Aline Sorel, reference assistant
1. What services do you provide to help students?
Aline Sorel: I work in the reference department at the Vanier Library. My job is mainly helping students and faculty and other members of the community to find information, whether in print or online. I also help them understand how to use the library website and databases.
2. What’s the most important change you’ve seen at the library since you started working here?
AS: All of the automation that’s taken place. Previously everything was print based, so people were tied to the library for studying and looking for stuff. Now you can study and look for sources at home. A lot of what we have is available online.
But the biggest change is the automation in information and circulation services — the way people take books out and the way they interact in the library.
3. What aspect of the Webster Library Transformation are you most excited about?
AS: I think it’s all the physical change. There are going to be things like 3D printers available, and other types of technology for students to use when they need to do presentations. It’s pretty exciting. And if we don’t make these changes we’ll fall behind other academic libraries, and we risk becoming irrelevant.
4. What do you wish students knew or better understood about the library?
AS: Even though it’s the age of the internet and there’s a lot available online, it still helps to have somebody who knows how to guide you in the right direction. Not every source is valid — librarians and library staff can help a lot.
It’s also important for students doing research to plan properly and be patient. You can’t just come in the night before your paper is due and hope you’ll find what you need. Sometimes your subject will be too narrow and you’ll have to go back to your professor and suggest another topic.
Also, because of the physical space, it’s important for our clients to be respectful of the people around them. Silent blue zones don’t mean you can talk quietly.
5. What are your most common requests?
AS: We get a lot of requests for citation help. Some people worry too much and overthink it, and some people don’t worry enough.
There are also a lot of general requests for information on research topics. They lead to us showing our clients how the Discovery Search works, the online catalogue, works, what the databases do and don’t do, and which ones they should use.
6. What is your favourite item in the library?
AS: At Vanier, we have the Special Collections. My favourite thing in there is called The Scots Magazine, which was first published in 1739. It still exists today, and has to do with everything Scottish. But when it started in 1739, it was published annually and it was a look at the world. It has all kinds of interesting things in it — such as recipes for home remedies that seem like they’d kill rather than cure.
Find out more about the Webster Library Transformation Project.