The Library Student Advisory Board: Why Your Academic Library Needs It and How to Make It Work

This is a practical guide written by two professionals with real-world experience establishing a library student advisory board.

Penn State University's Schuylkill campus library has such a board, operating beautifully. Different from traditional student advisory boards, the club at Penn State Schuylkill resembles a public library's "friends" group. The activities of the club benefit not only the library and campus but the club members themselves.

Just how much time, effort, and know-how is required to form a library student advisory board? Here is the answer. Useful advice is offered on how to get a club started, how to recruit new members and keep them active, the duties of the club advisor, basic "do's and don'ts" of fundraising, and how to build a successful relationship between the club, the library director, and the library staff.

Amy L. Deuink is a reference & instruction librarian at Penn State University's Altoona campus. She is an active member of the American Library Association and the Pennsylvania Library Association. Marianne Seiler is the acquisitions/serials coordinator and advisor for the library student advisory board at Penn State Schuylkill's Ciletti Memorial Library.