New Developments on the Turkish School Library Scene

Abstract

The overall purpose of this article is to describe the history, growth and development of school libraries in Turkey from 1923 to 2004. For now and the foreseeable future, school librarians will be simultaneously working in the library of yesterday and deeply affected by the library of tomorrow. Changing information needs make it necessary to extend school library services to include new information resources. School librarians must help students understand their information needs and the resources and information technologies available. The research on which this article is based used the survey method. Data were collected through literature analysis, questionnaires, interviews and observation. Observations and interviews were conducted and 3000 questionnaires were distributed in 100 secondary education institutions in Ankara, Turkey during the academic year 2003–4. The research in this article explores the historical background and the current status, role and function of school libraries in providing information resources to help meet the information needs of students in Turkey. It is concluded that in order to optimally deliver information services in secondary education institutions, it is necessary to connect with and guide users by all means available, thereby providing endless possibilities for perpetual connectivity and human development.