On the first days of class students are confused; librarians are here to help.
Librarians are often forgotten as an essential ingredient in student success initiatives. This is not okay but librarians are more than an initiative. We are the mortar that keeps the bricks in place. No one department is independently responsible for student success but this is what the library does; we offer information, we offer a “you can do this” attitude, we make it okay to be confused, we offer resources, we offer space, and we offer stability. In library school, librarians-to-be were told to not point students in the right direction but to take them there. In the first few days of class one cannot underestimate the power of walking a student through a new process. That process can be printing a document, finding their teacher’s email or providing a textbook. In the past week we have met thousands of students at their point of need and taken them to their destination. When we see a student struggle we step in and help. We are forgotten in most research studies on student success, 24 credits into my doctorate and still not one required reading focusing on libraries and student success, but our doors are open to all, our services are not limited by income, race or GPA. Do we possibly do our job too well?
In the words of Albert Einstein: “The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.”
We all need a librarian!