How To Work With Your Subject Librarian
- Britney O'Brien
- Jan 15
- 4 min read
Updated: Jan 19
Are you new to the school or having trouble figuring out how to use the library resources for your studies? Subject Librarians are the library’s research experts, and they are here to help!
There is a great, lesser-known resource available to students at Durham College that helps them conduct research, and most students don’t even know it exists! Have you ever been assigned a research-heavy assignment and had no idea where to start looking for relevant information? I get it. Research can be time-consuming, and it can be tricky to find content that works with your needs. College databases in particular can be extremely overwhelming, as they contain so much information that it is easy to get lost while you are searching for relevant sources.
Luckily, the college has a solution! What if I told you that there is a whole team of professionals dedicated to helping students and staff with their research needs at the college? Subject Librarians, also referred to as Liaison Librarians, work with students to help them better understand the OMNI search system used by the college. Using their expertise, they help students find relevant sources for their assignments.
Top Benefits of Working with Your Subject Librarian
Working with an experienced staff member will help you speed up your research process, meaning you will be able to spend more time completing your assignment.
Subject Librarians can help you run broad searches on your topic and then guide you on how to refine the search to target specific information.
Since they are more aware of what resources you have access to, they can help you find the best databases in the A-Z Databases directory for your research needs.
They can also assist you with citations (although some databases also have auto-generated omni citations which you can use; you should always double-check them for mistakes).
Our Subject Librarians also respond to questions on the Ask ON chat connected to the library system (this chat monitoring is shared with Liaison Librarians from other schools).
Things Your Subject Librarian Will Not Do
They will not proofread and edit your work for you.
They don’t provide support for writing skills, but you can find resources at SALS.
They don’t handle room bookings, checkouts, and accounts at the library. Those are handled by the Library Access Services Team who work at the front desk.
They do not assist with access problems; these are an IT problem that is most common when a student switches from the college to the university.
“We’re the research experts, SALS are the writing experts.”- Alyssa Jeffrey
Each faculty has a Subject Librarian representing their students, and students are able to reach out to them to request help conducting research for their assignments any time during the semester. Most appointments will be conducted digitally, but in-person meetings can also be requested via email. If you want an in-person meeting, you will need to specify this in your request because the Subject Librarians sometimes work remotely and visit the school only a few times a week.
How to Book an Appointment with Your Subject Librarian
Finding your Subject Librarian is simple and can be done by using this directory You can click on their name to pull up their profile and access the program guides they have curated for their students, or you can use the “Book now” button to schedule a digital meeting using the Calendly App. The App will show you available appointments in your Subject Librarians schedule, and you can set up the meeting directly within the App. Once you select a meeting date and time, you will be provided with a booking survey, which will ask about your research needs.
Tips On How to Work with Your Subject Librarian
When you send your meeting request, be as clear as you can about the type of assignment you are completing and your topic direction.
Mention what stage of the research process you are in and let them know what type of information you are looking for.
Clarify how many sources you need, whether that be two or three options or a deep dive into a core research topic.
If you are doing a group assignment, be sure to mention the other students’ emails so they can be added to the meeting as well.
After submitting your request, keep an eye on your email for any follow-up questions about your request.
What To Expect from Your Meeting
Meetings with your Subject Librarian are scheduled for an hour, and while they will sometimes send a follow up email confirming your meeting time, your session is automatically scheduled by the Calendly App. Research sessions are held on Google Meet and are conducted virtually. At the beginning of your session, your Subject Librarian will typically discuss the goals of the session, clarify any necessary details, and then help you look into your topic.
Together you will come up with key search words, and you will look for relevant sources on Google Scholar or the OMNI search databases. They will help you search for relevant resource guides and evaluate the resources with you as you search. Most Liaison Librarians will also use a Google Sheet to track the sources they discuss with you during the session, although this strategy can vary based on the Librarian you are working with. Once the meeting is over, you will have access to the Google Sheet, and you can dig into the resources you found together.
Personally, I have found that working with a Subject Librarian can save a lot of time during the research phase of your work. If you are looking to cut down on the amount of time you spend searching for information, or you need some direction on selecting the best sources for your assignment needs, reach out to your Liaison Librarian. I strongly suggest booking an appointment and trying out this great service!
A special thank you goes out to Nadya Lim Douglas, the Business Liaison Librarian and Alyssa Jeffrey, the Faculty of Community Services and MAD Liaison Librarian at Durham College. It was a delight talking to you about the college’s library services. Thank you for taking the time to participate in the interview for this article.
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