Within the vast corridors of the library lies one of the best kept secrets on campus.

That secret is not a piece of Noah’s Ark or indisputable proof of Bigfoot but something much more believable.

The more than 30 subject librarians at the Harold B. Lee Library are one of the most valuable yet underutilized resources available to students.

Julene Butler, associate university librarian, advises students to take advantage of the subject librarians in order to enhance their experience.

“I would go to the subject librarian when I was stuck, when the student employee at the reference desk could not give me sufficient help, when I had maybe tried a path and it was just not productive,” Butler said. “I’d definitely go to [a] subject librarian so that I could at least be sure that I had gone to the expert.”

Despite such expertise, many students – particularly undergraduates – are not gleaning from the knowledge and experience of the subject librarians, Butler said.

The library is currently developing plans and working closely with faculty in order to promote more intensely the valuable service librarians provide, she said.

That value is derived from the librarians ability to speak the vocabulary with students, as well as steer them towards issues that are current or controversial, Butler said.

“They can direct [students] to the much more relevant information because they can identify the terminology and the tools and the strategies for their discipline that lead to the greatest efficiency in conducting research,” Butler said.

In addition to serving students and patrons, the subject librarians have many other responsibilities. These include buying books and other materials for the library collections, teaching classes in their subject area and faculty liaison work, Butler said.

To stay current with constantly changing information, subject librarians take a number of different approaches, said Tom Wright, subject librarian for education.

Through constantly ordering databases, going to conferences and working closely with faculty, librarians are able to stay abreast of current issues that pertain to their subject area, Wright said.

While they do their best to stay current, even the experts don’t always have the answers to every question, said Marvin Wiggins, behavior sciences librarian.

“The process of knowing how to do the research is more important than having all the knowledge,” Wiggins said.



Copyright Brigham Young University 26 May 2005