Comment: It’s no secret New Zealand is facing a literacy crisis. Education Minister Erica Stanford has voiced serious concerns about the reading and writing abilities of our tamariki, noting many are not meeting expected benchmarks and lack the literacy skills needed to succeed at high school.
To address the problem, approaches such as structured literacy have been prioritised. Although ensuring children can decode written text and read proficiently is fundamental, equally important is fostering a genuine love of reading to sustain and strengthen their skills and engagement.
In short, as well as teaching children how to read, we need to make sure they want to read.
However, in all the government announcements on actions to address the decline in literacy, the role of reading for pleasure has been overlooked. There has been no talk about how reading contributes to literacy development or how fostering a love of reading supports broader educational outcomes.
This silence is concerning because if children don’t enjoy reading, they won’t keep doing it. Reading for pleasure is not a “nice to have”, taking second place to literacy instruction.
Research shows that when children are encouraged to read for enjoyment, their literacy skills strengthen and their chances of success, throughout school and beyond, improve. Large-scale studies repeatedly find that children who enjoy reading and read daily tend to have higher reading scores and better long-term educational and life outcomes.
By focusing solely on decoding text and the mechanics of reading, we risk draining the joy from books and missing out on all the benefits that come when children read because they want to, not because they have to. This is where school libraries can help.
A well-stocked, welcoming library, staffed by a trained librarian, can open the door to reading for even the most reluctant reader. For many tamariki, especially those with few or no books at home, the library provides a doorway to choice and identity, turning reading into a pleasure rather than a classroom task.
A good library provides the opportunity for students to explore stories and ideas, and discover books that spark their interest and curiosity and ignite a lifelong love of reading.
But here’s the rub: schools in New Zealand are not required to provide a library or employ a librarian. Investment in a library is at the discretion of each board and principal. Funding has to come from the school’s operations grant—and is easily cut or diverted in times of financial pressure.
Recent research found many principals value libraries but cannot provide one because of a lack of funding and competing priorities. As a result, thousands of students miss out on access to quality reading materials and the expertise of trained librarians—factors shown to increase literacy, as well as broader learning and wellbeing outcomes.
Given the part they play, school libraries and librarians should not be viewed as optional extras but as essential for learning. They can be invaluable allies in the government’s efforts to lift literacy levels, although this will require a clear understanding and recognition of their role and some serious investment.
New Zealand could take a leaf out of the UK’s book. The UK government has recently pledged to ensure every primary school in England has a school library by the end of the parliamentary term in 2029. The move will create 1,700 new libraries in schools that do not currently have one.
The message this sends is clear: school libraries are important and play a vital role in supporting children’s literacy and learning. A lively library can also turn reading from a solitary activity into a shared experience, building communities of confident and engaged readers.
Just as important is the expertise of librarians, who are at the heart of a good library. They develop collections that reflect the needs of their student communities and guide them in discovering books. With their deep knowledge of books, librarians know how to match a child with the right book.
The UK government’s announcement should prompt us in Aotearoa to ask what we are doing to ensure our tamariki have the resources and spaces they need to become confident, fluent, and engaged readers. If we want skilled readers, we need a strong library in every school.
This article was originally published on Newsroom.
Anne Goulding is a professor of Library and Information Management in the School of Information Management at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.