This information is over 2 years old. Information was current at time of publication.{"id":10921,"date":"2018-04-23T11:17:05","date_gmt":"2018-04-23T15:17:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/info.hsls.pitt.edu\/updatereport\/?p=10921"},"modified":"2018-05-04T13:20:50","modified_gmt":"2018-05-04T17:20:50","slug":"keep-calm-and-ask-a-librarian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/info.hsls.pitt.edu\/updatereport\/keep-calm-and-ask-a-librarian\/","title":{"rendered":"Keep Calm and Ask a Librarian"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_10912\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10912\" style=\"width: 174px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"www.keepcalmstudio.com\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-10912\" src=\"https:\/\/info.hsls.pitt.edu\/updatereport\/files\/2018\/04\/KeepCalmStudio.com-Crown-Keep-Calm-And-Ask-A-Librarian-300x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"174\" height=\"174\" srcset=\"https:\/\/info.hsls.pitt.edu\/updatereport\/files\/2018\/04\/KeepCalmStudio.com-Crown-Keep-Calm-And-Ask-A-Librarian-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/info.hsls.pitt.edu\/updatereport\/files\/2018\/04\/KeepCalmStudio.com-Crown-Keep-Calm-And-Ask-A-Librarian-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/info.hsls.pitt.edu\/updatereport\/files\/2018\/04\/KeepCalmStudio.com-Crown-Keep-Calm-And-Ask-A-Librarian.png 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 174px) 100vw, 174px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10912\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.keepcalmstudio.com\">www.keepcalmstudio.com<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A typical health sciences student might approach the Falk Library Main Desk with these questions: \u201cI\u2019m embarrassed to ask, but how do I find this book?\u201d or \u201cHow do I search PubMed to locate articles on my topic?\u201d Congratulations intrepid library user\u2014you asked for assistance! Less common, and more challenging are users so intimidated about navigating the library that they do not ask for help.<\/p>\n<p>We want to reach out to anyone who feels \u2018library anxious\u2019 or reluctant to approach our helpful, accessible library staff. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/S0740-8188(96)90017-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Library anxiety<\/a> is described as \u201can uncomfortable feeling or emotional disposition, experienced in a library setting, which has cognitive, affective, physiological, and behavioral ramifications\u2026characterized by feelings of\u2026tension [and] fear\u2026which debilitate information literacy.\u201d<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>A real and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldcat.org\/title\/development-and-validation-of-the-library-anxiety-scale\/oclc\/219162358&amp;referer=brief_results\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">measurable<\/a> phenomenon, library anxiety\u2014like test or math anxiety\u2014is a situation-specific occurrence, and has been a topic of research for three decades. In one large <a href=\"https:\/\/crl.acrl.org\/index.php\/crl\/article\/view\/14195\/15641\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">study<\/a>, 75 to 85 percent of first-year college students (s=6000), described their initial academic library encounters in terms of anxiety and fear (e.g., scary, confused, helpless). It seems reasonable for freshmen to report widespread levels of library anxiety. However research among students seeking advanced degrees, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/26768906\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">nursing<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/digitalcommons.du.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https:\/\/www.google.com\/&amp;httpsredir=1&amp;article=1765&amp;context=etd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">law<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.ipm.2007.05.007\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">education<\/a>, has shown that users at all levels of higher education can experience library anxiety rooted in self-perceived feelings of inadequacy about using the library. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldcat.org\/title\/library-rx-measuring-and-treating-library-anxiety-a-research-study\/oclc\/310714520&amp;referer=brief_results\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Research<\/a> has further revealed that negative consequences from library anxiety can contribute to: academic procrastination; low quality research papers; and even failure to complete programs or earn degrees.<\/p>\n<p>So if you\u2019re the least bit uncomfortable about seeking help, please be assured that our role is to assist you with locating the information you need. If you\u2019re uneasy about asking in-person, you can chat, call, or e-mail your questions via <a href=\"https:\/\/hsls.pitt.edu\/ask-a-librarian\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HSLS Ask-a-Librarian<\/a>. We also offer <a href=\"https:\/\/hsls.pitt.edu\/instruction\/flashclasses\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">classes<\/a> to help you effectively use library resources. Asking the library staff for help might save you hours of time and frustration. Think of Falk Library as a judgement-free zone\u2014just like a certain fitness center advertises\u2014but without that bothersome monthly membership fee.<\/p>\n<p>~ Rebecca Abromitis<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A typical health sciences student might approach the Falk Library Main Desk with these questions: \u201cI\u2019m embarrassed to ask, but how do I find this book?\u201d or \u201cHow do I search PubMed to locate articles on my topic?\u201d Congratulations intrepid library user\u2014you asked for assistance! Less common, and more challenging are users so intimidated about [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"issue-archives","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[122],"tags":[-1],"class_list":["post-10921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-may-2018","avhec_catgroup-issue-archives"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/info.hsls.pitt.edu\/updatereport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/info.hsls.pitt.edu\/updatereport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/info.hsls.pitt.edu\/updatereport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/info.hsls.pitt.edu\/updatereport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/info.hsls.pitt.edu\/updatereport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10921"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/info.hsls.pitt.edu\/updatereport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10945,"href":"https:\/\/info.hsls.pitt.edu\/updatereport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10921\/revisions\/10945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/info.hsls.pitt.edu\/updatereport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/info.hsls.pitt.edu\/updatereport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/info.hsls.pitt.edu\/updatereport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}