Surveys — although not always efficient — are the most effective way to gauge the opinions of members of the University community.Departments on campus base important decisions all the time on the results of various surveys and questionnaires.And usually, the most important component to those surveys are student responses.Somebody should tell that to LSU Libraries officials.LSU Libraries is conducting a faculty survey through March 12 to examine how different publications are used. The survey is being done to help determine how new and existing subscriptions to certain publications should be handled.But the survey lacks one vital aspect — student opinion. Nancy Colyar, assistant dean of libraries, said students aren’t being surveyed directly because “… hopefully, what they are using … relates to what [their] faculty member or professor will include [in the survey].”Let’s be real — the relationship between professors and students isn’t a close one, so why would University instructors know what publications benefit students the most?It’s fair to say most classes that require a significant amount of research are relatively small. And maybe those professors have a personal relationship their students.But this survey should also go straight to the source with deciding what publications are useless and which ones are essential.LSU Libraries should conduct a different survey to find out the needs and wants of the students. Then the two surveys should be compared and a compromise should be made.Students are what matter most on this campus. LSU Libraries should keep that in mind.——Contact the Editorial Board at [email protected]