The Role of Community Stakeholders and Ministry of Education in the Effective Implementation of School Library Guidelines (SLGs) In Nigerian Schools

Abstract

This paper is theoretically centred on an in-depth analysis of the role of community stakeholders and ministry of education in the full implementation of school library guidelines in Nigerian schools. The focus of this paper is that community stakeholders and the ministry of education have major roles to play in supporting the full implementation of SLGs through synergy between the stakeholders in the community, the ministry of education and the school librarians. The various stakeholders which make up the socio-cultural structure of the Nigerian community setting that can support the implementation of SLGs were identified to include: Alumni Association (AA), Parents Teachers Association (PTA), Committee of Retired Teachers (CRT), Council of Traditional Rulers (CTR) e.t.c. The paper focuses on partnership between the community stakeholders and school libraries for sustainable implementation of SLGs. It identified the community stakeholders, areas of partnership between the community stakeholders and school library for the implementation of SLGs, challenges to the joint effort were recognized with strategies for overcoming them. The position of this paper is that community stakeholders can only play a positive role in the implementation of the SLGs based on their level of awareness and mutual understanding. This has a strong implication for strategic lobbying and advocacy skills, co-sponsored activities aimed at attracting the stakeholders and school-community social responsibility among school librarians in Nigerian.