On a Spectrum: International Models of School Librarianship

Abstract

There is a reasonable degree of consensus on the role school libraries play in society; however, forms of implementing such libraries vary widely. On a national level, school library development can be seen as falling into two major models: the American model, which is implemented by the United States, Canada, Australia, and Denmark, and the British model, which is implemented to some degree by all other countries with measurable development. The primary distinguishing factor between these two models is the libraries' governing agency: in American-model countries, school libraries are funded and administered by school districts; in the British-model countries, school and public library systems are entwined. A third model can also be distinguished in some regions-the combined model, in which school and public libraries coexist. These models fall on a spectrum that begins with an early emphasis on supplementary reading and then progresses into a multifaceted educational support role in which the recreational mission is subsumed by educational objectives. A possible third stage is an information orientation.

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