A Biblioteca Escolar como suporte ao trabalho do professor, à aprendizagem do aluno e ao enriquecimento cultural da comunidade escolar e local

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to verify the availability and effective provision of informational and virtual resources at public school libraries for the improvement of the educational work at school, as well as to assess the library contribution to the cultural and professional enrichment of school and local community. The subjects were the Regional Director, school managers, teachers, parents, community leaders and students of elementary (stages I and II) and high schools, from eight public state schools belonging to the Regional Directory of Education of José Bonifácio. In the first half of 2009, questionnaires with closed questions were administered to the sample subjects. Through a stratified sample, which criterion was the school size (small, medium and large), the general situation of eight public school libraries of the Regional Directory of Education of José Bonifácio was analysed. The data analysis revealed the precariousness of the school libraries of the state public schools of the Regional Directory of Education of José Bonifácio, whether the schools were large, medium or small. This problem was also found both in relation to the lack of adequate physical space, equipment, human resources and bibliographical resources, and by the poor availability of such resources for the school and local community, in addition to the insignificant contribution to its cultural and professional enrichment. Despite this precarious situation, school managers and teachers look for alternatives to develop the school projects, but with unsatisfactory results for both professionals and students. Even in schools where there is a library, not always it is frequented by local and school community. This research intended to help school managers, teachers, students, parents and local community to become aware of the precariousness of school libraries and to recognize the importance of their role in the educational process.