The management of independent secondary school libraries in England and Wales

Abstract

This paper investigates aspects of the management of independent secondary school libraries in England and Wales. It is based on a survey of 150 independent school library managers, with a response rate of 68.7 percent, which was carried out as part of an ongoing PhD research project. The paper considers a range of issues important to school library managers: for example, policy and procedure document production, project management, sources of guidance, the management skills most important to practitioners and the opinions of school library managers on a range of management issues related to the running of a school library. The qualifications and experience of school library managers are also considered in the research. The survey demonstrated a notable degree of satisfaction with the management and operation of libraries by library managers in individual schools. However, a number of factors were identified as barriers to successful management, which may have implications for policies and procedures within the sector. Additional research is planned to clarify the level of school library provision in independent schools, including further interviews with school library managers, diary keeping and a survey of senior management in independent schools to gauge their opinions on their school library.