The school library as a learning environment: a national survey of networks, practices, and development conditions

Abstract

The school library is now at the centre of renewed pedagogical and institutional attention as a learning environment. In Italy, however, there is still no up-to-date national mapping that systematically examines its characteristics, uses, and conditions of development. This study, carried out within the framework of the Avanguardie Biblioeducative project, helps to fill this knowledge gap in part by presenting the results of a national survey involving more than 6,000 school leaders and teachers. The findings provide an overall encouraging picture in terms of institutional and educational recognition: most school leaders and teachers attribute to the library a significant role in learning, motivation, and school climate. This recognition, however, has not yet translated into frequent, systematic, and fully curriculum-integrated use, pointing to a gap between perceived legitimacy and actual institutionalisation. Prevailing practices remain anchored in reading promotion, while functions related to media education and information literacy are less developed; curricular reading also remains poorly structured and often episodic. The analysis further shows that membership in school library networks is associated with a strengthening of the library’s institutional and organisational dimension, whereas participation in innovation networks is correlated with more intensive didactic use and with the development of information, media, and digital competences. At the same time, several significant critical issues remain, particularly lack of funding, inadequate spaces, the absence of dedicated staff, and weak staff training. Overall, the study highlights the need to strengthen the institutionalisation of the school library through dedicated roles, training, infrastructure, and participation in professional and territorial networks.