The School Library Situation.
Today’s topic is something I’ve had a bee in my bonnet about for a very long time. This is something that I have been concerned about even before I decided to pursue a career in librarianship because it’s an issue that has affected me in my journey through the Irish education system. I want to talk about the lack of libraries in schools and, with it, the lack of digital literacy training.
The School Library Association has pointed out that the situation in Ireland is “highly unsatisfactory.” As it stands there is no statutory recognition for school libraries and no specific budgetary focus to maintain libraries on a national level. SLARI points out that in many cases libraries are provided by, “boards of management, school principals, teachers, librarians and parents who through dedication, fund-raising, hard work and sheer determination have managed to provide a high quality library service in a relatively small number of schools throughout the country.” Unfortunately not every school in Ireland has such dedicated members of staff and parents. Actually, more to the point, not every school has staff or parents with the time or money in the present climate to