Personal Librarians for Undergraduates
Fill out this form to tell us about yourself and your interests, or to ask a specific question. Your personal librarian will email you within two business days.
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Every Yale College student has a personal librarian. When, where, and how you connect with us is up to you.
Ask us anything!
As personal librarians, we are here to help you be successful—on your terms. You can ask us to explain collections, spaces, or services, or you can ask us specific library- or research-related questions. We might hear from you just once or twice. Or we might end up being informal mentors throughout your Yale College experience. It’s up to you.
How to work with us
You do not need to have a fully-formed question to request your personal librarian. Once you’ve connected with your librarian, you can go back to them at any time with questions. Alternatively, you can re-submit the request form when you have another question or to be matched with a different librarian whose expertise aligns with your question.
We enjoy getting to know you. Feel free to propose a get-acquainted meeting or coffee. (We will definitely accept!) You can also ask us for a general library introduction, use us as a sounding board as you’re starting a research project, reach out to us with questions as they come up.
Later, after you’ve declared a major, we can help connect you with a subject specialist who provides support for students in your academic departments or major.
What should you ask us?
Pretty much anything. If we don’t know the answer, we are good at finding someone who does. Here some actual queries we’ve fielded:
- Can you help me find primary sources on colonization of Puerto Rico for my history final?
- I’m writing a paper on media coverage of the Vietnam War Memorial. Where should I start?
- The textbooks required for my classes are really expensive. Can I get them from the library?
- I’m creating a photography exhibit about my family’s history. How can I find newspaper articles mentioning their names?
- Can you help me format sources in Chicago style for my paper, ideally using Zotero.
- For my English course, I need the Arden editions of Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Macbeth. Can I check these out of the library? For how long?
- How do I create an annotated bibliography for my paper?
Contact Information
If you have any questions about the Personal Librarian Program, please contact kelly.blanchat@yale.edu.