ACRL releases Students Lead the Library: The Importance of Student Contributions to the Academic Library

For Immediate Release
Fri, 02/24/2017

Contact:

Erin Nevius

Content Strategist

ACRL

enevius@ala.org

CHICAGO – The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) announces the publication of “Students Lead the Library: The Importance of Student Contributions to the Academic Library,” edited by Sara Arnold-Garza and Carissa Tomlinson. The book features case studies of programs and initiatives that seek student input, assistance, and leadership in the library.

Academic librarians are driven by the belief that student scholars are at the heart of the library. Collections, programs, and services become meaningful when students use and learn from them. Websites and other digital services, buildings, marketing and communication strategies, and content are designed to meet their needs. The library exists, at least in large part, for the students—and student employment, leadership, and input into the library can increase engagement and outreach and improve both the library and the students it employs.

In six parts—Students as Employees, Students as Curators, Students as Ambassadors, the Library as Client, Student Groups as Library Leaders, and Students as Library Designers—Students Lead the Library gives practical perspectives and best practices for implementing these kinds of initiatives in ways that can be easily adopted to fit many different needs and circumstances. Through the library, students can develop leadership skills, cultivate high levels of engagement, and offer peer learning opportunities. Through the students, libraries can create participatory design processes, enhancement and transformation of the library’s core functions, and expressed library value for stakeholders.

This book is useful for libraries seeking to improve their services to students, reach out to new student populations, give students experiential learning opportunities, and even mitigate staffing shortages.

“Students Lead the Library” is available for purchase in print and as an ebook through the ALA Online Store; in print through Amazon.com; and by telephone order at (866) 746-7252 in the U.S. or (770) 442-8633 for international customers.

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The Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) is the higher education association for librarians. Representing nearly 11,000 academic and research librarians and interested individuals, ACRL (a division of the American Library Association) develops programs, products and services to help academic and research librarians learn, innovate and lead within the academic community. Founded in 1940, ACRL is committed to advancing learning and transforming scholarship. ACRL is on the web at acrl.org, Facebook at facebook.com/ala.acrl and Twitter at @ala_acrl.