Strategic Framework for Service Delivery Improvement in School Libraries

Abstract

One of the fundamentals to building a knowledge-based economy is through the provision of quality information via school libraries. Schools play a fundamental role in raising an educated and informed nation. Therefore, the school library is fundamental to the teaching and learning activities of the school. The school library should be able to provide resources that are relevant to the school curriculum and also be able to provide quality information services to both students and teachers. That being said, this study introduces a school library assessment model that can be used by school management and librarians to evaluate the effectiveness of their school library resources and services. The proposed model integrates the IFLA school library guidelines and the LibQUAL model. The study is based on literature review to explicitly present the proposed model. The proposed school library assessment model is expected to help school librarians to implement the right programs and acquire the right resources for the school library, to be able to meet the users` information needs and satisfy them, thereby making the library relevant to the 21st century information era. This will further ensure that the school library is rightly positioned to support training and teaching activities effectively. As a result, quality education and lifelong learning skills will be realized.

Keywords: School libraries, LibQUAL, quality, service, service delivery framework,