Survey on Comic Books in School Libraries in Hong Kong

Use of Comic Books Amongst School Libraries

Dear School Librarians,

This is an international joint research project about the use of comic books as for promoting reading motivations amongst school libraries in Asia.

Your participation is extremely valuable for the successful completion of this Project.

The questionnaire is completely anonymous & the collected data will be used solely for this study.

Thank you for your participation.

If you should have difficulty in answering some of the questions, please feel free to contact:

*For enquiries: Patrick LO via SKYPE (at: Wotan455@hotmail.com) OR email: Wotan455@hotmail.com
_______________________________________________________
This Questionnaire was designed by ZHONG Rui & Dr. Patrick LO
(Faculty of Library, Information & Media Science, University of Tsukuba)

Question Title

* 1. I am:

Full-time school librarian

Part-time school librarian

Library assistant

Full-time subject teacher, but overseeing the library on part-time basis

Other (please specify):

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* 2. Gender:

Male

Female

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* 3. Age:

20 – 30

31 – 40

41 – 50

51 – 60

61 or more

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* 4. How many years have you been working in a school library?

Less than one year

1 - 5 years

6 - 10 years

11 - 20 years

21 years or more

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* 5. What type of school do you work for?

Public school

Subsidized school

Private school

International school

Other (please specify):

Question Title

* 6. What is the MAIN medium of instruction at your school? (multiple answers accepted)

Chinese (Cantonese)

Chinese (Mandarin / Putonghua)

English

Chinese & English (both)

Other (please specify):

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* 7. I am working in a:

Primary school

Secondary school

Both

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* 8. How many students (in total) are enrolled in your school?

Less than 100

100 - 500

501 - 800

801 - 1,400

More than1,400

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* 9. What is the current size of the printed book collection in your school library?

Up to 5,000 vol.

5,001 - 10,000 vol.

10,001 - 15,000 vol.

15,001 - 20,000 vol.

20,001 - 25,000 vol.

25,001 or more vol.

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* 10. How many students come to the school library per day?

Less than 5

6 - 10

11 - 20

21 - 30

31 - 40

41 - 50

100 or more

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* 11. Around what time do students usually come to the school library? (multiple answers accepted)

Early in the morning before class

During class

After class

During lunch breaks

After school

On weekends

Before exams & tests

Library / Reading lessons

Other (please specify):

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* 12. How do the students normally come to the school library?

By themselves

Led by teachers in class

Led by teachers as extra-curricular activity

Grouped with their friends / classmates

Other (please specify):

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* 13. What are the missions & main goals of your school library? (multiple answers accepted)

Support individual students’ formal learning

Teach IT / library information literacy skills

Encourage students to read more books that are not necessary related to their studies

Provide the space for computer use, multimedia resources & Internet access

Support group study & discussions

Provide latest reading materials from magazines to newspapers

Provide materials for leisure / recreational readings

Provide social space for the students

Other (please specify):

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* 14. Which service(s) do your students normally come to library mostly for? (multiple answers accepted)

For individual study

For reading& borrowing books

For group study

For using multimedia resources& Internet

For attending the library classes

For reading leisure reading (magazines & newspapers)

For examination and curriculum

Other (please specify):

Question Title

* 15. What kind of books do the students read most in the library?

Classic literature

Best-sellers

Study books & textbooks

Comic books

Magazines & newspapers

Multi-media resources (online books)

Other (please specify):

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* 16. Do you have comic books or graphic novels in your school library?
(If you do NOT have any comic books in your library, please go directly to question no.24)

Yes

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* 17. What is the size of your comic book collection in your school library?

Fewer than 100 vol.

100 - 500 vol.

501 - 1,000 vol.

1,001 - 1,500 vol.

1,501 - 2,000 vol.

2,001 - 2,500 vol.

2,501 - 3,000 vol.

Over 3,000 vol.

Question Title

* 18. For which purpose(s) are these comic books being kept in your school library? (multiple answers accepted)

Attract students to come to the library more often

Help students understand the plots or story lines & thereby developing their textual reading skills

Support teaching and help student to study

Satisfying students’ interests/demands

Leisure reading (entertainment purposes)

Other (please specify):

Question Title

* 19. Which types of comic books are being kept in your library? (multiple answers accepted)

American comic books (e.g., Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Wonder Woman, etc.)

Japanese comic books (e.g., 哆啦A夢 / 叮噹)

Famous fairy tale comic books (e.g., Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Snow White, etc.)

Famous fable comic books (e.g., The Lion & the Mouse, The Hare & the Tortoise, etc.)

Classic literature comic books (e.g., Romeo & Juliet, Pride & Prejudice, Little Women, etc.)

