Report of the National Seminar on School Libraries & the Educational System on 19th & 20th November 1998, at Trivandrum

Resolutions of the Seminar

1. The habit of reading has to be inculcated in children at a very young

stage, the most impressionable period in their life. This calls for the

active functioning of school libraries right from the primary school

level.

2. It is high time for the country to phase out the use of out –moded

curricular models, instructional practices and evaluation methods.

Libraries have to be equipped with new resources, technology and

professional manpower in order to promote self-study habit among

children.

3. In order to transform school libraries into learning resource centres,

they should be scientifically organized by qualified professional sothat

the libraries may become accessible and usable to the children.

4. The seminar recommends the setting up of a high power committee at

the national level by the Govt. of India for studying the problems of

school libraries and come out with proposals for a model library

system.

5. Parent – Teacher Association (PTA) as agencies vitally interestedinthe

educational advancement and development of the students, shouldtake

special interest in strengthening school libraries. Also Parents and

Teachers should be convinced of the virtues of reading.

6. The Seminar resolves to urge the Govt. of Kerala to take immediate

steps to appoint professional librarians in the Higher Secondary

Schools and High Schools.7. The Seminar strongly recommends to the Govt. of Kerala to provide

library services at the Plus Two level by starting new libraries and

strengthening the existing ones in schools by laying down norms inthe

matter of physical facilities, collection, services, staff etc in accordance

with the NCERT guidelines.

8. The Seminar welcomes the blue print prepared by SCERT, Trivandrum

for improving the lot of school libraries in the State. But Library

Association and Library experts in the academic library sector of the

state should be associated with the planning process and its

implementation.

9. Government in the States and Union Territories should evolve

standards for the School libraries. The seminar also urges the Bureauof

Indian Standards (BIS) to take the lead in the formulation of school

library standards, taking into consideration of the new IT – oriented

information environment.

10. Separate library hours should be set apart for students to use the

libraries under the guidance of teachers both for curricular and extra

curricular reading.

11. A policy for weeding out obsolete and unwanted books to make room

for new books added should be evolved.

12. The libraries attached to District Institutes of Education and Training

(DIETs) also have to be organized on scientific lines for conducting

full fledged orientation programmes for school librarians.

13. The Seminar strongly recommended to the Govt. to take urgent steps to

revamp school libraries by using Internet.

14. Avenues of co-operation between school libraries & Public libraries to

fill the inadequacies, wherever necessary should be explored.