Students Lead the Library: The Importance of Student Contributions to the Academic Library. Sara Arnold-Garza and Carissa Tomlinson, eds. Chicago: Association of College & Research Libraries, 2017. 322p. $62.00 (ISBN 978-0-8389-8867-1). LC 2016-055675.

Abstract

When trying to inspire students to engage with the library, a book titled Students Lead the Library turns out to be an excellent way to get their attention. Displaying this title while promoting a student advisory board last fall had the surprising effect of immediately drawing students in, as they expressed their pleasant surprise at learning that they could offer significant contributions to their college or university library. For academic librarians, of course, this is less of a surprise, since, as the editors state in the very first sentence of the book: “[Academic librarians] are driven by the belief that student scholars are at the heart of the academic library.” Yet even the most student-focused librarians may find themselves astonished by the diverse selection of student leadership roles represented in this collection of case studies.