THE ROLE OF LIBRARIES IN RAISING THE EFFICIENCY OF STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF TEACHERS

Purpose: This study explores the role of school libraries in promoting the educational level of students with LDs according to their teachers. The study also aimed to identify the difficulties and obstacles facing students with LDs and teachers that prevent the optimal use of the school library. Method: The descriptive approach was implemented. The participants were 40 teachers from both genders, who were asked to answer questions on the role of the library in enhancing the levels of students with LDs. The questionnaire included 16 questions on three main dimensions . Results and conclusion: The results showed that the students use the library for scientific research, and their goal is to solve scientific problems and complete projects. Teachers noticed that the library does not cover their creative needs and superior talents. The borrowing system does not allow the student to pass more than one book while he is in the library class and the fact that the librarian considers the library’s holdings of books and supplies as one of his responsibilities. Research implications: The study provides appropriate proposals to overcome these difficulties and make school libraries look their best. It also provides some appropriate solutions and suggestions in light of identifying the reality of their use.


INTRODUCTION
This era is characterized by rapid change in various areas of life.The field of education has had a large share of this, as the most important thing that distinguishes our contemporary world is the quantitative and qualitative development of human information and its rapid renewal, so it has become necessary for every individual to increase his knowledge (Katz et al., 2021).This, in turn, imposes basic requirements on education, and hence reliance on libraries has a role in keeping pace with the times.As a result, those in charge of education affairs realize the importance of the school library in the smooth running of the educational process carried out by the school for young people and that its role is the beating heart and thinking mind of the education process in its entirety.Libraries are centres for collecting, preserving, and organizing information, as they have performed and continue to perform this task for thousands of years (Khasawneh, 2021).It preserves the human cultural heritage and organizes it, so that it serves readers who represent all social and professional classes and at various scientific, educational, cultural and intellectual levels.The library works to prepare an educated generation armed with science and knowledge, which is a sound basis for bringing about vital changes.This generation has set its sights on scientific knowledge and the scientific method of thinking, analysis, and serving the nation's goals, to eliminate the stagnation, backwardness, and decadence that has stuck to it.
The importance of the school library lies in its direct and effective support in achieving the objectives of the curricula.It is compatible with the educational and pedagogical programs of the school and provides educational resources that serve the school curricula (Alkhawaldeh & Khasawneh, 2021).Therefore, the school library is no longer a storehouse or repository for preserving books.In its modern sense, it has become an integral part of the educational process, the educational programs, and the educational curriculum.It is a centre for learning resources, provides many services in research and reading, and supports and enriches the school curricula, as if in doing so it combines its function with that of the educational function (Kim & Kutscher, 2021).
The student becomes proficient in dealing with its sources and uses it beyond reading to investigate and expand the method of obtaining scientific material.For this reason, we must always consider the library and pay attention to it as much as possible at all educational stages (Barrett et al., 2020).This is what prompted us to highlight the use of the school library in both middle and secondary schools for all kinds of students to highlight the important role it plays in this educational station in enriching students' information and providing them with various knowledge, as well as to support curricula and school curricula, support intellectual activities, and give students more knowledge to prepare middle school for secondary school and high school for the university stage of research and public life (Hurwitz et al., 2020).
For the library to carry out its educational, cultural, social, and recreational functions, it must have the necessary components: a building, furniture, educational resources, and advanced services provided by library workers to its patrons.The success of the school library in achieving its goals is linked to the effectiveness of the administration based on it, which sets goals, plans, and policies and then follows up on their implementation (Madaus et al., 2021).Although many parties can play different and influential roles in the process of establishing and developing school libraries, such as educational institutions represented by the Ministry of Education and its various departments and directorates, as well as those working under its plan such as school principals, teachers, and school librarians, the role that can be played by school librarians is schools play a fundamental and effective role in this field (Riveros-Davalos et al., 2020).
