Contacting a librarian means asking a real expert for help when the guides and searches haven’t got you there. Librarians are professional guides to information — helping people find things is literally their job — and asking them is a sign of a smart researcher, never a failing one.

There’s a stubborn myth that asking for help means you’ve failed. In research, the opposite is true: experienced researchers ask librarians more, not less, because they know how much time it saves. A librarian can do in five minutes what might cost you a frustrated afternoon. Reaching out is one of the most efficient moves you can make.

When a librarian is exactly what you need

• You’re stuck for a starting point — they’ll point you to the right resources at once.
• Your searches keep missing — they’ll spot the better keywords or database.
• You can’t reach a source — they often know a way to the full text.
• You’re unsure a source is sound — they’ll help you judge it.

How to ask well

You’ll get the best help by giving a little context: what you’re researching, what you’ve already tried, and what you’re stuck on. A clear question gets a sharp answer — the very skill you practised in the reference-services course, now turned around and used by you.

🔗 Try it on FRELIP: frelip.org/contact — reach the FRELIP team

That completes Navigating Research Guides: what they are, finding them, using them, going deep, and the human help behind them. Have a look at the Course Wrap-up, and well done.

© FRELIP, released under CC BY 4.0. Linked resources remain under their own licences. Curated by the FRELIP Open Courseware editorial team.