In praise of student email

Do your students have school-issued email accounts? If not, are they allowed to access their personal email accounts at school?

Do you encourage students to contact you via your school email if needed?

I hope so on all counts because email can be a powerful tool to help students at the point of need.

Last week I received several emails from students, and all were at night, over the weekend, or on a holiday. These industrious high school kids needed help with database logins, assistance in finding a particular news article, and clarification about when we'd scheduled our book club meeting. One awesome middle schooler emailed to recommend several books she recently read and loved for our new library blog.

If your school doesn't allow student email, I would encourage you to use these and other examples to campaign for this useful tool to expand the reach of your library. It's one more way that you can create a community of readers and learners at your campus.

Ranganathan's Laws Say it All...

I'm back to library school mode today for a piece that I think is essential in shaping a library philosophy that centers around the needs of its users (aka students and staff).

In 1963, noted library scholar S.R. Ranganathan published the Five Laws of Library Science.  These laws are as follows:

1.  Books are for use.

2.  Every reader his book.

3.  Every book its reader.
4.  Save the time of the reader.
5.  The library is a growing organism.

From time to time, library scholars have attempted to revise Ranganathan's laws.  Surely we can't use the anachronistic pronoun he!  Everyone knows that the library has more than books! Certainly we must substitute the word media!  What about...? What about...?

Of course our libraries serve all students with all formats of materials.  We have digital collections and a virtual presence.  We are about information literacy AND books and reading.

But, aaargh!  Don't mess with Ranganathan.

I contend that his laws are perfect.  They are short and simple, they're beautifully written, and the embedded philosophy is one of meeting the needs of all users.

And if you really apply the spirit of Ranganathan's laws, I think you'll have a pretty fantastic library that prepares students to be readers and learners in the 21st century.