Your Own Private Librarian--a personal research assistant

I read a very short article from the Education Life supplement from the New York Times over the break. It was about a new program offered by some universities, like Drexel and Yale, which pairs all freshman and sophomores with a staff librarian. The librarian communicates with the students by email to promote the library services and encourage them to come and take advantage of what they have to offer. I think this a great idea because so many students have a stereotype about librarians as being dowdy old women who care more about shelving books than helping people learn and succeed. Too many students think they know enough to get by and that googling is researching. Through this one on one relationship, the students can get to know their librarian more personally, and learn the skills that it takes to go beyond Google to the databases, bibliographies and indexes to find and use the right information that will give them an edge on their assignments. These skills will help them throughout their entire academic careers and the lives.

Choe, Jaywon. "My Own Private Librarian." Education Life: New York Times.4 Nov 2011. Web 30 Nov 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/education/edlife/my-own-private-librarian.html