The school library is part of your school’s teaching and learning environment. It provides resources and services that support students, staff, families and whānau. Your library’s resources, physical space, and staff have tremendous potential to make a difference to students’ achievement, educational equity, and their social and emotional well-being.

The purpose of your school library is to help every member of your school community — students, staff, families and whānau — gain new knowledge, skills, and dispositions for learning and personal development that they will use throughout their lives.

What makes an effective school library?

The school library is a central hub supporting every student and staff member, as well as parents and whānau. The library combines several elements — library staff, resources, and space. Each of these plays an important part in supporting teaching and learning. School libraries are most effective when these elements combine to form an integrated whole.

An effective school library:

• improves student outcomes — collections developed for your unique school community enrich reading and learning programmes

• welcomes people in — the library is a safe place, that values and includes students from different cultures and backgrounds

• brings people and information together — connections with other libraries and information sources enhance your library’s collections, and help your library staff help users find what they need

• embodies the principles of ‘learner agency’ — students having the independence to choose their own reading, and to find resources that help them develop their interests and strengths at their own pace

• helps close the education gap — for students who might otherwise be disadvantaged, the library can provide access to the stories, information, and technology they need.