You’re Welcome! CMU Students Have a Place at the CMU Libraries

At their core, libraries are meant to be democratizing spaces where individuals can find resources and get assistance with researching topics they are passionate about. Librarians are important especially in times when so much has become charged and divisive. Our duty remains to provide resources and research support to all, regardless of our backgrounds, beliefs, or values on topics which individuals are passionate about or movements which we seek to further. 

However, many individuals don’t feel comfortable getting support from librarians. This phenomenon, according to many scholars in the information sciences field, is called library anxiety. Originally coined by Contance Mellon in her 1986 article titled, “Library Anxiety: A Grounded Theory and its Development,” this simple phrase refers to a complex problem in which library users feel that their library knowledge is incompetent, that the library knowledge of others is competent, and that their incompetency would be revealed if they tried to get help from a librarian. This belief is problematic because it can stop individuals from using the library in the first place.  

CMU Libraries wants students to feel welcome in the library environment. To help students feel that they have a place at the library, we have recently begun offering tours to specific student demographic groups such as first gen students, foster care graduates, non-traditional students, neurodiverse students, and military affiliated students. In addition to building community amongst students in these groups, an additional goal of these tours has been to show that we have specialized resources meant to meet everyone's needs. The results of these tours have been positive.  

CMU Libraries hopes that through these initiatives, students will be able to see that library services and resources are for all individuals and can meet everyone’s needs.