The Campaign for America's Libraries - American Library Association

An opinion column or letter to the editor can help to get your message before the public. Opinion columns
generally run no more than 700 words and appear on the “op-ed” (opposite the editorial) page. When
writing an op-ed, you will need:
an attention-getting opening that states the problem;
your key message and three key points that reinforce it;
statistics and examples—local/state/national—that illustrate your points;
a close that summarizes and reinforces your case.
Letters to the editor are more succinct. Check the editorial/op-ed page of the newspaper or publication for
word length and other guidelines for submitting either a letter or opinion column. While you may draft
the piece, it is often better to have it signed and submitted by a respected figure such as the university
president, faculty member, or other ally.
The opinion column below is intended for either a community newspaper or a campus publication for
parents or alumni. Be sure to read and edit it carefully. Or, draft your own column following the above
guidelines. Be sure to include a name and contact information, including title, address, telephone, and email.
Most newspapers do not want columns longer than 750 words. The sample opinion piece in this
toolkit is 575 words.
Think Your Student Is Connected? Think Again
Today’s college library is not what most parents remember. But then neither are most campuses. Thirty
years ago, there were few co-ed dorms. No cash machines. No Starbucks. No Barnes & Noble. No
computers.
Like almost every other aspect of campus life, the library has evolved with the times.
Today’s students take these changes for granted, of course. They head to college armed with a cell phone,
computer and modem, and think they’re connected. But unless they’ve connected with the library, they
may not know what they’re missing.
Here at [name of school], I see many students who have bought into the myth that the Internet is all they
need. Indeed they may have succeeded in their high school studies with little more. Unlike their parents,
whose elementary and secondary education routinely included orientation in library use and research
techniques, the focus for many of today’s students is on learning to use a computer and navigate the
Internet—critical skills, but far from the only ones needed to succeed in college and throughout their
lives.
What many students—and parents—don’t realize is that today’s college library offers the best of both
worlds. It has resources on- and offline that the Internet will never offer. At our library, these include
[highlight collections of special interest]. Some resources—such as [specify]—are used by researchers
around the world.
The library’s online collections include back issues of newspapers and magazines, abstracts and scholarly
journals, encyclopedias, and many specialized databases selected by librarians. These resources carry
price tags that most students and researchers could never afford.
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