Availability of Infrastructure Facilities in School Libraries in Sri Lanka.

Abstract

School libraries can consider as one of the major information storages which offer reading materials to students in schools. Better infrastructure facilities are the foundation of quality library service. Therefore, the objective of this research is to identify the availability of infrastructure facilities in school libraries. The sample of this research was consisted of randomly selected fifty school libraries from Akuressa educational zone, Sri Lanka. Data was collected using a paper-based questionnaire posted to the librarians of selected school libraries. The response rate was 72%. In regards to the location of the library building, 44.44% of school libraries have separate library buildings. Meanwhile, 47.22% libraries are maintained in a room in the same building with classrooms. A minority (8.33%) of libraries are located on a floor of a separate building. When considering the shelving of library materials, 25% of school libraries only have closed cupboards to store library materials. More than a third of school libraries use respectively, only open book racks and closed cupboards (38.89%). The lack of infrastructure facilities is a major challenge faced by school libraries. Thus, Sri Lankan government must provide sufficient funds to develop infrastructure facilities in school libraries.