5 Tips on Starting a Student Library Assistant Program

I' m excited to see the winner of the 2019 UK Pupil Library Assistant of the Year Award winner announced! You can find out about this great program here!




I don't know how I'd survive without my Student Library Assistants. Over the past 4 1/2 years our program has grown ten times its original size. Not only does it create important bonds between the students, the Library and you as a staff member, it teaches them several life skills that they can apply to almost any setting.

Before I started at the Glenthorne High School in 2013, the Library did not have a professional Librarian and they had no Student Library Assistants. I had to start from scratch. The Year 7s that I recruited that year are still dedicated Assistants now that they are much older. Here are some tips that I learned when starting the program:

1. Advertise to all ages

I typically wait until students are in Year 8 (12 years old) before I let them apply to be a Student Library Assistant. However, as I have previously mentioned, I do let Year 7s apply if they are really motivated and mature. My opinion is that it's better to let the Year 7s settle in a little bit before bringing them into the program. That doesn't mean I don't let them help out, it's just not as structured as the other ages. On the flip side of that, I also advertise to the older crowd. We have some great Year 9 and 10 Assistants this year who are new to the program and who I rely on quite heavily.

I've said this before in other posts but when it comes to promoting the program, I operate on a scorched earth policy. Meaning, I cover every corner of the school to find the best assistants. I visit whole school assemblies, I visit year group assemblies, I go to individual classrooms, I promote it to staff during our briefing, I have current assistants make posters and have it rotating on the television screens, I relentlessly talk about it during Library Lessons, and so on. After a while, you'll find you won't have to conduct this kind of seek and destroy advertising, the students will come to you, which is what you want.

2. Make it Professional

When I have a new Student Library Assistant apply, I ensure they know it's a serious position. This will ensure you'll get students who are there to genuinely help out and who aren't just there for the freebies, which we have quite a few of. I conduct an interview, it's very short and only consists of a few questions revolving around their motivation for signing up and any previous jobs they might have had assisting teachers or people in their community. I don't tell them that they've got the job right away, especially if I have a lot of students applying. I usually have students interested in applying for a position come to me in June or July so we can be ready for September. This depends entirely on how many positions we have available. When I've made my decision, all students receive a handbook. It's not really a handbook, more like a pamphlet telling them about their duties. You can find this document here. This approach has been very successful in my experience.

3. Create a Schedule

This may go without saying but creating a schedule and ensuring that students stick to it is important. Not only does it take a load off of your mind when you have a great group of students who show up when they're supposed to, it teaches them responsibility and teamwork. Unfortunately, I've had a couple of instances in the past where students repeatedly missed their scheduled times and after three warnings and realising that they had no legitimate reason to be absent, I let them go. It's the last thing that I want to do but it shows the other students that you take their roles in the library seriously and that you rely on their assistance. Luckily, I haven't had this happen in two years.

I currently have 10 Student Library Assistants who work on the circulation / information desk. I have  two students come in before school, during break and lunch Mon - Fri. Some students can come in after school but it's not a requirement of course. I'm also very flexible about them coming in before school as not all of them can make it in for 7:30 am which is when I typically open the Library. This schedule is written out on a large dry erase calendar behind the desk so everyone knows their times and days. It's a really efficient system that pays off in the end.

4. Put Them in Charge

I have discussed the importance of Student Library Assistants taking ownership over the Library in the past but in my opinion it's one of the most important aspects of their job. I have Year 11 students train the Year 8s on how to use the circulation system and answer reader's advisory questions. Most of our Assistants are also members of our Book Club so a lot of them know the books that the students love.

They do so much more, though. They speak in staff briefing and year group assemblies to promote programs, they create quizzes for end of term activities. They run programs like Manga Club where students take part in art-based activities and competitions. They also host our Open Mics, plan and deliver our Pop-Up Library, interview authors via Twitter, recommend books to other students, Design and deliver programs like our LEGO-Building Tournament, let me know what books to buy for the library, run our annual Book Fair and generally keep the Library running in its current, wonderfully chaotic yet effective way.


They also started their own podcast from the Library. We post a new episode every Thursday. You can check it out here. It's been a dream to work with them and watch them become more and more confident interview authors and learning to operate the equipment.

I wouldn't have half the energy to bring the ideas to forefront without their spirit and dedication and giving them control over the space that should belong to them in the first place is always a top priority. When we moved to our new Library space a few years ago, a huge team Student Assistants were in the trenches with me packing up books, moving shelves and much more. As you can see from the image below, we didn't always take it too seriously, which was a good thing.

5. Reward Them Heavily
These students take big chunks out of their busy daily schedule to come to the Library and help out so I try and make sure they are rewarded. On a small note, they receive lunch passes from me on a daily basis so they can jump the queue, get their lunch and come back to the Library as quick as possible. Our school also runs on Achievement Points and they are rewarded with those every time they are in. I also have a Pizza Party for them every term. I shut the library down completely for just those 10-12 students and we eat pizza, play games and listen to music for a lunch hour. It's always a huge hit, of course

I also get the Assistants to meet as many authors as possible. If we have an author visit and I notice that one of the Assistants isn't in the group that is scheduled in to meet him or her, I will ask their teachers if they can miss a lesson and come to the Library as a reward.

I hope you have found these tips useful. I'd be very interested to hear from other Librarians on how they operate their Student Library Assistant program!