The future of school libraries in the electronic environment : king's academy library as a case study

Abstract EN

Libraries in general and school libraries in particular have changed significantly during the 21 st century.

In the past century most school libraries were no more than small rooms containing limited number of traditional or printed resources.

While in this century, many school libraries became centers for knowledge and nontraditional information sources ; including e-books and online databases.

Modern school libraries also play different roles in supporting faculty and the educational process to maximize the students' academic, cultural and social development to the highest level possible.

This paper discusses definition, types and characteristics of the 21 st century libraries ; the main requirements of the 21 st century school libraries ; the basic functions of future school library systems and the roles they must undertake towards their users within modern societies, especially the students, the future school librarians, and the problems facing such libraries.

The paper also discusses a successful model of the school libraries in Jordan, the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Library at King's Academy.

Eventually it concludes a number of recommendations at the end.

-