Student ID Cards

[Cathi Fuhrman]

I'm a new HS librarian after spending 13 years in a middle school. The rule in the HS has always been that students MUST have their ID card to check out a book. We are a HS of 2400 students, so our circulation aide can't possibly know every student. Many students know their ID number, which is their patron number in our circ system.

I understand that we need to make students responsible - but I find it hard to say no to a student who wants or needs to check out a book when it is so easy to look their name up. We have pictures attached to our circ files, but sometimes they are one or more years old and students change so quickly. At the middle level, I asked that students bring their ID - but developmentally, they forgot a lot and I still let them check books out.

In the Library 2.0 world and the world of access to resources, I feel we're not being responsive to students.

Any thoughts?

[Jan McGee]

Cathi,
Although our policy is to require IDs for checkout, we seldom have students with IDs. The school no longer requires students to wear a visible student ID; therefore, they seldom have IDs with them. They are issued at the first of the year. Many students lose them, wash them, etc. Also, new students who transfer to our school, which has an enrollment of nearly 2000, seldom have IDs made. We do ask for the students to try to supply "something" with their name on it--textbook, schedule, driver's license, etc., if they are not with a class or a teacher. The "regulars" we know. When a class comes in as a group, we have asked the teacher to help ID the students, because we have had students give us the wrong name when they have fines, lost books, etc.

Our new automation program, Alexandria, gives me the option to import student photos. I was able to speak with the school photographer, who created the student IDs and the yearbook pictures. He supplies the photos on a CD for the yearbook staff. He was able to supply me with a CD of nearly all the student photos. It was very easy to import these into Alexandria. I should be able to do this each year. The photo has really helped. To be honest, we do check out to the students without identification. I just don't feel like we can meet their needs any other way. (I wish the school would go back to requiring visible IDs.)

Jan McGee, LMS
West Monroe High School

[Bonnie Hauser]

I quit requiring IDs for checkout a few years ago. Our school has over 2500 students, and we don't know them all, but I feel not checking out a book to a student without an ID is counter productive to creating readers. I also quit charging fines for the same reason. I recently bought usb number pads so the students can enter their numbers and we verify by asking their names. Basically, I have reevaluated my role as a high school librarian. I would love to make students more responsible, but my primary job is to help develop successful information users and lifelong readers.

Another reason I gave up on IDs is that the library was the only place on campus where they were required. I don't want to fight an uphill battle. Until the student ID is used in the cafeteria, and to take attendance in every class, or rather, until it is necessary to complete a school day, it will always be an issue. Why should I be the only one on a campus as large as mine asking for it?

Our IDs are supplied by the photo company, so students don't actually get them until mid-October. By then, habits are set and I am not going to change the checkout policy mid-semester. I am responsible for making all IDs after photo day. Honestly, it is just not worth the trouble.

[Cathi Fuhrman]

Thanks Jan and Bonnie!
That's where my gut was leading me to - but sometimes I just need confirmation that I'm making the right decision. Although the ID is required in the cafeteria to charge - the motivation is a little different. A student will walk away from checking out a book - but not eating!!!

And I agree - we all need to start re-evaluating our roles as librarians!

[Librarymum]

Our HS has 3700 students and we require them to use their ID to check out books, including textbooks that we issue from the library (our thing here in CA!). We will hold any book at the checkout counter while the student gets the card and we are open from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm, so students are usually able to bring the card and get the book. ID is required for other things on campus, so we are not alone requiring this.

I have been the librarian here for 9 years and the first year, we would let students tell us their ID number to check out materials. At the end of that year, when a student would claim that he or she never checked out the book or that we must have typed the number incorrectly, we had no leg to stand on to support our claim on the book. After that, we started requiring ID cards. I also feel that we are preparing students to go to college in a few short years, and once there, the ID card will be very important to them, as it will be used to eat, drink coffee with friends, open the dorm door, do the laundry, take roll and many more things. I think this helps them to take on more responsibility for themselves. Finally, I can still over-ride this for a worthy case.

Just my thoughts.

[Carolyn Brook]

Next year I am planning on creating stickers with students library card info that they can attach to their agenda books (All students have one) That way most of them will have it with them all the time. I just upgraded to a new circulation system (Destiny from Follett) that makes that very easy to do. I don't require cards-almost all the students have lost their Student ID cards or forget to bring them to school, anyway. (I work in a HS, too)-so this will speed things up quite a bit. The ID number on the library card is the same number that they use in the cafeteria--it's their student ID number. It's so close to the end of the year that I decided to wait until September. I'll let you know how it goes.