Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Date of this Version
Fall 6-15-2023
Abstract
The study explored the role of school libraries in curbing the decay in reading habits among secondary school students in Nigeria. It adopted the conceptual research approach by relying on existing literature. The study discovered that reading makes a knowledgeable student, and facilitates self-discovery, vocabulary expansion, development of effective communication skills and students’ overall academic success. It also revealed that effective reading habits is a crucial skill that students should possess as it adds value to life; frees the mind from the shackles of information poverty and enriches their problem-solving skills. The study showed that the causes of decay in reading habits among secondary school students include: laziness, inadequate/poorly equipped library systems, poor educational system, poor reading upbringing, social media influence, lack of reading role models, learning disability, dwindling societal value, peer pressure, etc. It identified the consequences or effects of the decay in reading habits among secondary school students to include: poor academic performance, high rate of examination malpractice, high rate of failure in examinations, anti-social behaviours, fear and anxiety towards examinations and tests, lack of knowledge on current issues, low vocabulary, lack of new ideas, etc. The study revealed that the roles of school libraries in curbing the decay in reading habits are: organizing reading competition and giving prize awards to best readers, excursion to libraries such as university libraries, national public libraries, publishing houses, etc.; display and exhibition of attractive titles; organizing reading seminars for students, etc. The study also revealed the implications of new technologies and social media on reading habits of the students as being both positive and negative. The positive impacts include: easy sharing of information, socio-political and environmental awareness, etc., while negative impacts are: addictive social media use behaviour, distraction in the classrooms, loss of interest in reading, misuse of personal information, breach of privacy, abuse and misuse of time, etc. Finally, based on the findings, the study recommended that school libraries should re-establish reading, writing, speaking and debating clubs to reawaken reading habits while governments and all stakeholders in the educational system should provide adequate support in terms of facilities and finance to the school libraries to enable them provide services that will reignite reading habits among secondary school students.