The school library is the beating heart and thinking mind of the school, and without it, it becomes a body without a soul.There are many attempts to develop this important, vital resource based on the belief in the educational, scientific, and cultural services that the school library should provide, not only to the student but also to the teacher and all members of the school community.As well as its role in developing the love of reading and research, especially for students, to prepare them for higher levels.It is observed today that the reluctance of students to use the library is due to the low level of the reading curriculum in public education schools.The use of the library among students with learning disabilities also needs investigation as this category requires the most attention from teachers and the school in general.Therefore, this study explores the role of school libraries in promoting the educational level of students with LDs according to their teachers.Therefore, the study answers the following questions.
1-What is the level of using the school library by students with learning disabilities in public schools in Irbid from the teachers' perspectives?2-Does the school library contribute to raising the level of academic achievement among students with LDs from the teachers' perspectives?3-What are the difficulties and obstacles facing students with LDs and teachers that prevent the optimal use of the school library?The topic of this study is important, as it relates to the use of school libraries at the middle and secondary levels, the extent to which students benefit from them, and the contribution of the educational system in highlighting their importance.This study also contributes to clarifying the goals and functions of school libraries and sheds light on the difficulties and obstacles facing their challenges, intensifying the need to do research and study.
The study provides appropriate proposals to overcome these difficulties and make school libraries look their best.It also provides some appropriate solutions and suggestions in light of identifying the reality of their use.This study may open new horizons that address the issue of school libraries at all educational levels.
The study was limited to investigating the role of the school library in helping students with LDs develop their academic level.The study covered one city in Jordan, Irbid, and was implemented in the first semester of the school year 2022-2023.The participation was limited to teachers who are involved directly in teaching students with LDs in Irbid public schools.The results of this study are limited to the accuracy of the responses of the teachers to the instrument developed in this study.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The prevailing concept in developed countries is that the school library is the centre of learning resources within the school and is the centre of guidance, direction, and education for children, pupils, and students, where they learn multiple skills and practice educational and cultural activities (Moriña & Biagiotti, 2022).The library is a field of personal activity to gain knowledge through its various means.Some scholars describe it as a collection of educational, cultural, scientific, reading, audio, and visual materials that are selected and well organized, enabling them to provide their services to students and members of the educational staff in the school in a good and accurate manner (Szumski et al., 2022).The library no longer has a meaning related to the book only but has expanded to include all selected collections of educational, academic, and cultural materials in addition to illustrative materials, and some of this is represented in audio-visual libraries such as educational films, tapes, slide shows, and other things that contributed to diversifying learning resources and increasing their size.This had a positive impact on proficiency outside the classroom, which relies on group guidance inside the classroom (Araujo, 2024).
There are different types of libraries, which can be limited to national libraries, public libraries, and academic libraries, including school libraries, institutes, and college libraries, whose general nature is primarily education and research (Wahler et al., 2023).The reason libraries differ from one another is due to several reasons; the most important is the difference in goals, objectives, and functions from one library to another.The classification of libraries is based on differences in collectables or office materials, differences in organization and office services, differences in beneficiaries, and differences in the bodies and institutions supervising and funding libraries (Rafique et al., 2020).Education has become, at present, one of the basic foundations on which the civilizations of nations depend, and educational policy is the measure of this civilization.Therefore, modern educational policies in developed countries have tended to focus on raising a generation characterized by research, erudition, reading, and the ability to engage in dialogue and scientific discussion so that the individual can contribute and the learner has a future in building his nation's civilization (Strover et al., 2020).The personality of this individual cannot be achieved except through his attendance at school libraries, which are not only keen on presenting scientific facts but are also keen on building the individual with his talents, culture, and personality maturity, socially, intellectually, and scientifically, and on developing his inclinations and directing his behaviour.
