The challenges of a school library in the digital age as a resource helping educating refugee children and integrating them into the Swedish society

Abstract

Approximately 163 000 refugees came to Sweden in 2015, mainly from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Somalia. Many of them were just children. These children have faced extreme dangers and endured extreme hardships but once in Sweden they receive a school education. A number of these children have been designated to schools in Spånga, in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden where I work. The absence of parents, language barriers, cultural differences, lack of earlier education along with other challenges must be acknowledged and addressed constructively in order for the school library to make a difference. A school library built for the digital age might give access to thousands of books, modern information technology, Internet and digital resources but it requires of its ́ users to be literate and to have digital literacy. Many of the children's language- and information and communication technology skills are poor and they are therefore not able to make good use of the school library without help. It requires of the professional school librarian to bridge over the gap.