10 environmental science Modern Library part 1
INTRODUCTION
An important centre of resources for instructional purposes in Environmental Studies
is the modern school library. Modern instructional program emphasizes the training of
pupils to think and form judgments independently. This requires the provisions of a variety
of material of which school library is the central clearing-house. As an important service
agency it provides guidance to teachers in curriculum construction to pupils in the selection
of books and to adults in reading and in counseling. In a democratic society like ours, the
school library lays the foundation for free enquiry and intellectual development, so essential
for sharing public opinion.
The school library has expanded from a depository of books into a resource centre, used
extensively by all members of the school family. It reaches every classroom, touches every
pupil and teacher and even moves out into the community. It helps the teacher to enrich
the curriculum and facilitates personal and professional reading. It helps the student to gain
meaningful learning experiences. It provides for recreational and hobby interests to the
community. It is a storehouse of all types of teaching aids, including maps, charts, pictures,
models, manuscripts etc. It gives new depth to the learning experiences and the personal
lives of the pupils. Its place in a modern school cannot be filled by any other agency.
Functions of the School Library
1. Providing materials of instruction and reading
The school library renders valuable service to both the teacher and the pupil by providing
a wide variety of text and reference books, related to various school subjects. It provides a
lot of reading material to the pupil for answering questions, doing assignments and solving
problems.
2. Stimulating reading for enjoyment and recreation
The school library contains a number of books of general interest, both for the pupils
and the teachers. Interesting story-books, biographies, books on travels, adventures, inventions
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Environmental Science :
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and discoveries etc. motivate pupils and stimulate reading for the sake of recreation and
enjoyment.
3. Teaching the techniques of searching references
School library teaches the techniques of searching references by a proper use of the
variety of material, contained therein. A definite procedure is followed in purchasing,
organizing, storing, issuing and receiving books, periodicals, pamphlets and other materials
in the library room.
4. Providing opportunities to pupils to assume responsibilities
The pupils are taught to keep books with care, to serve on library communities, to act as
library assist’s’ and other odd jobs connected with library service. They learn to work in cooperation with others, to help other pupils in the selection of books and to assist them in the
solution of some of their’ problems. It gives them an insight into human relationships; to
understand economic efficiency and to take action as responsible citizens, when need arises.
Essential Equipment for the Library
1. Shelves
In the library room shelves contain books of all types as well as albums of records,
films, filmstrips, school made slides and the like, arranged in a definite order, subject and
section wise.
2. Tables and Chairs
The tables in a library should be of proper height and size and the chairs, strong and
comfortable to accommodate students and teachers to read and work in the library. The
librarian should be provided with a separate chair and desk to discharge his duties effectively.
3. Filling Cabinets for Catalogue Cards
Cabinets and drawers of a standard size accommodate catalogue cards easily.
4. Racks for Newspapers and Magazines
Daily newspapers as well as journals and magazines in different languages, on all
subjects are placed in different racks, especially got prepared for this purpose. These racks
are placed in different corners of the library room or in the reading room, attached to the
library of that teachers and pupils come and read them in their vacant periods. Lock
magazine covers are essential for journals and magazines. They preserve the magazines and
journals from soil and theft. Rods in special frames may be used for the daily newspapers.
5. Bulletin Boards
Bulletin boards are used for displaying book-jackets and other illustrative material to
advertise new arrivals in the library for those who are not regular visitors. A portion of the
space, allocated to the library is used for the bulletin boards.
6. Storage Room and Work Room
The library storage room stores books that need binding and equipment essential for
the audiovisual material. A workroom or an adequate closet space with a big table is used
for mending books, mounting pictures and preparing books for the shelves.
Important Library Resources for Environmental Studies.
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(A) Book Resources
These are essential for meeting individual needs in reading for presenting different
points of view and for providing rich background of understanding of the people, the processes
and the places, so essential in Environmental Studies instruction. Book resources include
the following:
1. Text-books
A number of good textbooks in history, geography, civics, economics and Environmental
Studies are available in the library. In view of the rapidly changing human life in all parts
of the world, new and revised editions of standard textbooks must be purchased for school
library for supplying most up-to-date knowledge to pupils and teachers.
2. Unit Booklets
In addition to textbooks, a number of unit booklets should also be available in the
Environmental Studies library. These booklets are on a variety of topics ranging from family
life and neighborhood to people of other land and places.
3. Reference Materials
These include reference books, encyclopedias, dictionaries, yearbooks, atlases, biographies,
bibliographies, directories and government bulletins etc.
4. Literary Materials
These include biographies, fiction, folklore, short stories, travel books, books of adventure
and hero-stories, romance, drama and poetry to provide reading for enjoyment and pleasure
to all concerned.
5. Source Books
These include diaries, minutes and proceedings of meetings, original accounts of travelers
and contemporary historians, manuscripts and timetable etc.
(B) Non-book Resources
1. Periodicals
These include current events periodicals and magazines about various aspects of life,
including art literature, music, dance etc. as these reflect social tends of the period.
2. Pamphlets
Pamphlets are usually written about one specific topic and generally illustrated with
pictures, photographs and drawings. The Environmental Studies teacher should keep himself
in touch with currently published pamphlets, connected with his subject. As most of the
pamphlets are published by various government agencies and bureaus for specialized services
these are low priced. They provide important information about different walks of social,
economic and political life.
3. Newspapers
A local newspaper is a must for every school library as it highlights local events,
happenings, issues, personalities and developments, correlated with the immediate social
and physical environments of the pupils. One or two daily newspapers of all-India circulation
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE : MODERN LIBRARY 283
are also desirable for the library. A good newspaper is a mirror of the world events. Its study
is essential for all teachers and students of Environmental Studies to keep themselves
informed of all that is happening around them in the national and international fields.