For the school library to achieve the educational role that it was designed to perform, it must have a set of functions that are related to this role to achieve specific goals.Among these functions is the first requirement of providing educational resources (Rubin & Rubin, 2020).The school library must provide all possible learning resources, including books, references, and fields of study.It should provide printed and non-printed materials, audio-visual materials, computer programs, as well as samples, models, photographs, maps, and animated films to meet the needs of teachers and learners.The library also has the function of supporting school curricula and educational activities (Demir et al., 2021).For a long period, the school curriculum focused on the intellectual aspect only and not other aspects related to the formation of the learner's personality.However, modern educational trends changed this traditional concept of the school curriculum, and therefore the need arose to develop academic curricula and advanced methods that revolve around the central curriculum, the problem-solving method, or the project method.Thus, the curriculum is no longer limited to academic subjects only (Sehar & Shahid, 2020).
The school library provides several services that take on a distinctive character in the library, as they are directed primarily to members of the school community, including teachers, students, and workers, to achieve educational and pedagogical goals in various fields.Among the services it provides are reference services, historical bibliography services, and current briefing services.borrowing service, photocopying, and photocopying services (Haleem et al., 2022).The reference service is not limited to guiding the reader to specific information in a specific reference, but rather its concept expands to include all library services, starting with instructing beneficiaries on how to use the catalogs and informing them of the location of a specific book or material on the shelves.Accordingly, the reference service aims to assist beneficiaries with different needs (Rafiq et al., 2021).Their levels of obtaining intellectual production, and reference vessels include the following types: dictionaries, encyclopaedias, translation dictionaries, geographical references, evidence, specialized general encyclopedias, bibliographies, indexes, and abstracts.
Literature related to the subject of library services for people with visual disabilities indicates the necessity of having a set of specifications and standards in libraries, including specifications related to the library building, others related to technical procedures, traditional and modern equipment and tools, as well as specifications related to working personnel (Khasawneh, 2021).The library building must also have specifications that facilitate the access of people with visual disabilities to its services.These specifications include the availability of contrasting colours that give signs that help people with visual disabilities move around within the library, as well as the corridors being free of obstacles, the availability of handles on their sides, in addition to the availability of sufficient tactile markers for people to follow (Kim & Kutscher, 2021).The impact of a blind person walking around the library, signs on the glass doors and drawers to warn people with visual disabilities, as well as the availability of a welllit, air-conditioned elevator with Braille or an audio system, in addition to the availability of appropriate lighting to help people with visual disabilities read.
Onwubiko (2022) evaluated how student librarians' academic accomplishment is impacted by their reading habits, sense of self-efficacy, and use of libraries.250 student librarians from five public institutions in Nigeria were chosen as respondents using stratified sampling procedures.The study used a descriptive survey approach.The researcher's structured questionnaire served as the main tool for data collection.The study's findings demonstrated a statistically significant relationship between academic achievement and self-efficacy as well as a positive relationship between reading habits and academic success.However, the results also showed that there was no significant relationship between academic achievement and library utilization habits.
Hill (2012) collected responses to five research questions along with suggestions for improvement.Finding out what advantages this group of school library workers brought to the job of serving kids with special needs was the aim of the survey.The study's findings suggest that the participants demonstrated proficiency in a number of the areas looked at.The techniques that school librarians could use to expand and enhance library services for kids with special needs are also shown by the results.
Matsudo (2019) examined how school libraries are being increasingly involved in special needs education.It was discovered that the following procedures enhanced SEN kids' school library experiences: Supporting SEN students' self-affirmation by having library staff offer sympathetic assistance and understanding; Organizing special needs materials in ways that improve accessibility; Providing appropriate, student-focused, visualized resources by library staff to assist library users in locating materials; Providing procedures or worksheets to educate and equip library users proactively.Szumski et al. (2017) determined the effects of having kids with special needs in the classroom on students without special needs through a meta-analysis.47 papers that satisfied the inclusion criteria were meta-analyzed.The total impact, d = 0.12 (95% CI: 0.02, 0.23), was modest but statistically significant and beneficial overall.The nation of study, the form of implementation (intervention studies vs normal classroom practice), the makeup of the educational team, the severity and kind of disorders in kids with special educational needs, and the educational stage were among the many moderators that were looked at.The study analyzed the results in light of presumptions and disagreements about the inclusive education idea itself.
