Mission and purpose of the school library in the complex thinking setting

Abstract

Libraries are places of interconnections and relationships in the school. Contemplating complex librarianship phenomena at school through the lens of Complexity Theory is opportune as the school library can be re-signified when using its space and collection, and when carrying out teaching and learning activities by the librarian in its interior. Then, this study aimed to relate the mission and purpose of the school library to the principles of the complex thinking. Findings consist on understanding that the school library is a place of connection between people, as well as it is an area where members of the school community relate with the collections, with the librarian and with the school library structure. The librarian must know his/her real and potential users, the characteristics of the school community, as well as ensure that the school library remains being a space to undertake emancipatory discussions and where to carry out leisure, teaching and learning activities. These understandings were related to the systemic, holographic, retroactive circuit, recursive circuit, autonomy/dependence, dialogic and reintroduction of knowledge in all knowledge principles of Complexity Theory. The research concludes that in the context of the relationship between the mission and the purpose of the school library with the principles complex thinking of Complexity Theory, it is understood that, first, school libraries have distinct agents that constitute their reality as a unit of information in schools; then, the existence of these agents is a complex reality in libraries; and, finally, this complex reality can be worked under some guidelines aligned with the complex thinking, so the approach of complexity in school libraries can become less subjective and more concrete for school professionals to work towards achieving the mission and purpose of those information units effectively.