The library as a safe space in contemporary schools: An international study

Abstract

Fostering students’ well-being is a priority in many contemporary schools, given the impact of well-being-related factors on other facets of students’ lives, such as academic attainment. While school libraries can make a notable contribution to student well-being, there is a lack of international research exploring how they may act as a safe space and provide access to current and credible health-information resources. The International School Library Workforce Survey captured quantitative and qualitative data on school libraries as well-being-supportive spaces from 971 respondents in 63 countries. The majority of the respondents believed that developing students’ well-being is typically a priority for schools in their country and, in the vast majority of cases, the school library is used as a safe space. The findings also highlighted a range of relevant themes that resonated across diverse contexts, including those explicitly identifying factors restricting the well-being-supportive capacity of the school library.