In the school library I work,  the difference between fiction and non-fiction borrowing is like night and day. Fiction borrowing takes up 80% of the total book circulation. Of the 20% of non fiction books borrowed, 50% would be for a research project set by the classroom teacher. The other 50% of non-fiction books are mostly borrowed by boys. They borrow books about science, jokes or world records. Most non-fiction books are not relevant for the students.

Sara Mosle (2012) says it well: “What schools really need isn’t more nonfiction but better nonfiction, especially that which provides good models for student writing. Most students could use greater familiarity with what newspaper, magazine and book editors call “narrative nonfiction”: writing that tells a factual story, sometimes even a personal one, but also makes an argument and conveys information in vivid, effective ways”.

A large number of non-fiction books are just not appealing to children, they are not engaged and lack the skills to find the information needed.

I have set up a library rewards program at my workplace to encourage the students to borrow, as borrowing was almost non-existent. At this moment in time I am content WHEN my students borrow, the fact if it is a fiction or non-fiction book, for this moment in time, irrelevant.

References

National Library of NZ. (2014). Non-fiction. National Library of New Zealand Services to Schools. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20160729150727/http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/creating-readers/genres-and-read-alouds/non-fiction

Mosle, S. (2012, November 22). What should children read? [Blog post]. Opinionator: The New York Times. Retrieved from https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/22/what-should-children-read/?_r=0