Personal Librarians: Building Relationships for Student Success

Personal librarian programs involve bringing together librarians, students, and faculty to redefine the role of the librarian as a partner in teaching, research, and learning. A personal librarian program is also valuable in promoting and marketing library resources, increasing user engagement, positively impacting student success and retention, and increasing collaboration with other campus partners. Bisko (Carol Grotnes Belk Lib., Elon Univ., NC), Heather Buchansky (Univ. of Toronto Libs.), Brian C. Gray (Kelvin Smith Lib., Case Western Reserve Univ.), and E. Gail Reese (Kelvin Smith Lib., Case Western Reserve Univ.) offer case studies that highlight steps toward developing and assessing such a program. The chapter on marketing and communication covers strategies that could be used by any library. The appendixes are particularly helpful, containing examples of assessment surveys and marketing and promotional materials. Richard Moniz and Jean Moat’s The Personal Librarian: Enhancing the Student Experience is a bit more general than this title. While there is some overlap, the two works are distinct and worthy additions to the literature.