Reading habits and Libraries

Reading habits and Libraries

Reading any sort of text treasures two interwoven purposes namely language development and pleasure. Through reading if language is developed the learners get pleasure. On the other hand, if a learner enjoys while reading any stuff, directly or indirectly his/her language skills are developed. At school level intention mainly rests on the farmer one. There are a lot of convincing and engaging books found in public sector school libraries. 

Either they are provided by education department or Non-Governmental Organizations executing different educational development projects. Within the initiatives of those educational projects, staff members of schools have also been trained on how to make the library an effective learning place for learners and how to maintain records through cataloging. Such types of focused efforts are made for developing reading habits among the learners.

There are numerous books of stories, novels, history, current affairs, reference, poetry, grammar and compositions kept in the shelves properly locked in the libraries of public sector schools. A number of dictionaries can also be observed in those libraries. Other than these books, scientific and geographically informative magazines are usually kept in the locked shelves. However, the enterprise for which all the books and periodicals are provided to schools is rarely seen being worked out. Very few learners borrow books to read at home but during the school hours, nobody bothers to read a book in libraries. As a result, learners in schools are deficient in reading habits.

The libraries due to leaving high and dry, learners face difficulty in developing language skills such as listening, speaking, writing and reading. Because of poor language skills they feel reading as a tedious habit rather a habit of enjoying. Thus, the learners do not perform in other academic areas according to their age and mental level as they are expected to do so. The problem of diminishing reading habits involves some other factors such as ignorance among the language teachers towards the importance of searching library books, rushing behind the course completion, examination oriented teaching and learning, unavailability or rare chances of training opportunities for teachers, lack of monitoring and supervision by leadership of district education office.

There needs to be a vigilant school leadership to keep an eye on each and every matter of school including effective use of library resources. On regular basis, a proper system to be introduced in order to borrow the books and follow up mechanism needs to be developed. Library concerned staff members can be asked to submit a report at the end of each month regarding the number of issue and return books, as well as number of visitors to library. The books locked in the shelves need to be exposed to the readers on open shelves.  If this matter is taken serious and worked out in schools, language development skills can be improved among the learners. Otherwise, libraries will be full of very interesting and informative books and other periodicals in locked shelves being useless and rotten.