Library Introduction: Who are Librarians

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Who Are Librarians?

Vocabulary:

  • Subject Librarian

Subject Librarians

So, exactly what do Librarians do at UBC and what kinds of help can they offer to students? 

  • Subject librarians have in-depth knowledge of one or more of the subjects taught at UBC. They buy books and eResources for those subjects and help students, faculty, and staff find the materials they need for their work and studies. 
  • Subject librarians are familiar with search strategies for their subject areas, but they can also help you get started in other areas of research. They can help you refine your topic, show you alternate search strategies and keywords, and locate the best databases for your research question. 

What do librarians not do?

  • Think of librarians as guides. Subject librarians don't do things like proofreading your paper or formatting your citations, because you're expected do to these things independently. 

Not sure which librarian to go to? Search for the librarian who specializes in your topic in our directory. They can help direct you to resources, databases, and more.

Explore UBC Library's Meet the Team page to get to know some of our friendly librarians!

Ask Us!

Clicking the orange AskUs! button on the library website will lead you to the best place to get all the help you need from the library. This includes: 

  • AskAway: A live chat service staffed by real librarians across British Columbia 
  • General Questions: library.contact@ubc.ca or 604-822-2406
  • Help Guides and Research Guides: Thoughtfully curated guides to help you navigate different topics independently.  
  • Subject Librarians: Search for your subject to find a librarian to help you! 

Sample Questions

Ask Your Subject Librarian

  • Where can I find articles and books for my [insert course name] assignments?
  • When and how do I cite properly to make sure that I avoid plagiarism?
  • I am looking for statistics to support an argument in my paper. Where can I find those? 
  • I need to find primary sources and I haven’t looked for those before. Can you help? Or, I’m looking for a source that my instructor mentioned, but I can’t find it.
  • I have a really specific assignment in which I have to find a peer-viewed paper of a longitudinal study related to a topic covered in my course. Where do I search for something like that?
  • I need to write a literature review and I am not sure where to start my research and how to keep track of it all. Can you help?
  • How do I find the kind of sources my Professor is expecting me to use? Should I start my research on Google, or use the Library website? What counts as a good university-level source?
  • I am writing a comparative paper and am struggling to find opposing viewpoints, can you suggest different keywords?

Ask on AskAway Live Chat

  • Can I access this article for free through the Library?
  • What is a peer-reviewed article?
  • Is this website a good university-level source?
  • Where do I search for peer-reviewed articles?
  • Where can I find articles for my nursing, or engineering, or chemistry, or sociology assignment?
  • Does UBC Library have this ebook available?
  • How do I cite this article?
  • In APA or MLA, how do I cite a webpage with no publication date?

 

Activity

(Need the worksheet? Download Library Introduction Worksheet

)

On your worksheet, answer this question:

What are two things librarians can help you with?

 

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