Teachers' Perceptions of School Libraries: Comparisons from Tokyo and Honolulu

Abstract

A survey of teachers' perceptions of school libraries was conducted in 1998 in Ohta-ku in Tokyo, Japan and in the Honolulu District in Hawaii, USA. The results were compared to find similarities and differences and to examine possible influences on the development of school libraries in these locations. Most survey respondents in Ohta-ku and Honolulu acknowledged the importance of the pedagogical role of school libraries and school librarians. Teachers in Honolulu had higher expectations of service from school librarians than did teachers in Ohta-ku. This result was probably due to differences in policy and in the availability of trained school library personnel. There were some other interesting differences between the survey responses of teachers from Ohta-ku and Honolulu, probably because of major differences in the nature of school library development in the two areas.