School libraries have been subjected to legislative reforms since the establishment of the Greek State. Occasionally, but not regularly, there have been plenty of relevant statutes, which were adjusted to the existing curricula and reflected the current trend in the educational system. Significantly, it is worth investigating whether statutes have ultimately carried out the various governments’ stated intents. Needless to say, school libraries have never been considered as an essential component of an educational system, have been seriously suffering from a shortage of equipment and well-designed rooms, as well as from insufficient funding for book supplies. Finally, teachers themselves are frequently unaware of the role and the services that school libraries are able and have to offer in a modern school. Even nowadays, daily educational procedures can be accomplished without school libraries. In Greece, there has been an attempt to re-examine the operation of school libraries, both in theoretical and practical terms. In the present study, there is a discussion on the relevant statutes concerning school libraries, their operation, as well as any shortages and problems involved. In addition, the study includes a discussion of how school libraries are run in three European countries. There is also a survey based on 100 texts written by Elementary school teachers about the operation, role and utility of school libraries. The survey involves 7 thematic categories, which virtually encapsulate an ideal format of organizing and running school libraries, and convey the views stated by the teachers participating in the specific research. The respondents described an ideal library, which is totally irrelevant to the picture of contemporary libraries in Greece.
The school library has core element of the everyday school life (ανάκτηση 3/1/2016)