I often invite my colleague Kelly Clever to give the “library session” to my freshman writing students. Of course there’s only so much anyone can accomplish in a single session, but my students often credit her for helping them make the leap from a general idea to a well-formed research question. Maybe they end up changing their topic a few weeks later, but the good experiences they have during the “library session” will, I hope, encourage them to go back to a librarian many times during their academic career. It’s very interesting to read about our shared experience from the librarian’s perspective.

Years ago I decided that one of my learning objectives for every one-shot session, whether I actually typed it out in my formal “objectives” list or not, was “Students will remember that the librarians are friendly and helpful, and they will be able to explain at least one method of reaching a librarian to get research assistance.” They might forget where I told them to click, but hopefully they will remember that we want them to succeed and are there to help them do just that. –Kelly Clever, It’s Academic!