Here at Badger Learning we all understand the importance of literature and the development of literacy skills within school children as they progress through the academic system. It is because of this understanding that it becomes difficult to believe that school libraries are not mandatory within the UK – yet prison libraries are. Although definite statistics are hard to come by on this matter, it is very clear to see that closures of school libraries are beginning to mimic the decline of our public libraries over the last 5-10 years. Unlike prison libraries, there is actually no legal obligation for schools to provide any kind of library facility at all.

Considering around 20% of children within the UK leave school without the ability to read properly, this can be considered completely unacceptable. What’s more, between 3 and 4 million youngsters within the UK suffer from some degree of dyslexia – further proving that libraries are fundamental to literacy levels in children and in the country as a whole. So what is the issue here?

Prision Libraries Making a Positive Difference

At present the UK prison population is around 85,000 and over 75% of these inmates possess the reading and writing skills of a ten year old and below. It is perhaps unsurprising for many of you that more than 75% of prisoners are illiterate; hence one of the reasons why The Prison Rules (1999) were introduced. These rules state that a library should be provided in every single prison within the UK and all prisoners should be allowed to own and swap library books.

What’s interesting here is the link between literacy levels when leaving prison and the chances of reoffending. Statistics tend to show that inmates who enter and leave prison with the same levels of literacy skills are more likely to reoffend than those who improve their reading and writing skills once inside. This can be due to many reasons – the main one being the increased likelihood of achieving employment once an inmate has improved their literary knowledge. According to many news reports, including one published by The Guardian newspaper, the rate of reoffending drops from 90% to 10% if an ex-inmate finds employment directly after leaving prison. Reports also show that around 40% of prisoners have literacy skills so poor that they automatically become ineligible for more than 90% of jobs on the market at any given time.

Of course, this is too simplistic a view to draw any tangible consequences from and it can be argued that the prison population does not fully represent our society as a whole. However, these figures do tell us something. Casting aside the cold hard figures, it is clear to see that literacy skills promote better behaviour, better job prospects and a better quality of life. Reading for pleasure is just as useful and as educational as academic reading and this activity can make a hugely positive impact on one’s life and future prospects.

Why Are Our Schools Lagging Behind?

So the question is why hasn’t our school system recognised or exploited these obvious benefits? Why does it seem that more care and attention has been placed into improving the literacy levels of our criminals than our children? Yes, reforming misbehaved individuals is incredibly important so that they can be reintroduced into society with more confidence and ability to get by. But is it not just as important to educate our minors in order to give them the confidence and abilities to get by too?

If the belief is that most prisoners are illiterate and therefore only commit crimes because they see no other way of making a successful living; then could it be that we are just nurturing future criminals by not providing adequate materials to help our children learn to read? Further consideration could also be given to why this issue is apparently being ignored. One possible reason is perhaps obvious and one we are all used to – money!

Budget is of course a huge issue for our schools and unfortunately it seems as though school libraries are on the receiving end of cutbacks. Individual headteachers have to make very difficult decisions in terms of how they spend their budget allocation; the majority of headteachers would like to spend more on library facilities but simply cannot do this due to lack of funds. Tight budgets and cash restrictions often mean that headteachers are left with no choice but to focus expenses elsewhere. It is not just the library itself that schools struggle to fund; it’s the people who run them too. There have even been instances where headteachers have been forced to employ dinner ladies in the library to help organise the bookshelves.

What Has Been Done About This?

The SoA (Society of Authors) has recently sent an open letter to Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman highlighting and lamenting these issues. This letter has apparently been well received by politicians all round. Within the letter is a request to consider making school libraries statutory, backed by law and inspected by Ofsted. It has also been suggested that the librarian’s role should also be included under any new regulations as this role is hugely underappreciated and massively underrated.

It has also been widely argued that Ofsted should have some jurisdiction over school libraries too; they should be assessed and accredited in the same way as classes, exams and the overall school structure. Of course, the regulatory board do take into account how well libraries and other resources are used by teachers to improve student’s reading skills; but that is about it. They do not assess or judge how well libraries are kept, how often they are used, how kids are encouraged to use the library and/or how relevant/topical the books are within the library. At present, there is no regulation over what options your children have open to them in terms of reading material.

Support a Change Today

Only time will tell if library closures have a serious effect on our society, but ideally this is something we should not be waiting to find out. What are your thoughts on the matter? Do you believe libraries should be made statutory? Or is a child’s reading abilities purely down to their teacher and parents?