Each new semester brings fresh challenges for everyone on campus. We get a revived sense of commitment to our goals and many of us are presented with new opportunities for learning, growth, and positive change. It’s exciting! But concerns about how to make the most of personal time and energy to meet them is a theme that runs just below the surface. We are constantly reminded that we have limitations. There is one way you may not have thought of to help you with this.

Some successful folks say that one of their secrets is knowing when to get professional assistance from a librarian. I had a new MU graduate from the School of Health Professions once tell me that he was so sorry that he waited until his last semester to take advantage of librarian services. “I could have done so much better, if only I had gotten the kind of help that I needed, but was not fully aware of how much it could mean. It would have not only saved me time, but also would have made me a more successful student! What a difference that made in my last semester!”

I hope you’ll not only note, but also act on some of the suggestions from our Information Services Librarians regarding how to maximize your time in researching and managing the information you find. Spending an hour in a short educational session with a librarian or talking with a librarian for 15 minutes about your research topic could save you time, and point you in a more productive direction.

Happy researching this semester!

Deb Ward