New Development in School Libraries: The Latest Research

New Development in School Libraries: The Latest Research.

Thoughts from two delegates to the Research Day on 9th October 2024.

By Eleanor Verduyn, Trainee Librarian

I am in my first term as a Graduate Trainee Librarian in a school library in London, having just finished my master’s degree in psycholinguistics. Last week, the ‘New Developments in School Libraries: The Latest Research’ online event took place, and I was lucky enough to grab a ticket before they all sold out! I was really pleased to attend and gain some insight into the research that goes into my new sector. Sadly, I couldn’t attend every single talk, but fortunately the format of the day allowed me to dip in where I could!

The first speaker was Dr Cathal Coyle from Ulster University. Cathal has done some fascinating research into post-primary school libraries in Northern Ireland, with a particular focus on those in disadvantaged areas. His research asked three questions – what are current library provisions like in post-primary schools in NI, what are these like in disadvantaged areas, and what learning opportunities are provided by school libraries according to both staff and pupils? 83 of 192 post-primary schools in NI responded, of which 76 had a dedicated library, but only 25% had a full-time librarian. Over half of schools did not have a dedicated library budget. Those who did have a library and librarian noted their positive effects, such as aiding academic development and the development of other skills, including cultural and social learning and the ability to be autonomous learners. As there is currently no statutory budget requirement for school libraries in NI, those with budgets are at a clear advantage over those without, which are predominantly those in disadvantaged areas, exacerbating the equity gap in provision further. Cathal made clear that policy needs to change, to allocate resources for school libraries to create the changes that need to happen to close this gap, rather than wedging them further apart. 

Following Cathal was Kelly Ashley from the Open University, who spoke about the importance of non-fiction magazines for encouraging reading for pleasure. Unfortunately this fell during break time in my library so I had to miss it!

The third speaker was Dr Sarah Jane Mukherjee, also from the Open University. Sarah’s talk was an enlightening discussion about discourses of representation in Young Adult fiction. Her research, alongside her colleagues Dr Maria Leedham and Dr Sally Hunt, used Corpus Linguistics methodologies to investigate gendered patterns in language. Her team took the top 50 most commercially successful books from the last five years and analysed patterns in the language used, such as words frequently appearing alongside nouns like ‘girl’, ‘boy’, ‘woman’, ‘man’, ‘her’ and ‘him’. For example, more agentic nouns (like ‘kill’ and ‘play’) were associated with male terms, in contrast to female terms which were often more passive (like ‘get’ and ‘wear’). Their project involved sharing these findings with both school librarians and secondary-school focus groups – it was really interesting to hear that librarians were shocked at how gendered the language often was, even when they had read many of the books involved in the research and not noticed red flags for overt sexist language. It is surprisingly easy to miss sexist subliminal messaging! Equally shocking was the finding that many of the pupils involved in focus groups were not surprised or upset by the findings. This talk raised some interesting questions about the ways in which language used in books reinforces our societal standards, below our conscious level of understanding, and ways we can and should bring these issues up within discussions with pupils to increase their awareness.

Professor Sarah McGeown from the University of Edinburgh then presented her lab’s research into ways to promote reading to teens. This was refreshing, as (happily not for the first time in this event) children’s voices were amplified as part of the research, unlike much of the research in this field which typically involves adult researchers working with adults in schools and libraries, rather than getting the opinions of those at the heart of a school library – the pupils. Sarah’s research looked at teen perspectives on barriers to and motivation for reading for pleasure, using thematic analysis. Several key themes emerged from their focus groups. Some themes were as expected – having access to books is naturally going to impact reading, as is internal motivation to read, having time to read, and reading-conducive environments like libraries in school. Other themes included having choice – teens spoke about how explicit instruction on what they should read at school (often in English classes) could put them off reading entirely, and also that they may not yet have the skill of choosing a book that would suit them. Social factors could also motivate, if teens perceived reading as social, or inhibit if they perceived it as a solitary or independent activity – a case for the value of a whole-school reading culture! Finally, relatable messaging was also raised – teens want messaging  around books to be on their own terms, and to suit the reasons why they may read. For instance, if reading is marketed as taking them out of this world, this may not appeal to a teen who is interested in reading about the world as it is now! This talk showed the value of having a range of ways to promote reading and books, to try to catch those teens who may be slipping through the net.

