Sonya Durney, Research and Teaching Librarian

I help people with questions [regarding research and teaching], and I help find the resources and information that they are looking for. I also teach. A lot of the faculty will bring their classes into the library to either work on a specific assignment or to receive an overview of how to use the library. Often students start working on a project or paper, and the first place that they go for information is Google. They’ll do a search and then hit a paywall with a lot of good, high-quality information, but it’s owned by different journals, publications, or databases, so they can’t access it without paying. If you start with the library, though, we subscribe to about 250 databases, so the students and faculty all have full access to these databases. Clearly, starting on the library website is the way to go. We try to teach that to students. That’s the biggest takeaway from the class. We want them to know that we are here to support them. A lot of people have library anxiety, which I understand because sometimes it’s hard to find what you are looking for. We want students to know that we are friendly and here to help.

Welcoming Community

In addition to libraries having books and helping students find the information that they need, libraries are really community centers. It’s very evident with public libraries, but I also feel like that’s the case here on campus. Being able to have conversations — whether it’s a book group, an art exhibit, or some other event — fosters community.

I love all of the stuff that students are working on. I love learning about what they're researching. There are so many different things people are doing across the University. UNE is a really welcoming community. Right from the start, I was very welcomed and felt like I was in the fold. I also feel like our students are serious about their studies. I see them work hard on projects. They are focused, but they are also friendly and warm.