Zhou, J. ( 2022) undertook a comparative examination in response to pandemic limitations on educational activities during the lockdown time, in conventional academic libraries in China and Italy.An internet survey was used to administer a freshly created questionnaire for the investigation.102 randomly selected library users, comprising 64 students and 38 instructors, who were utilizing academic libraries in China at the time, make up the 6 study population.The study's findings indicate that while Chinese libraries' COVID-19 replies followed a similar path to those in Italy, the ultimate conclusions differed due to disparities in technical advancement.

METHODOLOGY
The method is defined as following specific steps in dealing with problems or phenomena or addressing scientific issues.In this study, the descriptive approach was implemented, which is defined as one of the forms of organized scientific analysis and interpretation to describe a specific phenomenon or problem and depict it quantitatively by collecting standardized data and information about the phenomenon or problem, classifying it, analyzing it, and subjecting it to careful study.
The study included participants from different schools in Irbid city.The teachers were involved in dealing with students with disabilities directly.The participants were 40 teachers from both genders, who were asked to answer questions on the role of the library in enhancing the levels of students with LDs after obtaining their ethical approval.The following table presents information on the participants.To obtain data from the participants of the study, a questionnaire was designed as the main instrument.The questionnaire included 16 questions on three main dimensions, the level of using the school library by students with learning disabilities, the school library's contribution to raising the level of academic achievement, and the difficulties and obstacles facing students with LDs and teachers that prevent the optimal use of the school library.
The validity of the questionnaire was checked by sending it to ten academic professors from universities in Jordan to provide their opinions on the structure of the questions and their accuracy to measure the objectives.They provided their input and the instrument was modified accordingly.
The content analysis, frequency, and percentages were used as tools to analyze the data obtained from the teachers' answers.The answers were interpreted by a thorough analysis of the responses to each dimension of the questionnaire and presented in the results section.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
To answer the questions of the study, percentages for the responses of the participants on the parts related to the role of the library in enhancing the levels of students with LDs according to their teachers were calculated.The following table presents the results.  2 that the percentage of teachers (69.77%) answered yes, and this confirms the presence of guidance on the part of the teacher in using the library.The second percentage was 23.25%; they answered no, and this is due to the total dependence on the teacher in acquiring information and the marginalization of the library, which is a source of diverse information.In the end, a percentage of 6.98 answered "sometimes" due to their weak academic level, which does not allow them to research diligently, and the presence of an obstacle to evading the reality of their inability to handle new curricula.
From the table, we notice that the percentage of 81.39% expressed yes to the students who use the library for scientific research, and their goal is to solve scientific problems and complete projects, which increases the value of the library and makes it their top priority during scientific research.The percentage (16.27%)expressed that students occupy the library as a means of entertainment, such as reading stories and books in fields outside the school curriculum.As for the percentage (02.32%)who answered no, they expressed that the students whose behaviour is immoral within the library class and do not understand the meaning of the library class, which some consider to be a useful scientific reference.The percentage (100%) showed that the reason for frequenting the library is to convince the student that the purpose of the library is reading and to make him certain, through the external view of the library that it has an educational nature.Teachers believe that students see the library as the academic section and adhere to it as well as to the department's behaviour.
Table 2 also revealed that the library meets the students' academic and course needs to some extent at a rate of (50.77%) because some sources benefit them and help them study.Also, a percentage (27.69%) of teachers find that the library largely meets the needs of students in terms of academic resources and courses.This is due to the interest of some librarians in enriching the library's stock with books that serve the student and the teacher.There is a demand by students for certain books, and they circulate among themselves, which are books that help them in their studies.They return and solve the exercises to prepare for exams.As for a percentage (21.54%),they believe that the school library's stock is small and does not meet their academic needs.
