When was the last time you reached out to your personal librarian? Two years ago? Three years ago? Yesterday? For many Princeton students, the answer will probably be along the lines of the former two. But for those who do end up sending that message, it can be a lifesaver.
When Jack Feise ’26 was working on his senior thesis at 10:30 p.m. on a Tuesday, searching the library website for a book and coming up empty, he remembered the one person who could help him: his personal librarian.
“He responded five minutes later with the exact thing,” Jack Feise ’26 said. “In my experience, [my librarian] has been very helpful.”
It is predicaments like this that the Personal Librarian Program was designed for. Founded in 2017 by Audrey Welber, who also coordinates the program for First Year Research, the Personal Librarian program facilitates relationships between librarians and undergraduate students throughout all four years of their Princeton education. While Welber estimates that only about 10 percent of students use the program, every Princeton student is assigned to one of these 35 librarians. Their job is to do the heavy-lifting, whether it be sifting through dusty shelves for an old book, helping brainstorm thesis topics, or simply teaching students how to use Zotero.
“Each and every undergraduate is connected with a member of the library staff who can support them with their research, navigating the vast resources that we have here, and then being directed to a subject specialist,” Welber said. Among the hustle and bustle of the Tiger Tea Room, her voice rises above the noise, lifted by her excitement for the program.
Princeton’s Personal Librarian Program originated from a trip Welber and her colleague Sara Howard took to Yale University and Williams College. Welber observed Yale’s version of the program and thought it would fit into plans Princeton had previously discussed to support its sophomore class. She pitched the idea to the library administration, who agreed to start it as a trial run. The program stuck, but not just for sophomores.
Starry-eyed first-years fresh from orientation and hardened seniors are equally encouraged to pepper their librarians with questions. During their first year, students receive a friendly email, introducing their personal librarian and inviting them to a “Meet Your Personal Librarian Mixer,” complete with popcorn. It’s an olive branch, meant to quell any fears students may have about the behemoth that is Princeton University Library and independent research.
The University does not hire anyone specifically as personal librarians, according to Stephanie Oster, the Library’s Publicity Manager. Instead, existing librarians undergo additional training if they are going to take on the program. There are currently 35 personal librarians; they are paired with students randomly, but can refer students’ questions to subject specialists if they are outside of their expertise.
“Each librarian is trained to know at what point they need to refer. Especially for juniors and seniors who have a very specialized question, you want to refer them almost immediately to the specialist,” Welber said.
While librarians are paired with most students randomly, they are also specifically assigned to athletic teams. Based on a suggestion by an alumna, Welber approached Alec Dunn GS ’04 about piloting such a program with the football team.
As Welber recounted with a smile on her face, “Soon thereafter, the basketball team said, ‘We demand our own personal librarian!’ I said, ‘Why not? Let’s do it.’”
The program has since expanded so that most athletic teams have a personal librarian assigned to them.
“Ms. Welber actually came to one of our practices to talk to us and walk us through what she does and can offer us,” Ty Whalen ’27, who is on the wrestling team, said. “Right after that, I scheduled an appointment with her, and it was super helpful.”
These collaborations allow the personal librarians’ relationships with students to flourish even outside the library walls. For Welber, this means bringing her young son to practices. One time, a football player even filmed a video for her son encouraging him to keep up swimming to stay strong.
In addition to sports, Welber also emphasized working with the Freshman Scholars Institute (FSI) through the Personal Librarian Program. Over the summer, FSI students were able to meet in-person with their librarian and tour the library.
“[The students] are really respectful, really nice, and they really appreciate this program,” Personal Librarian Moloud Bajgiran said, “We all try to show how supportive we are.”
Bajgiran also highlighted relationships between her and her students. She enjoys sharing her experience with research with them and always waves hello when she sees them out-and-about on Nassau Street.
“I think that’s the thing I really like about this program, the informal connection,” she added.
“I had a really good conversation with [my librarian] about things you talk about as if it was a friend,” Whalen said. “It was cool to share that with a teacher, because with professors, you don’t really get to talk to them.”
Be that as it may, the Personal Librarian Program is not exclusively for athletes and FSI students; everyone is encouraged to use it. The program is designed to be approachable and easy to use with minimal effort. Students can either send their librarian an email or schedule a face-to-face appointment.
“There doesn’t need to be any trepidation about approaching us,” Welber explained. “Students at Princeton are sometimes afraid that they’re going to be imposing on us.”
The librarians emphasized that students should not be bashful about their questions; instead, they should ask away. According to Welber, one student specifically asked for information on electricity prices in Prineville, Oregon, and its neighboring counties in the mid-2000s. Another student wanted help on a paper about polypropylene, and another asked about Hellenism. What one librarian cannot answer, another is likely able to, no matter how esoteric.
“Our Slack channels are constantly filled with ‘Have you…’, ‘Do you know how…’, [or] ‘Have you been asked this …,’” Oster said, “We all communicate regularly with each other.”
Still, relatively few students use the program frequently. First-years are already paired with librarians for their Writing Seminars, and juniors and seniors have advisors for their respective projects. Feise’s personal librarian happens to also be the departmental librarian assigned to him for his Senior Thesis.
“When you do need some expertise, you want specific expertise about your department,” Roberto Lachner ’26 told the ‘Prince.’ “I’m [in] Economics, so I just go to the economics data librarian, and he tells you where to find all the data you need.”
In an age where digitization has replaced the Dewey Decimal System, personal librarians may seem obsolete to some. Students have all of the Library’s 7,052,572 online resources at their fingertips and more, after all. But this is precisely how the program can help. Librarians stress that they are there to guide students through what might otherwise be an overwhelming mound of material. Above anything else, they emphasize that they are there for students’ advantage, not to be another email relegated to the Trash folder.
Princeton’s personal librarians unearth books, resources, and ideas for those who cannot find them or are plain stuck in the mud.
Lucia Zschoche is a contributing writer for Features and Archives for the ‘Prince.’
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