Why did reading rank so low among high school students?
The number-one reason is that high school curriculums are so crowded. Kids are so pressured, particularly in high school, that they have barely enough time to do all the schoolwork, let alone read. When we asked students to list topics they thought were primary for the school library, leisure reading ranked relatively low. If kids wanted books for pleasure reading, they went to the public library. Kids perceive general interest collections in school libraries as not as strong as those found in public libraries. Do school and public libraries need to collaborate more closely to get older students interested in reading? School and public libraries are functioning as separate entities and need closer collaboration and dialogue to provide a much more holistic information service. Students should use public libraries in addition to school libraries as part of the information chain. We didn’t work out a solution in the research. The role of the study is not to provide a solution but to begin