Table 2 also revealed that the rate of (76.75%) in the loan system is experiencing difficulty.This is because the loan system does not allow the student to pass more than one book while he is in the library class and the fact that the librarian considers the library's holdings of books and supplies as one of his responsibilities, even though the number of students in the library reaches 20, with the addition of its limited space.There is a fear that the student will damage or steal the book if there are multiple loan attempts.As for the percentage of 18.60%, this is due to the lack of references.This is caused by the student not being able to disassemble the information from the book and take it out for his research.and always relies on matching words and does not resort to their source.When the student searches, he wants to find the word and the title itself and neglects the main source of information.The percentage (4.65%) is due to the renewal of educational curricula, and this reason is not considered an excuse to stop the process of the student's constant research and discovery of information.
We find a percentage of 18.60% responding to the scarcity of books.The teachers expressed that students who aspire to compete to occupy the first ranks (at the institution level), which forced to turn to other books outside the academic courses to obtain distinction and first ranks.They notice that the library does not cover their creative needs and superior talents, and 16.28% responded with difficulty concentrating and reading silently and carefully, which allows them to comprehend (the subject they want to review and understand), and for this reason, this group required calmness and adherence to the library system and the modernists.

CONCLUSION
The results show the extent of the importance of the school library within the educational institution and the qualitative addition that appears to us through the student's academic achievement and the school results he achieves through optimal, codified, and directed use.Within a framework that allows this feature to produce results that contribute to demonstrating the effective role that results from the use of the school library's documentary stock, it is a link between the academic programs and the curricula that teachers use in preparing and presenting lessons, which gives it the principle of preference due to its strategic position.Through the continuous use of the school library, it results in the creation of a school environment that includes an educated school community, which is reflected in the entire society.The culture of reading and reliance on the book prevails, using it as a basic reference for developing abilities and increasing skills that allow keeping up with current developments.At the level of all fields, and puts us on the path to keeping pace with the various international libraries that have become advanced in their advanced technological means and are not satisfied with traditional means that make the task of the librarian and the user difficult.It can keep pace with the various 9 developments taking place in the level of technologies, for advanced libraries and is no longer limited to carrying books, but rather has gone beyond carrying entire libraries on a disk or storage card.

RECOMMENDATION
The study recommends the technological development to use the latest technologies available to school libraries to serve beneficiaries.It is recommended to establish school libraries at all educational levels, especially the basic stage, while adhering to recognized standards when designing school libraries in new schools, in terms of location, space, and lighting.The Ministry should reconsider its planning policy for developing basic government school libraries through the methods used in appointing specialized, full-time librarians, and increasing the budget allocated to school libraries.The Ministry of Education should allocate a share for the library that includes objectives and is approved in the academic program for all educational stages, especially the basic stages, in a way that contributes to strengthening and supporting the educational process and achieving the concept of modern education.
The role of Libraries in Raising the Efficiency of Students with Special Needs in Academic Performance from The Point of View of Teachers ___________________________________________________________________________ Rev. Gest.Soc.Ambient.| Miami | v.18.n.2 | p.1-11 | e04865 | 2024.
The role of Libraries in Raising the Efficiency of Students with Special Needs in Academic Performance from The Point of View of Teachers ___________________________________________________________________________ Rev. Gest.Soc.Ambient.| Miami | v.18.n.2 | p.1-11 | e04865 | 2024.

Table 1 .
Demographic information on the participants

Table 2 .
The percentages and frequencies of the responses of the participants on the parts related to the role of the library in enhancing the levels of students with LDsThe role of Libraries in Raising the Efficiency of Students with Special Needs in Academic Performance fromThe Point of View of Teachers What are the motivations that can make the students continue to visit the school library?The authors' analysis of the instrument of the study It is noticed from Table ___________________________________________________________________________ Rev. Gest.Soc.Ambient.| Miami | v.18.n.2 | p.1-11 | e04865 | 2024.