Gender Analysis of Library Use by Pupils of Graceful Oaks Nursery and Primary School.

Abstract

The school system is a foundational platform through which meaningful development can take place and thus the use of the school library as a source of information is imperative in knowledge transfer. But this is gradually becoming forgotten in schools with most schools not providing enough reading materials or not having a library at all. This study used expost facto research design to investigate the library use of pupils over a period of six months to the school library. The types of books and number of books consulted were recorded by the school librarian along gender lines in order to reveal gender influences in reading materials and library patronage so as to help the Management develop strategies to maximise library benefits for the pupils. The data collected showed that pupils visited the library 365 times and 683 books were borrowed by pupils in primaries one to five and the children were aged 5-11years. The highest visit was recorded in the month of January with 296 books borrowed and lowest visit was in May when only 18 books were borrowed. The result further showed that pupils in primaries two and four visited the library most and girls mostly visited the library. The implication of this to the school curriculum and policy were discussed.

Keywords: Library use, primary school, books, early reading