It was interesting to read the history of school libraries in Australia and the role of Sunday Schools in providing both adult and child education prior to 1830. I agree that Sunday schools did a good work in both the instruction of the bible and in educating people to read and write. From humble beginnings the church has played a great role in history. Libraries were also an important feature of Sunday Schools.Then in 1875 inspectors were keen to see " a small library attached to every school. Wow!
"Bush children" were seen as needing access to books as they were often their only source of reading material. So from these early beginnings, books and reading had value in society.
By the 1850's libraries were being established in government schools with the concern from these early years to encourage in children a reading habit and to also promote lifelong self education. Here we see the same values in ASLA today.
In 1898 the first school magazine was published and gifts were made by generous students and "p&f". Despite humble beginnings, these libraries were "believing implicitly in their power to influence for the good of those who used them ".
Cylde,L.1983, "Australian school libraries in the nineteenth century" Australian Library Journal , Vol 32(2), pp- 11-17
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