The concept of joint-use for the local primary schools and branch public libraries

Abstract

Public libraries and school libraries have varying but complementary roles. The mission of the public library is to provide a vast range of different information resources that cover all kinds of knowledge topics sought by the general public. It is used mainly for recreational interests and also for self-improvement and to look up information. School libraries aid students in the educational process of increasing their literacy and information- seeking skills. The collections are aimed to service the student and teacher population in the school and include material designed to aid the learning and teaching processes of a variety of subjects. In this long essay, we have examined the concept of joint-use libraries as a means of creating a comprehensive service to both public and school library users. We will be examining the literature and interviewing the principal administrative officers of Malta Libraries (ML) and the National Literacy Agency (NLA), in order to help us reach our final conclusions in this respect.