2019 survey of New Zealand school libraries
Calling all NZ school and school library staff! The closing date for 2019 school library survey has been extended to 1 September to give you more time to add your voice: 2019 school library survey
This blog post explains about the survey, why it's important, and how its data helps support your work.
Survey by andibreit. Pixabay. License to use.
New Zealand school libraries — ongoing research project
In 2018, and again this year, the Services to Schools team are working with SLANZA and LIANZA to develop a comprehensive picture of New Zealand's school libraries. You can read more about last year's findings in our report School libraries and school library services in New Zealand Aotearoa.
There are about 2,500 schools in New Zealand, and each of them makes their own decisions about what library resources, facilities, and services they provide for their school community. As you'd expect, school library provision can vary enormously from one school to the next, just as the factors affecting each school's decisions are different too.
However, alongside the clear differences we found in 2018, there were also some common threads, for instance:
in the way that schools view the role of their library
in the way that their library collection is funded, and
in the challenges they face in supporting diverse learners.
What's different in the 2019 survey
To build on the information we collected in last year’s survey, this year we are seeking information from all schools about their:
library staffing (including roles, hours, employment arrangements, and library staff expertise) to better understand the school library workforce
library collection holdings — to quantify the trends that people mentioned in last year's survey.
We're not asking information about library services, spaces, or the role of your library — so this year's survey should be quicker to complete.
Your input is vital and helps us support your work
The information you provide will enable the project partners to prioritise, plan, and deliver services to school libraries and support for the people who work in them.
It will also help to guide further research about how school libraries and the resources they provide can contribute to student learning, literacy, and wellbeing.
Complete the survey, help us with further research
Complete the survey now — it should take about 10 minutes to complete.
Also, if you'd like to be involved in further research, leave your email address at the end of the survey so we can get in touch.
If you have any questions about this research:
call Services to Schools' 0800 LIBLINE or email schoollibraryadvice@dia.govt.nz, or