Dear Editor,

The question of the size and weight of schoolbooks for second level students was raised by the secretary of the Parents' Council of St Finian's Community College, Swords, Co Dublin, Ms Hilda Mac Lochlainn, in the letter from her which appeared in E&L, January 30th.

There has been a growing tendency for publishers to produce single textbooks to cover an entire course. Many Junior Certificate students, as Ms Mac Lochlainn correctly points out now use the same textbook for each of the three years of a course in a particular subject. Leaving Certificate students frequently use a core two year textbook in many subjects.

These larger textbooks have been produced in response to repeated requests from teachers, who see great advantages in having a whole course presented within a single book. The reasons put to publishers in favour of single textbooks include the fact that they make teaching a subject more flexible, that they can serve as reference books throughout the entire duration of a course and that they make it easier to revise the whole course before an examination.

Publishers, however, do recognise the concerns of parents regarding the size and weight of such books, and are anxious to try to reconcile the various requirements of parents, teachers and students.

It appears to us that problems with large textbooks are most acute in schools where students do not have access to lockers or other areas where books, and equipment, can safely be stored overnight if they are not required for homework.

In our experience, the difficulties to which Ms Mac Lochlainn refers have largely been surmounted in schools where such facilities exist. Perhaps more parents' councils could consider investigating the provision of lockers as standard equipment for students in today's schools. Yours, Honorary Secretary, Irish Educational Publishers Association.