Hong Kong comic books (e.g., 老夫子)

Taiwan comic books (e.g., 蕭言中, 朱德庸)

Comic books about history

Comic books about science

Other (please specify):

Question Title

* 20. Which kind of comic books are most read / borrowed by your students at the school library?

American comic books (e.g., Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Wonder Woman, etc.)

Japanese comic books (e.g., 哆啦A夢 / 叮噹)

Famous fairy tale comic books (e.g., Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Snow White, etc.)

Famous fable comic books (e.g., The Lion & the Mouse, The Hare & the Tortoise, etc.)

Classic literature comic books (e.g., Romeo & Juliet, Pride & Prejudice, Little Women, etc.)

Hong Kong comic books (e.g., 老夫子)

Taiwan comic books (e.g., 蕭言中, 朱德庸)

Comic books about history

Comic books about science

Other (please specify):

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* 21. What is the main language of your comic book collection?

Chinese

English

Japanese

50% Chinese & 50%English

Other (please specify):

Question Title

* 22. If you think keeping comic books could motivate your students to become avid readers or library users, please specify one type of comic books that is most effective for achieving this purpose?

American comic books (e.g., Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Wonder Woman, etc.)

Japanese comic books (e.g., 哆啦A夢 / 叮噹)

Famous fairy tale comic books (e.g., Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Snow White, etc.)

Famous fable comic books (e.g., The Lion & the Mouse, The Hare & the Tortoise, etc.)

Classic literature comic books (e.g., Romeo & Juliet, Pride & Prejudice, Little Women, etc.)

Hong Kong comic books (e.g., 老夫子)

Taiwan comic books (e.g., 蕭言中, 朱德庸)

Comic books about history

Comic books about science

Other (please specify):

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* 23. Which comic book series are most popular / read / borrowed amongst your students?

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* 24. Do you agree that having comic books is effective for attracting the students to come use the school library?

Strongly Disagree

Neutral

Strongly Agree

Strongly Disagree

Neutral

Strongly Agree

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* 25. Do you agree comic books are effective for motivating students to become avid readers?

Strongly Agree

Neutral

Strongly Disagree

Strongly Agree

Neutral

Strongly Disagree

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* 26. What are the main difficulties for maintaining a comic book collection in the school libraries?

I don't face any difficulties

Requires too much manpower & time for cataloguing the comic book collection

End-processing for comic books is too costly

Comic books take up too much shelf space

Comic books get lost, stolen & damaged easily – too costly to replace the missing issues

School principal is against having comic books in the school library

Other classroom teachers are against having comic books in the school library

Parents are against having comic books in the school library

Students can easily find comic books online

Comic books have no real educational values

Students are not interested in the comic books provided by the school libraries

Comic books get outdated easily

Other (please specify):

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* 1. I am:

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* 2. Gender:

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* 3. Age:

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* 4. How many years have you been working in a school library?

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* 5. What type of school do you work for?

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* 6. What is the MAIN medium of instruction at your school? (multiple answers accepted)

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* 7. I am working in a:

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* 8. How many students (in total) are enrolled in your school?

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* 9. What is the current size of the printed book collection in your school library?

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* 10. How many students come to the school library per day?

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* 11. Around what time do students usually come to the school library? (multiple answers accepted)

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* 12. How do the students normally come to the school library?

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* 13. What are the missions & main goals of your school library? (multiple answers accepted)

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* 14. Which service(s) do your students normally come to library mostly for? (multiple answers accepted)

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* 15. What kind of books do the students read most in the library?

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* 16. Do you have comic books or graphic novels in your school library?(If you do *NOT* have any comic books in your library, please go directly to question no.24)

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* 17. What is the size of your comic book collection in your school library?

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* 18. For which purpose(s) are these comic books being kept in your school library? (multiple answers accepted)

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* 19. Which types of comic books are being kept in your library? (multiple answers accepted)

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* 20. Which kind of comic books are most read / borrowed by your students at the school library?

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* 21. What is the main language of your comic book collection?

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* 22. If you think keeping comic books could motivate your students to become avid readers or library users, please specify one type of comic books that is most effective for achieving this purpose?

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* 23. Which comic book series are most popular / read / borrowed amongst your students?

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* 24. Do you agree that having comic books is effective for attracting the students to come use the school library?

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* 25. Do you agree comic books are effective for motivating students to become avid readers?

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* 26. What are the main difficulties for maintaining a comic book collection in the school libraries?

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* 27. Any other comments or suggestions you wish to share? (Optional Question)

* 16. Do you have comic books or graphic novels in your school library?
(If you do NOT have any comic books in your library, please go directly to question no.24)