The 2019 Softlink EMEA School Library Survey Report has been released

About the Europe, Middle East & Africa Softlink School library Survey

The School Library Survey, conducted by Softlink on behalf of the school library sector, examines key trends and issues impacting school libraries.

The UK Survey which was first launched in 2015, was extended to include Europe in 2018, and the Middle East and Africa in 2019.

The 2019 survey received responses from Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Qatar, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Tanzania, UAE, and the UK.

Continuing the annual survey builds a critical reference point for understanding regional and global changes, impacts, and trends over time.

This report presents survey findings including school library services, engagement and support, future trends, and funding.

To download the full report, visit our resources page

Key findings Summary

Key findings from the 2019 Survey include:

• 95% of respondents reported that promoting and supporting reading for pleasure is the most important service that the school library provides. 
   
• 27% of respondents reported that they include a percentage of eBooks in their collection. 
   
• 55% of respondents reported that they include a percentage of eResources - subscription databases in their collection. 
   
• 61% reported a high or very high level of student engagement in the library, 35% of schools reported a moderate level of student engagement, 4% reported a low or very low level of student engagement.
• 25% reported a high or very high level of teacher engagement in the library, 52% of schools reported a moderate level of teacher engagement, 23% reported a low or very low level of teacher engagement.
• 51% reported a high or very high level of support from the senior leadership team, 30% of respondents reported a moderate level of support, 19% reported a low or very low level of support.
• 67% of respondents reported that they believed digitisation of resources to impact schools most in the future.
• 7% reported that if the school were to receive additional funding it was very likely or likely that the library would receive any of it, 32% reported that it was possible, and 61% reported that it was unlikely or very unlikely.
• 50% of respondents reported that if they received funding, they planned to invest it in physical books, 40% reported that it would be spent on furniture, and 38% reported they would spend it on staffing.

Open-ended questions provided an opportunity for respondents to share comments about the library and their role. Recurring themes that have been included in the report are:

• The library space
• Staffing
• Making the library more central
• Reading for pleasure

Respondents were also asked to share what exciting trends are emerging that could impact libraries in the near future. We had a number of respondents share their thoughts which will be released in a Whitepaper in 2020.

Thank you

Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey, we appreciate your ongoing support and look forward to continuing to work together to build stronger school libraries.

*The 2019 Softlink Europe, Middle East, and Africa School Library Survey was conducted between 21 Nov 2019 and 16 Dec 2019. To download the full report, visit our resources page.