Dr Julian McDougal from Bournemouth University talked through his E Nurture Project, which aimed to improve digital health and media literacy, by using the library as a ‘third space’ (where the first space is home / with the parents and caregivers, and the second space is the school, with educators and information professionals). Julian ran a series of interventions in a school library with 14-15 year olds, to improve their media literacy. Participants had volunteered to take part, and were selected as they had reported that they had experienced challenges in the digital space. Participants met the learning outcomes and showed advanced media literacy after the intervention, but crucially they reported that they felt that the intervention had come too late, and needed to happen earlier for children. Sadly I missed this talk, but I think it is definitely important to think about the ways in which we can use our libraries to support media literacy as early as possible with our pupils, before they feel it’s too late for them.

Kate McGuinness discussed her dissertation research, which investigated changes in school library collections, services and practices in relation to diversity and inclusion. Across the approximately 85 libraries included in her study, 92% reported that some changes had been made, particularly in stock purchasing, displays (both in themes of displays and which resources are selected for display), audits, training, and use of space (such as the inclusion of specific areas for overstimulated pupils to decompress). Some plans had been made but not yet come to fruition, in particular relating to the use of metadata to improve discoverability, and shifts in terminology to become more inclusive and consistent within libraries. Kate also found some common challenges to improving diversity and inclusion within school libraries. As is often the case with schools, time, budget, and attitudes were common hinderances, as well as reports that the status of librarians within schools didn’t allow them the agency over strategic improvements within the school as a whole. The final consideration was differences in approaches, with some libraries favouring separate sections celebrating diversity and others taking a more integrated approach to diversity. Overall, Kate’s research demonstrates the value of libraries in promoting an inclusive and diverse culture within schools.

To end the day, lightning talks were given by delegates from the Foyle Funded Chartered College Teaching course. Jo Hind spoke about her project to genrefy her school library, which resulted in 88% of students preferring the new organisation of the library, and 35.7% of students reporting that it was much easier to choose a book. Jess Hasted spoke about the introduction of reading lessons to Year 7s in her school once per half term. Although book borrowing and reading at home did not increase markedly, pupils did engage positively with the library and reported enjoying these lessons. With more frequent reading lessons, she is hopeful that more pupils will read outside of school more frequently. Finally, Morwenna Rice presented her research on the impact of increasing the stock of the Graphic Novel and Manga section in her library on KS3 pupil loans. She found a correlation between stock increase and borrowing increase in this genre, but overall the increase in students accessing the library was minimal – regular library visitors were choosing from the new selection, rather than new visitors coming in for it. 

Overall, the day was absolutely fantastic – congratulations and thank you to Helen Emery and all of the speakers for putting together such an engaging and insightful day. I look forward to working out how to integrate these findings within my own library, and I’m sure the other attendees will feel the same! 

By Tanya Henning, Learning Resource Centre Manager
When I saw the post come through from the SLA for a day full of webinars on the latest research in school libraries I was excited to hear their news!
The key speakers for me were:
• Reading Non-Fiction Magazines by Kelly Ashley
Currently within our Library we are focusing on reading for pleasure and encouraging students to select what they want to read so I was really interested to hear about the research. One phrase I particularly liked is “The will influences the skill and vice versa”. The research suggests that all reading is good and young people who are able to discuss their reading choices with family or peers has a more positive experience. 
• Discourses of representation in YA fiction by Sarah Jane Mukherjee
The team looked at 50 commercially successful YA books sold between May 2017 – June 2022, investigating patterns of gendered language within the texts and to understand the ‘mirrors and windows as revealed in the language’. I found the language breakdown fascinating but also the student responses on the research of mirrors and windows, the student to who said “I mean, that’s not my life, but I see myself in that character from the way he thinks and feels things and expresses himself” made me reflect on how I could use this information to engage my own students. 
• Supporting Teenage Reading: Enjoyment, Engagement and Enrichment by Sarah McGeown
I’ve read a lot of Sarah McGeown’s articles when I was doing my own research and just had to listen to her speak about her latest research. The key idea that is highlighted is choice. 
Young people will read more if they are not expected to feedback, be assessed on what they’ve read, they will naturally discuss what they read with peers.