Books have been and always will be an important part of education. Reading books, whether for information or entertainment, has always been part of our lives. When kids are young they are given colourful books, full of pictures to keep them engaged in reading, that’s how they learn at the beginning. Once children grow up and know all about sentence formation and vocabulary, they start reading course books which educate them about various topics, and subjects. Although physical books are still part of our lives and students do read them, however, with the change in time and introduction of online classes their usage is decreasing.
Today students learn from watching videos, reading e-books and consuming information from the Internet. To ensure that students read the right content to gain their course knowledge, schools have the facility of a library. However, with online education, traditional libraries are not being used much. That’s why schools need to have an online library, online school libraries can benefit students in lots of ways:
Accessibility: Of course, it’s on the top of the list. Whether it’s online classes or online libraries the greatest benefit they provide to the learner is that they are accessible anytime, anywhere. It means when students are attending online classes, then they don’t have to physically come to the school just for issuing a book they want. When the school has its digital library students can rent ebooks and read and learn from them, whenever and from wherever they want.
Provides More Options: It often happens when students go to the school library in search of a book they want, either the said book is not available or has been lent to another student. This causes problems for those students who need books urgently. However, if schools have their online libraries they will have digital copies of books, archives and every important course material which students can use without worrying about not getting the book they want. Online libraries also have the versatile option of books on the same subject by different authors, reading these provides students with extra knowledge.
Less Storage Space: Having an online library means that school management doesn’t have to worry about adding more space for physical books. This saves lots of space on school premises which could be used for other purposes like making a better science lab or giving space for a bigger reading area.
Automated Library Management: Every member of school management works diligently, the same goes for the librarians who have to keep the library organised, keep records of new books, fine collection, missing books etc. But in an online library, they don’t have to do all these things manually, as online libraries have a built-in feature of automated management. Meaning it keeps all the book records organised, does the work of issuing and fine collection etc automatically. And as there are no physical books so there is no need for preservation.
Speedy: Online school library services are much quicker than the traditional ones. Students can issue books whenever they want, with just a few simple clicks. This quick service keeps students satisfied and they feel more enthusiasm to read and learn. As when the learner gets access to learning resources at the right time their learning needs are fulfilled and they fill their minds with new knowledge and information.
Economical: Buying the latest edition of books, selling or removing older editions, buying more shelves for new books, dusting them from time to time, keeping records of issued books and fine collections etc. All these things require lots of money and labour to do, making the maintenance of the library a costly aspect for the school administration. But with an online library school doesn’t have to bear all these extra costs, and can use that money for other better facilities for students.
Lighter Backpacks: Students carrying heavy backpacks to school don’t show that they are learning more in the online teaching classroom, it’s just a burden on them. Having online libraries lessen this burden as now they don’t need to carry heavy books, they can just go online to the digital library and read books from there itself
