Library ambassadors: written by Natalie Robinson

Hello Everybody! My name is Natalie Robinson, and I am currently in my fourth year of Knowledge Integration. This is my second term as a Library Ambassador and I am happy to be back for the new school year. There are so many more students on campus during Fall term compared to the Spring term when I started my position. I am really looking forward to all of the cool events we have planned for you this term. I have already had the opportunity to connect with many of you during some of the events we ran during September, and I am excited to interact with even more of you during future events.

I became a Library Ambassador because I love the library and I want to share my passion with the rest of the University of Waterloo community. Whether you’re here to do research, or if you’re just looking for a quiet place to study between classes, or a place to hang out with friends, the library is a great place. The staff here are really friendly and the library offers many services, beyond just providing books. For instance, did you know the library has Liaison Librarians for every subject that are available to help you with your research?

As a Library Ambassador, it is my job to help promote these services and to engage with students from all across campus. One of the ways in which we do this is by working on a term project. Each Library Ambassador gets to design/develop and manage their own project to get students involved at the library. In the Spring term, I created the project called “Pieces of the Community”. Students decorated puzzles pieces based on prompts to share positive messages with each other during exams. These puzzle pieces were put together and were on display at Dana Porter and Davis Centre to share with everyone. This term I am working with my supervisors Mary Lynne and Pree to help promote the Waterloo Reads book collections, which are popular fiction books that can be found at Dana Porter and Davis Centre. The Waterloo Reads collection is a great place to go to find your next interesting read or to recommend a book to other students. If you ever need to take a break from studying, the Waterloo Reads collection is a great place to go! Stay tuned for more information by following the library on Facebook and Instagram.

The best part about being a Library Ambassador is being able to connect with amazing people from all over campus. I enjoy answering all of the questions students have about our libraries and helping students find the resources to help them with their studies. The library is amazing not only because of all the students who use our services, but also because of all of the staff who put so much time and energy into making the library feel like a community. Each event I help with is a new experience and I am so glad to be a part of this program! I look forward to speaking with you and promoting all the amazing services our libraries have to offer. Best of luck to everyone this term!

- Natalie