Loh, Chin Ee

Research shows that school libraries have a positive impact on student literacy and learning, as it encourages reading. This exploratory mixed-methods case study focuses on what and how Singapore children in one primary school read, and their reading behaviours in their school library. Data was collected through library observations, focus groups and interviews. Findings showed that lower primary and upper primary students have different reading interests and behave differently in school libraries. It is recommended that the library collection and design of space cater to the different needs of lower and upper primary students.

The school library is the untapped potential for amplifying equitable 21st century learning and more knowledge is required to understand how school libraries continue to be relevant and vital for 21st century learning. A review of the literature (between 2005 and 2015) was conducted on the role of school libraries for 21st century learning as preparation for the Building a Reading Culture study and resulted in the 21st Century School Library Framework to guide our work on school libraries. The five key roles of a 21st century school library are to support reading, research, collaboration, studying and doing. The report details how a future-ready school library can support these different ways of learning.

This report updates the literature review with project findings and current research from 2016 to 2018. For more details about the study, please refer to our project website (https://www.readingculturesg.org/).

Dominant visual narratives of reading tend to portray readers as solitary individuals deeply immersed in reading a single text in a quiet, undisturbed spot. Yet reading is both social and solitary, and takes place in different kinds of spaces, not all quiet and not all undisturbed. This visual essay examines how reading as everyday practice is situated in social spaces, and is appropriated by individuals as well as members of a collective for its own uses. In this visual essay, we draw on our ethnographic research of reading to examine the connections between space and reading as social practice. We focus on reading activities in school and particularly on the space of the school library, historically associated as a space for reading, to understand not only the kinds of reading that occur in a space meant for such purposes, but also how students negotiate such spaces and practices for their own purposes.

Much research has documented the strong correlation between independent reading and academic achievement, and the school library can serve a crucial role in encouraging reading. Drawing from one case study out of a larger dataset of six schools, this paper details how one school transformed its school library, making it a central place for reading within the school. Data collected provided evidence of the kinds of strategies, programmes and design that works to encourage reading. Data collection to help us understand the reading and school library culture included: A school-wide reading survey, interviews with the principal, teachers and students, library observations, timed counts, narratives and time-lapse photographs of library space contributed. Factors for building a reading culture include: (1) Curating the book selection for readers, (2) Making books visible (3) Creating programmes to excite readers, (4) Designing spaces for reading, and (5) Building an ecology for reading.