The first two goals of the school library are for students to learn the activities and means to retrieve, use and understand the information and resources available in the library, and to always have physical access to library materials. The resources available to the children include age-appropriate fiction, nonfiction and biographical books, encyclopedias, children's magazines, computer programs and the Internet. By achieving these goals, students will understand and enjoy using the library.
Two other goals of the elementary library are for the students to have library experiences in which they are constantly learning about different forms of media and how to use them. Elementary school students should learn how to use and find books, magazines, encyclopedias and videos, as well as Internet sources. In addition, consultations enable the teachers and librarians to have corresponding topics and curriculum.
Another goal of the library is to have the students learn about different teaching and learning styles. This includes visual learning, hands-on learning and auditory learning. Libraries must also ensure students have learning materials and the knowledge to use them outside of the library. For instance, the student may be assigned homework requiring research, or a real-life question may necessitate the use of books, magazines, encyclopedias or the Internet to find specific information. For a book, the students would need to know to first look at the table of contents and index to easily find the information they need.
The last goal of the library is to provide a range of materials that also includes and shows diversity, opinions, and social and cultural differences. This will help students to understand and learn more about cultures and opinions other than their own. Newspaper articles and scholastic websites containing information on other cultures and diversity are examples of materials suitable for elementary students.