Working with a Librarian Isn't Cheating

Spring semester classes started today. After a quiet interim period, the library is slowly filling up with students again. This place really comes alive when there are people in it. But I’m also aware of the students who aren’t here. Or, if they are in the library, they never talk to a librarian. 

I'm an outreach librarian. My job is to connect the library to our community - students, faculty, and staff. No matter how many reels I post or newsletters I write, there are still people who think the library is not for them.

Students stay away from the library for a lot of reasons. Some worry they’re supposed to already know how to do research. Others don’t want to take up anyone’s time. There's a shocking number of people who think they have to pay extra to use the library. And, some think that asking a librarian for help is a kind of cheating.

Using a librarian isn’t cheating. (Not at all!) It’s part of learning how research and academia function. Librarians don’t write papers for students or even choose their sources. We help them understand expectations, find information, and make sense of an information landscape that often assumes too much pre-existing knowledge.

When students don’t use the library, they often end up working harder than they need to. Or, paying $40 for an article they find on Google. Or, these days, trusting everything ChatGPT feeds them. Students spend more time feeling stuck, second-guessing what they're doing, or relying on whatever information is easiest to find. None of that makes them better learners. It just makes the process lonelier and less efficient.

Early in the semester feels especially important. It’s when students are still forming habits and deciding where it’s safe to ask questions. A single positive interaction with a librarian can make the rest of the semester feel more manageable, even if they don’t come back right away.

I wish more students knew that the library isn’t a place you go only when you’re in trouble. It’s a place where you’re allowed to be unsure, curious, and still figuring things out.

That’s not cheating.

​That’s learning.

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