Here are some of the best questions for an elementary school student survey about library time, along with tips on crafting them effectively. If you want to build your own survey in seconds, you can use Specific’s AI to generate a tailored library time survey.
Best open-ended questions for elementary school student survey about library time
We always recommend including open-ended questions in library time surveys for students. These invite students to express their opinions and experiences in their own words—unlocking valuable insights that closed questions might miss. Sure, they require more effort, and research shows open-enders can have up to a 50% nonresponse rate versus about 2% for closed questions, but the richness is worth it when you want stories, context, or details you might not expect. Mixed-format surveys (open and closed) actually predict future behavior 27% better than using ratings alone. [1][3]
Here are the 10 best open-ended questions you can ask elementary students about their library time:
What do you enjoy most about your time in the library?
If you could change anything about library time, what would it be?
Tell me about a book you discovered in the library that you really liked.
What kinds of activities do you wish the library would offer?
Is there anything that makes it hard for you to use the library?
How do you decide what to do during library time?
What would make library time more fun or interesting for you?
Tell me about a time you got help from the librarian or another student.
When you don’t use the library, why not?
If you could bring anything from home to use in library time, what would it be and why?
Even though open-ended questions ask for more from students, management teams find these comments extremely useful for improving educational programs. More than 80% of department leaders in a large Danish study agreed that qualitative feedback was crucial for improvement. [2]
Best single-select multiple-choice questions for elementary school student survey about library time
Single-select multiple-choice questions are great for easily quantifying responses or when you want to guide younger students toward specific options—this format works especially well with children, who sometimes prefer clear, simple choices. Start a conversation with a multiple-choice question, and then go deeper with a follow-up.
Here are three good examples you could use:
Question: How do you usually spend your time in the library?
Reading books
Using the computer
Talking with friends
Working on homework
Other
Question: How much do you like library time?
I love it
I like it
It’s okay
I don’t really like it
Question: How often do you visit the library outside of class?
Almost every day
A few times a week
Once in a while
Never
When to follow up with "why?" It’s a good idea to add a follow-up question when a response could mean different things. For example, if a student answers “I don’t really like it” to “How much do you like library time?”, follow up with “Why don’t you like it?” to uncover details you’d never get from a checkbox alone.
When and why to add the "Other" choice? If your list of choices might miss something meaningful, always include “Other.” This gives students whose experiences don’t fit the preset answers a voice—and following up with, “Can you tell me what you do during library time?” can reveal totally new activities or needs you hadn’t considered. Mixed surveys like these combine the quantifiable power of closed-ended questions with the rich context of open-ended ones for a full picture. [3]
NPS for elementary school library time: does it make sense?
NPS (Net Promoter Score) is usually used to track customer loyalty, but it can make sense for student library time, too. It’s a simple way to measure: “How likely are you to recommend library time to a friend?” Kids respond on a scale from 0–10, and you group their answers to see who are your “promoters” and “detractors.” This kind of score is easy for students to understand, and it’s perfect for benchmarking how enjoyable library time really is. Want to see how Specific does it? You can try the NPS survey builder for students yourself.
The power of follow-up questions
If you want real understanding from your elementary student library survey, automated follow-up questions are a must-have. Instead of getting stuck with vague or confusing answers, smart AI follow-ups can ask for clarification or dig deeper, just like a good teacher would in person. That’s where Specific’s conversational surveys shine—our AI asks context-aware follow-up questions in real time, based on the student's previous reply.
Follow-ups save you tons of time—no more hunting through surveys and emailing for explanation—while making the process feel like an honest conversation. The result is higher-quality insights with less manual work.
Student: “Sometimes I can’t find books I like.”
AI follow-up: “What kinds of books do you wish the library had more of?”
If you hadn’t followed up, “can’t find books” would stay unexplained, and you’d miss the real issue—maybe a need for more graphic novels, or books on Minecraft!
How many followups to ask? Usually, two or three follow-ups are enough. More than that and kids might get bored, but with Specific you can easily set how deep you want the conversation to go or stop after getting what you need.
This makes it a conversational survey: it’s not just a list of questions—it’s an ongoing conversation that feels natural and keeps kids engaged.
Easy AI analysis of open-ended replies: Don’t worry about wading through piles of unstructured text! Our AI-powered survey analysis summarizes and categorizes responses, so you get full value from every answer without feeling overwhelmed.
Try generating a survey with automated follow-up and experience how conversational, adaptive questions can transform your next library time feedback session.
How to craft better prompts for ChatGPT or other GPTs
If you’d rather create your survey questions by prompting ChatGPT (or another AI), start with a simple command:
Suggest 10 open-ended questions for elementary school student survey about library time.
But, the more context you provide, the better. For example, add details about your school, students’ reading levels, or what you want to improve:
We are a suburban elementary school with students ages 6–11. Our goal is to make library time more engaging. Suggest 10 open-ended questions that help us learn what students want.
Once you have your questions, ask the AI to organize them:
Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.
Then, to dial in on a single topic like “book discovery” or “library activities,” try:
Generate 10 questions for categories Library Activities and Book Discovery.
What is a conversational survey?
A conversational survey is just what it sounds like—a survey that feels like a chat. Instead of static forms with boxes and radio buttons, the questions unfold as part of a dynamic exchange. This makes it easier for elementary students to answer honestly and thoroughly (especially with follow-ups that feel natural).
Traditional manual survey creation is tedious—you have to write every question, set up logic, and figure out analysis later. With AI survey generation, like that offered by Specific, you can simply describe your goal and see the survey instantly built and improved as you go. The AI suggests questions, combines best practices, and adapts tone for age–all without you becoming a research expert. If you want to fine-tune your survey, you can simply describe edits in plain language using our AI survey editor.
Manual Surveys | AI-Generated Surveys |
|---|---|
Write questions from scratch | Prompt, then auto-generate questions |
Manual logic setup for follow-ups | AI handles follow-up and branching in real time |
Manual review of answers | AI summarizes and distills insights for you |
Static and impersonal | Dynamic, friendly, and conversational |
Why use AI for elementary school student surveys? With AI survey generation (or “AI survey example” building), you unlock more relevant feedback, greater engagement, and a much easier path from data to action. It takes seconds to launch, and both creators and students get a smoother, more enjoyable experience. You can see how to create a survey for elementary school students about library time in this in-depth guide.
Specific stands out as a leader in this space, offering the best-in-class experience for conversational surveys—where every feedback interaction feels as easy as a natural chat, not a boring test form.
See this library time survey example now
Try a conversational survey that instantly adapts to each student’s answer—collect more meaningful feedback, engage your students, and make your library time the highlight of their week. Start your next survey in under a minute and see the difference in quality for yourself.