Library ambassadors: written by Rachel Ross

When you think of a Library, what comes to your mind? Mainly books I’m assuming. Maybe they just serve as a location where you can find a quiet study space, but you haven’t ventured very far from the individual desk sections. This was also my reaction when I thought about libraries until I became a Library Ambassador.

Hi, my name is Rachel and this is my first semester working as a Library Ambassador! I became a Library Ambassador to help students know what’s going on in the library and feel more comfortable to use all of the available resources. Before starting, I was no expert on what the library offers and I never knew which of their resources was available for me. Since I’ve started, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how many options we have, as students, in the library to help with our academics. One of my favourites of these hidden gems is the Library’s Research Guides.

The Research Guides are provided through the library and they are easy to find, easy to use, and incredibly helpful. They are located both online and in the front lobby of the library to be accessible for everyone. But what are the Research Guides? What’s so great about them is the fact that they can benefit every student in whichever way that particular student requires assistance. The Research Guides are set up in a similar way to a database and organized by program. There are 161 different Guides in 65 different subjects, ranging from Accounting and Finance to Women’s Studies. Each Research Guide connects you to a Liaison Librarian, who is an expert in the specified field, as well as a provides a great starting place to find relevant books, articles, and more on your desired topic.

Over the past few weeks I have been learning about how the library’s Research Guides are the perfect resource to help any student at any point of their studies. The “Get Started” tab is a great place to start when doing any form of research, and it can help guide your discovery of the topic at hand. Having a skilled researcher who is very knowledgeable of the topic is also super helpful in focusing ideas and finding further resources.

My academic goal every semester is to achieve better grades than I attained in the previous one. I think this goal will not only be one that I can accomplish, but one that I can hit out of the park this term with the help of the library’s Research Guides! Who’s with me? Let’s make this semester our best one yet academically by taking advantage of this incredible resource found in our very own campus library and from the comfort of your bed using the online option!

-Rachel