HIT>Library Usage Questionnaire 1

[itoshima <itoshima@FAT.COARA.OR.JP>]

Point:  The American library is for research while the Japanese library is
for recreatinal reading.

Dear friends,                Nov.2, 1998
     Thank you for your response to our questionnaire on Library Usage
dated Oct. 30.   With this LM_NET, I received 13 responses on the first
day.  (5 secondary schools, 3 middle schools, 3 elementary schools, and 2
unknown).  Because I didn't put SECOND in my subject, I received responses
from middle and elementary schools.  I will make a report on those schools
because it seems that the librarians for elementary schools say that the
reading habit of the pupil is the same or better while the librarians for
high schools say that it is worse than that of ten years ago.  In January,
I will make a final report with graphs and pictures, but for the time being
I
plan to post some of the findings on Monday at this time of the day under
the subject: HIT>Library Usage Questionnaire.  To those who responded I
will reply individually.  Today I received ten more, and the figures showns
below will change.

1) respondants:
    27 US high schools with 33,881 students
    92 Japanese high schools with 76,996 students

2) number of students
    100-- 500     3 US    19 Japan
    501--1000     8 US    37 Japan
   1001--1500     7 US    36 Japan
   1501--2000     5 US     0 Japan
   2001--2500     4 US     0 Japan

3) pure average number of
a) students per teacher
   15.5 US,     18.9 Japan
b) students per library seat
   14.3 US,     10.6 Japan
c) books in the library per student
   10.3 US,     23.3 Japan
d) books taken out by one student over one year
    5.8 US,      3.3 Japan
e) class visit to the library per day
    3.6 US,      0.4 Japan
f) computers to which the students have access
   17  US,       0 Japan
*The largest number of computers in a US library is 58.

4) My position
     I feel obliged to explain why I started this questionnaire on Library
Usage, asking for the help of LM_NET, despite the fact that I am not a
librarian.  I'm a teacher in charge of curriculum.  If you have more than
two vice principals at your school, you could say I am one of them.
Besides, our librarian doesn't speak English and didn't know of the
existence of LM_NET before.  At the same time, I am one of the committee
members for the revitalization of the school system for 120 public high
schools in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.  In January I will file a report for
the association of high school principals.  My main proposal is that we
should make the school library the center of school education.

     As some of the librarians stated, the US library is for research while
the Japanese library is for recreational reading.  As shown in 3) pure
average number of e) & f) , (1) in Japan few teachers take their students
to the library during lesson time to do research.  Although the school
library opens from 8:30 to 17:15, the average library is visited by only
two classes A WEEK during the classwork period from 9:00 through 15:30.
After school, students visit the library individually for homework, project
research, and pleasure reading.  (2) Only five high schools out of 92 in
Fukuoka have a computer in the library while lots of houses have computers
with internet access.  It's quite interesting that US librarians are
discussing how to control the use of library facilities by students.
However, we don't have this problem because the library in Japan is rather
quiet all day long.  Most of the lesson is done in classroom.  Teachers
explain things and give quizzes while students take notes and memorize what
teachers have said.

     I want to shift the students' attention from memorizing to analyzing.
For that purpose, the function of the library is the key.  Specifically, I
plan to propose:
1) that the librarian should be given a new position, instead of the
present assisting staff.  This new position may determine the course of
study under the guidance of the principal, vice principal and curriculum
manager,
2) that all the faculty members should present the syllabus not only to the
principal but also to the librarian so that the librarian knows what
students need,
3) that the library should be installed with computers with internet
access,
4) that the school home page should have a "library" section which has
well-organized reference sources.  Each faculty member should contribute to
this section.

     I think reading for pleasure is equally as important.  I started SSR
two years ago (Before I started this questionnarie, I didn't know the word
SSR).  I called it Ten-minute-a-day Silent Reading.  I changed the bell
schedule, setting Silent Reading time from 8:40 to 8:50 so that the whole
1300 students sit down and read books every day.  When I proposed this
plan, many members of the faculty were against it, saying that reading
should not be forced, that reading should be taught in Japanese class, that
ten minutes is too short, and that many students wouldn't bring books
anyway, that Reading Month should be tried instead of everyday reading
through the academic year, etc.etc.etc.  Persuading the principal to accept
the idea that forming a love of reading is the key element to life-time
self-education, I pushed the plan through.

     After three months, many teachers were surprised to see their students
reading books, talking about bestsellers, visiting the library more often.
Many junior high schools and high schoolds in the neighborhood came to
observe the Silent Reading time.  The prefectual board of education also
showed interest in what our high school is doing, and appointed me to do
some research on library usage.  This is the right time to make all the
principals in our prefecture understand that the library should be the
center of school education.

     I started  by sending the questionnaire to 120 high schools in the
prefecture.  After visiting a high school in California in August for our
school's homestay program, I came up with an idea of studying the American
library.  I mailed a simple questionnaire to some high schools in the US.
One of the librarians told me about LM_NET.  And here I am, putting the
questionnaire.

     Well, hearing from US librarians, I'm not sure if Japanese librarians
are ready to accept as much work as you have.  However, I really think that
US librarians are lucky to have a place to exchange ideas like LM_NET.
Japanese librarians are alone in a quiet library all day long, struggling
to attract video-oriented students to the world of books.

     I apologize to you if this first HIT letter is too long.  I ask for
advice if I am going in the wrong direction to revitalize school situation.
 Next week, I will list up the responses to Question 6:How to attract
students to the library.  If you have friends who are interested in this
project, ask them to answer the questinnaire, too.  Thank you.

P.S. English is a foreign language to me.  If there're lines in my mail
that you don't understand, can you ask me in the mail?  Every week I will
correct grammatical mistakes and improve expressions.
AT 20:03 On Nov.2, 1998


Toshishige Yamasaki, Curriculum Manager
Itoshima High School, Fukuoka, Japan
380 Shinohara, Maebaru, Fukuoka, 819-1131
itoshima@fat.coara.or.jp

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