Mason Library Offers Personal Librarians
Megan Stanley was in a bind. The Keene State College commuter student from Francestown, NH, had been assigned a 20-page paper, due during finals week, and didn’t know how to begin the arduous process. Fortunately, Stanley found the help she needed thanks to the personal librarian program at Keene State’s Mason Library. “I spoke with my personal librarian, and he helped me learn about the library and taught me how to do database searching,” she said. “I didn’t know how to find any of the material, so it was awesome.” The personal librarian program at Keene State is in its second year. Piloted in the fall of 2014, the program was expanded to include all first-year students this year. Each student is matched with a librarian, who serves as a first point of contact for any questions the student may have about library resources and services. Students are encouraged to call, email, or meet with their “personal librarian.”
Jennifer Ditkoff, the undergraduate experience librarian at Mason Library who implemented the program, says there are a lot of studies about library anxiety, particularly among students coming from a small public or school library. “Coming to this huge academic setting might be a little intimidating to some students, so hopefully this will provide a personal connection that lessens that anxiety,” she said. “One of the goals of the program is to help alleviate that stress about coming in and getting help. We want students to feel like they belong – this is really for them.”
According to Ditkoff, the program can be very helpful to students working on a research paper. “Students can set up a research appointment, and we would sit down and look at what exactly is being called for in the assignment and then work through the steps,” she said. “Sometimes that takes a while, but the personal librarian is always there to lend a hand.”
Ditkoff said she was pleased with the initial response to the program, but hopes to exceed the number of students taking advantage of the program this year, especially with finals around the corner. “There is definitely a spike in library usage at midterms and finals, so we’re looking for many first-year students to take advantage of the program over the next few days,” she said.
“Students these days are so intuitive when it comes to searching online, and I think a lot of them already have a skill set,” said Brantley Palmer, the assistant archivist at the library and one of the eight librarians taking part in the program. “But I hope we provide an option for them if they are unsure of what direction to go in or need a little help developing a topic a little bit more.”
“I think a lot of students don’t take the time to reach out because they think they have it under control, but it’s very helpful to have another person there with you to help you understand things,” said Stanley.
“It’s a great feeling knowing that you’re helping students. That’s what we are here to do,” said Palmer. “When you’re in this profession and you know a lot of what you are doing is being done to help students of an academic institution, you always feel good when you can help them, no matter how big or small a way it is.”
