Abstract:
The main objective of the study was to assess the effectiveness of the library collection at Munali Secondary School concerning its perceived role among the grade twelve (12) pupils. The research design comprised both qualitative and quantitative designs; a sample size of 106 was randomly drawn using the simple random sampling method. Among the 106 in the sample population, 6 were key informants.The 6 key informants were purposively and conveniently sampled and interviewed. Research questionnaires which were both open and close ended were administered to pupils to obtain qualitative data, interview guides were also administered to the key informants to solicit qualitative data. Statical package for social sciences (SPSS) was used in the analysis of the quantitative data whilst qualitative data from interviews was analysed using content analysis. The research findings indicated that Munali boys secondary school library is less accessed by grade 12s pupils. The non-accessibility was shown by the majority of 39% of respondents that never use the library. The findings also indicated that the pupils at Munali boys secondary school viewed the school’s library to be of low value to meeting their academic needs. The findings also revealed that the library’s collection was fairly good as indicated by slightly below half of the respondents which are the majority. In view of making school libraries meaningful and improve pupil’s performance in examination, the following recommendations were made; Library management to engage the teaching staff to allocate each class a library period to enable the pupils access the library. The library management should ensure that each past examination paper and examination related materials are stocked in the library’s collection. In conclusion, a school library is a very important element in the education development of any school, public or private. The findings also revealed that the library’s collection is very important in improving the performance of the pupils as well as motivating them to visit the library more often. Hence, there is need for current and adequate school library information resources.
