School Library Design, Facilities and Resources for Sustainable Cognitive and Social Development of Students: An Evaluative Case Study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the circumstances that prompted the school administrators to construct a new library that included modern library spaces, resources and facilities, to find out the strategies used to build the new library and to determine the perceived effects that the new spaces, resources and facilities have on students’ cognitive and social development. This research took an evaluative case study approach. Purposive sampling was used to select the school principal, the school librarian and eight students. The principal and school librarian were interviewed and open ended interview schedules were administered to the students. The findings revealed that the design of the library, the resources and the facilities had a positive impact on students’ cognitive and social development. It was recommended that the Ministry of Education Youth and Information re-design or construct similar school libraries on a phase basis because of the positive educational impact.