4. Special Documents and Publications
Almost all the state governments publish brochures, yearly calendars or data books or
activities within the states. Important business, concerns, railways and tourist bureaus also
publish folders, containing rich information about various places, regions and towns. These
provide primary source materials.
5. Audio-visual or Non-reading Materials
Non-reading materials play a very important role in Environmental Studies program.
Many of these materials present information difficult to obtain through reading. They add
realism and furnish the class with a common background of experience.
The Librarian as a Resource Person
1. A trained librarian maintains school library as an important resource centre to
provide planned, expert service and guidance to teachers and students. At least one
full-time librarian, with a permanent assistant should be provided to every secondary
SCDOOI. They should be given a separate workroom and adequate office space to
function effectively.
2. Creating creates an atmosphere of friendliness, self-control and self-direction. A
whole-time trained librarian helps the students in acquiring good study habits and
in developing a love of good books. He works with teachers in making the library,
an important resource centre and a living agency. He makes available the needed
resource materials to Environmental Studies classes.
Collateral Reading and the Library
Collateral and supplementary reading form an essential part of Environmental Studies
programmed. The students collect information about various facts and movements after
consulting many books and periodicals, besides their text-books for solving problems, doing
assignments and participating in discussion etc. Library resource can furnish a rich supply
of books, periodicals and pamphlets for; collateral reading. Textbook material must be
supplemented by additional reference reading. The students should be encouraged to read
widely on topics of their own interest, both for the sake of information and entertainment.
They should be guided how to select, read and make use of the knowledge thus obtained to
form good reading habits along with proper study procedures. They should be encouraged
to take notes and to keep a regular record of their readings.
Suggestions for Motivating Pupils to Utilize Library
1. Reading List
The teacher for each pupil should fix a minimum amount of supplementary reading in
the beginning of the year. Lists of different types of books, both fiction and non-fiction,
especially connected with Environmental Studies instruction, should be prepared by the
teacher in consultation with the librarian. These should be provided to all pupils and they
may be asked to read the required number of books, out of which not more than half may
be fiction.
2. Marks for Supplemental Reading
The teacher should set apart some marks in his subject for supplementary reading.
They may be added to the total number of marks, the child receives in Environmental
Studies at the end of the session. This will definitely motivate the pupils to read.
3. Questions in Tests
At least one question out of supplementary readers with adequate choice for different
categories of pupils, should be given in the question paper, and it must be attempted
compulsorily.
4. Programmed for Supplementary Reading
While teaching a certain unit about a particular period in Environmental Studies the
teacher should bring with him such books which contain interesting accounts of living
conditions in those days and read out a few paragraphs in the class from those books. He
should also give to his pupils the names of the books, the names of the authors and those
of their publishers and ask them to collect material there from, connected with the unit
under study. After a day or two he may ask a pupil who has gone through a certain book
and prepared reports and notes, to stand up and read out what he has collected, pertaining
to the lesson in hand.
Teacher’s Duty in Motivating Library Studies
The teacher should himself be a wide reader familiar with all the books published in
his field. He should see that all those books are available to students in the school library.
He should also be a regular reader of newspapers and periodicals. A good selection of
newspapers and magazines should be available in the school library. Pupils should be
encouraged to make use of this material. If the teacher has himself formed a habit of
reading a daily newspaper, at least one or two monthly magazines pertaining to his own
subject and making current affairs basis of the study of some important units in
Environmental Studies he can motivate the study of newspapers and magazines available
in the school library. He should keep a record of the reading of each pupil. A careful
checking of pupil’s reading may help him in evaluating books while preparing his lists of
library books for various grades, from year to year.
LIST OF BOOKS AND OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL FOR HISTORY
LIBRARIES
A. Books on Teaching of Environmental History
Aggarwal, J.C., Teaching of Environmental History: A Practical Approach. New Delhi,
Vikas Publishing House. Pvt. Ud. 1992.
Beals, A.C.F., A Guide to the Teaching of Environmental History in Schools. London,
University of London Press,1937.
Binning, AC., and Binning, D.R, Teaching in Environmental Studies in Schools, New
York. OK Graw Hill Book Co., 1952
Bloch, Margate Historian’s Craft. Manchester University Press, 1959.
Brown, C.F., The Environmental History Room. London, Historical Association, Pamphlet
No. 86, 1948,
Chaudhary, K.P., Audio-Visual Aids in Teaching Indian Environmental History. Delhi,
Atma Ram & Sons, 1965.
Chaudhary, K.P., Contents of Environmental History in Indian Schools. New Delhi,
Ministry of Education, Government of India, 1953.
Chaudhary, K.P., The Effective Teaching of Environmental Environmental Studies in
India. A Handbook for Environmental Studies Teachers, New Delhi, NCERT, 1975.
Chaudhary, K.P., Preparation of Lesson Notes. Calcutta, Bookland, 1955.
Dale, E., Audio-Visual Methods in Teaching, New York, Dryden/Press 1954.
Dobbson, D.P., A Handbook for Environmental Studies Teachers. London, Methuen,
1929.
Dymond, D., A Handbook for Environmental Studies Teachers. London, McMilan, 1929.
Findlay, I.J., Environmental Studies and its Place’ in Education. London,University of
London Press, 1923.
Ghate, V.D., The Teaching of Environmental Studies, Delhi Oxford University Press,
1973.
Ghosh, K.D.,