Rethinking the educational role of school librarians

Abstract

This study examined the educational role of school librarians in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mainland China, and investigated their qualification and professional development respectively. Questionnaires were sent to public primary school librarians in these three regions on a convenience-sampling basis, 28 responses were received from Hong Kong, 15 from Taiwan and 14 from Mainland China. The result indicated that the educational role of school librarians in Hong Kong and Taiwan were realized to a higher extent than that of school librarians in Mainland China in developing students’ information literacy, fostering students’ reading ability and collaborating with teachers. However, there was still some disparity of the educational role of school librarians in Hong Kong and Taiwan.