations for improvement are that 1) teacher-librarians work in close partnership with subject teachers to integrate information literacy in all levels of classroom instruction to heighten students' information skills; 2) qualified school librarians or library technicians be engaged to assist teacher-librarians in managing the day-to-day operations of the library; 3) accredited library management training be established to ensure that teacher-librarians receive the necessary relevant library training; and 4) teacher-librarians be encouraged to participate in international conferences to foster their library skills and interests for library work.