School Library Services and Promotion of Reading Culture Among Students in Calabar Municipality Secondary School

Abstract

For the past couple of years, reading culture has been on the decline, especially in Nigeria, and African in general research has shown that this is partly due to the emergence of technology and the rise of social media. It is despairing that young adults spend hours watching television and chatting on social sites at the detriment of reading. This study examined the roles school libraries can play in promoting reading culture among students in Calabar Municipality Secondary Schools. Using Marygold International as a case study. On the basis of the three research questions were developed to guide the researcher. The descriptive survey method was used, and simple random sampling adopted. Questionnaire was the major instrument of data collection. Results of the findings were interpreted using simple percentages and organized in tables for clarify and better comprehension. The results of the findings revealed that students do not have good reading habit. This was represented by the 47.08 who read for only 1-2 hours on a daily basis, which is unsatisfactory. Also students depend largely on textbooks and lecture notes as sources of reading materials, hence they read only to pass examination; this is an indication of poor reading habit. The findings also revealed that students do not have opportunities of borrowing books from the library and the library is not integrated in the school curriculum.
Word count 228.